Absolutely Anything Else

I can't find where the first post was made about Toms

But I am getting a good crop daily from my €1 plants

Rote Zuckertrabe (cocktail Toamtoe)

SimCityAT wrote:

I can't find where the first post was made about Toms

But I am getting a good crop daily from my €1 plants

Rote Zuckertrabe (cocktail Toamtoe)

[img align=C]https://scontent.fvie1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/68264257_10157218086057279_327844379941142528_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_oc=AQk0b5ICS8ptf8GMCo6EFqm0KscEGWYN1cnDgVbmWxSgC3UaJQe0jf6fmrmLlYLlYqM&_nc_ht=scontent.fvie1-1.fna&oh=3c19cd8c2b994693a045d989ca354dd2&oe=5DCFA475[/url]

'
Very nice crop.
Wish we could grow more in our window box.
Have some herbs growing and aloe vera but without land it's hard to grow much
I am lost for words, really, got a tip from FB that my distant cousin on father's side has a U Tube channel for her newest dog.
That's right, a dog.
I had to sub but don't ask me why right now.
I love dogs but a U Tube channel??
If anyone wishes to sub( is anyone that crazed? ) it 's under, Raz Dad.
Another 2 1/2 mins out of my life watching it.
Her husband is putting the dog through it's workout.
I really do come from a long line of eccentrics, no other word for it.
Some people have more time and money then they really need it seems.

My eldest sister just informed me that she will be getting a new hip replacement on Sept. 4.
Not sure where this came from either. Like how could I even think about flying over to help her on such short notice?
She is very independent but a new hip? Not a over night fix...

Anyone noticed a banana shortage?

Been in 2 x Aldi + 2 x Auchan - almost no bananas!

A multitude of melons but bananas have left the building.   There are bananas but they are clearly about 3-4 days old.  Public holiday banana supply chain issues maybe. 

And for some reason I no longer get notifications about postings.  Or no-one is posting anything.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
I am lost for words, really, got a tip from FB that my distant cousin on father's side has a U Tube channel for her newest dog.
That's right, a dog.
I had to sub but don't ask me why right now.
I love dogs but a U Tube channel??
...
Her husband is putting the dog through it's workout.
I really do come from a long line of eccentrics, no other word for it.
Some people have more time and money then they really need it seems.

My eldest sister just informed me that she will be getting a new hip replacement on Sept. 4.
Not sure where this came from either. Like how could I even think about flying over to help her on such short notice?
She is very independent but a new hip? Not a over night fix...

What were her symptoms for a hip replacement?  Presumably grinding and pain.  I might be going that way. I met a Canadian, mid-50s, both knees replaced.  I always thought it'd be older (than me) people who had hips done.  Seems almost routine now to have your hips fixed.  I hope it works out for your sis.

On dogs...I've taken a new approach...I've ditched the choke collar, replaced it with a harness.  The dog just stopped responding to the choke collar and I suddenly felt like I was being horribly cruel.  We now use a fixed lead - not one of those long stretching reel ones.   I think it's better.

My current dog project is walk to heel without pulling on the lead and we've started practising with just a simple "stop".   We've already got: sit, lie, rollover, woof, shake paws,  "go in" and "go out" and "go away".   I am thinking of also trying to get her to jump over stuff. 

People make money out of all sorts of crap on You Tube.   Some of it beggars belief.  I was watching a thing about kid stars of UK Grime music. I think basically it's rapping about gangster stuff.  Not really cool at all as it's about guns and rubbish. 

No. 1 HU Fluffyette told me I was way behind the times not knowing about social media backed up by very eldest UK Fluffyette who told me she was past it on social media as she was way over 21!!

My sister only told me about her hip hurting her about 3 weeks ago.
I was really surprised that she has booked surgery so fast after letting me know she even had an issue.
Must hurt badly cause she isn't a whinny person.
My cousin who I met 5 years back in Poland had 2 hips replacements and she is now 72. Got her first one in her mind 40's.
My sister is a very active person, used to be a black belt in karate and rides a motorbike, does almost all of her own home repairs etc.
Maybe she just over used her hips with a flying jump kick too many?
I hope I never even think about changing out parts. Had enough with exploratory surgery.
Different breeds of dogs learn at different rates I think.
Some want to please you and others like to be in charge of their owners.
I used to get some nasty looks from people when my Doberman was walked with his pinch collar on but without using it he would never go out for a walk because he loved to chase cats or anything that moved.I only weighed about 20 lbs more then him and he was 99% muscle.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My sister only told me about her hip hurting her about 3 weeks ago.
I was really surprised that she has booked surgery so fast after letting me know she even had an issue.
Must hurt badly cause she isn't a whinny person.
My cousin who I met 5 years back in Poland had 2 hips replacements and she is now 72. Got her first one in her mind 40's.
My sister is a very active person, used to be a black belt in karate and rides a motorbike, does almost all of her own home repairs etc.
Maybe she just over used her hips with a flying jump kick too many?
I hope I never even think about changing out parts. Had enough with exploratory surgery.
Different breeds of dogs learn at different rates I think.
Some want to please you and others like to be in charge of their owners.
I used to get some nasty looks from people when my Doberman was walked with his pinch collar on but without using it he would never go out for a walk because he loved to chase cats or anything that moved.I only weighed about 20 lbs more then him and he was 99% muscle.

Only 40 with a hip replacement!  Maybe she had another condition which contributed.  I've never had anyone look at my hip.  Usually they tell me I'm too fat and that'll take the pressure off the joints.  They could be right. I'm working on it. 

It's one of those vicious circles things - too fat (maybe) to walk fast and cannot walk fast as too fat.   I need to move to a virtuous circle - walk fast to be less fat and therefore less fat means I can walk faster to maintain weight. 

Dogs are surprisingly different in their behaviour I've now noticed.  Quite unique in personality and behaviour.  As I only had one dog as a kid, I didn't really have chance to compare with other dogs over time.  I'm beginning to think a disciplined (i.e. trained) dog is a happy dog and an even happier owner.  When I mean disciplined, I don't mean by negative training, I'm thinking positive reinforcement. Some people just don't bother to train them at all and that's a bit irresponsible.

It's quite a long term project having a dog.  I wish the kids would take more of an interest. It's their dog after all but I seem to have to deal with it.  Mrs Fluffy is 1/2 on the job and forgets.  I think once the dog has bad habits, it'll be difficult to train them to the correct level.   

Once we've conquered walking with a lead without pulling, we'll try walking without a lead next to a person.  People are telling me it can take a young dog up to 2 years to calm down and pay serious attention to training.

Not really sure why my cousins hip went back at a young age, she was into sports in college?
I doubt you are too fat
as it seems your life is very busy with biking, kids etc.
Doctors told me since childhood to never get over weight becuase of my wonky knees, little did they know I was far too vain to let myself go down that dark depressing path. My husband is always trying to get me to gain a good 15 lbs. which would be my nightmare, none of my clothing would fit if that ever happened. Maybe it's a good way to get a new wardrobe?...
We checked out that Lupa lake yesterday, water was really nice, only issue there is not a lot of shade.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
We knew a HU guy who was smashed by, it sounds funny but it wasn't, 25,000 lbs. in a semi - truck of Purina dog food.
He was hit so hard on the AZ. desert that his car flipped about 5 times, broke his back and he was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It happened in the early 80's and after fighting the courts with his lawyers he got nearly 2 million dollars. A lot of money in the 80's for someone who never really held down a job in their lives.
I could write a short book on this, got my sister to help the guy around the house, met his entire family who he brought out from Romania to care for him after a year of legal work, a real strange guy who had been shortly involved in a cult in Hawaii which started out in S. Ca. Dang an entire movie could be made about this dudes life.
My husband told him to go to Hades after he saw how rude and abusive he was with his family though. He was never a sweetheart but being in a chair and getting money made him even more insane then he was normally.
All I can say is this dudes BIL a nice guy started to physically strangle the guy in the chair, he deserved it too.he used his family like his personal slaves, just because he brought them to the US.....

From  other topic....

Brexit and its implications for British, HU and any other citizens

I think $2M isn't enough for breaking one's back because of someone's negligence.  Clearly that was the case - regardless of anything that went before.  Be like listing someone's criminal record before trying them in court.  Prejudice the jury!! Mistrial!   Anyone stuck in the wheelchair due to negligence is bound to feel somewhat bitter.

We've got a case going on at the moment in the UK - I believe it's two people labelled burglars who have a winning lottery ticket and they want their cash. See here: £4 million win on lottery using supposed stolen card. 

Interesting point of law or logic there to muse over - is it the owner of the card who benefits, or is it split 3 ways with the two alleged fraudsters or actually the bank that issued the stolen card because it was a fraudulent transaction?  If they genuinely bought the ticket - despite being labelled as yobbos and n'er do wells - then they have to get their money regardless of their record.

I think if I had my card stolen and two thieves  bought a winning lottery ticket, I'd want half or more to say I lent it to them!  If I said they stole it, they'd get nothing except prison and I'd get nothing.  If I said I lent it to them, everyone's a winner....ooo....very difficult morality and ethics...

I too would like a few bucks from a lottery winner who bought the ticket with my stolen money. Wow, what a story, interesting to know what will happen.
I know 2 million doesn't sound like much but then again in the mid 80's it was more plus he had no income and lived on the gov. for a few years while his injury case was in court.
He didn't have to pay back the US tax payers for all of his nursing and almost one year in hospital.
In home nursing care etc. He has since passed away.
He reminds me of these lottery scammers, he never held a job because he was a professional second story man and had pulled many insurance scams over the years, we all suspected he did a bad set up when he was hurt.
Not a nice guy at all, he was so abusive to his dying sister that we cut off contact with him , my husband told him off good first.
Not saying anyone deserves to be hurt but like the saying goes, "It couldn't of happened to a "nicer" guy".

Spend the afternoon yesterday at the US embassy getting my passport renewed. Could feel the residual energy of the morning visa crowd in the air. Not a ton of fun.Guess one can't spend everyday at the beach.

Looks like cooler weather is coming next week,Summer really seemed extra short this year for some reason.
Still have a few more swim days left though.
My husband wants to run away this winter but since our son moved to Japan we will not be heading to Vegas this year. Would visit MInn. but the weather there is far worst then anything here in Hungary.
I wonder why so many people here smoke so much. I mean young people.
Our one neighbor has let some of his friends stay in his flat. He is HU but works a lot in the UK. Not sure where this young couple comes from, they speak English well but have some accent.
Long story short the guy seems to smoke a ton because we now smell it when our window is open. Guess that will be a good thing for cooler weather, have to keep the windows closed.
I was sort of thinking of telling the guy we smell his smoke and we know for a fact by life experience that it isn't all coming from cigs...Will leave it alone for now but perhaps another neighbor also has a good nose for you know what and may report them.
Maybe the come from Holland?

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I too would like a few bucks from a lottery winner who bought the ticket with my stolen money. Wow, what a story, interesting to know what will happen.
I know 2 million doesn't sound like much but then again in the mid 80's it was more plus he had no income and lived on the gov. for a few years while his injury case was in court.
He didn't have to pay back the US tax payers for all of his nursing and almost one year in hospital.
In home nursing care etc. He has since passed away.
He reminds me of these lottery scammers, he never held a job because he was a professional second story man and had pulled many insurance scams over the years, we all suspected he did a bad set up when he was hurt.
Not a nice guy at all, he was so abusive to his dying sister that we cut off contact with him , my husband told him off good first.
Not saying anyone deserves to be hurt but like the saying goes, "It couldn't of happened to a "nicer" guy".

Spend the afternoon yesterday at the US embassy getting my passport renewed. Could feel the residual energy of the morning visa crowd in the air. Not a ton of fun.Guess one can't spend everyday at the beach.

Yes, the lottery story it's a really interesting little piece with an as yet, unwritten and possibly strange ending.  It's almost good enough for a movie but as of today, they are leaving us - in true Hollywood style - hanging on for Season 2!

£4M is just about $4.5M.  I think they cannot prove they stole the card and they cannot prove they didn't (cannot prove a negative) but what they can prove is that they have the winning ticket.  That's pretty clear they have it, however they got it.  Not guilty until proven guilty.

I suppose what they could do is allow them to "win" the money, then confiscate it immediately under the proceeds of crime laws (in the UK).  Complicated and one to follow just to see how it works!  I could see it stretching to a number of seasons, perhaps 3 or a mini-series.  Real life follows TV/movies and vice-versa.

In the end the grim reaper got your paraplegic insurance scammer.  That's the thing about death, it's the great leveller.  We're equal at that moment and there are no pockets in a shroud.

Interesting you can get a passport at your embassy.  That's no longer possible for the British.  We have to apply to regional centres or even the UK and they send it back by courier.  But we can apply for renewals online using photos taken on a smartphone digital camera but a new first passport would need an interview probably.  Idea is to stop fraud but it's a major inconvenience.  No 2 Fluffyette needs a new kids passport and it cost about $80 which is a high cost for a 5 year (only) passport.  HU passports cost much less than that but are only valid for 2 years.

Since they stopped issuing passports at the British Embassy, one has to wonder what they do in those places? I don't have much time for embassy staff anywhere - in my travels I've met many and I've never been impressed.  Some of them are miserable and their only skill is small talk at parties.  Many of the British ones are utter snobs.   

Anyway, the British Embassy used to be the old building diagonally across from the Kempinski Hotel.  But now they sold that for an absolute packet.  Like £300M or something. I expect it'll be a hotel or something - like a super pricey boutique place.  It's been owned for 100 years or more by the British government.  They now have an boring non-descript office up in District III which looks like it could be shared with the Dutch government.  They might be downsizing for some reason.

They also sold the classically designed and elegant British Embassy in Thailand rumoured to have gone for $500M and the developers promptly knocked it down to build a shopping mall.  It had a very nice garden as well.  Scandalous loss of history and oasis in the middle of Bangkok.

The  first time we went to the US  embassy here in Budapest, I was so proud to see a beautiful young black American Marine in his dress white standing at the enterance.
Sorry to say now, it is a let down just a few HU nationals doing some TSA style scanning.I admit they were nice enough.
Talk about down sizing...
No matter what they say one has to give it to the Brits for show and style.. sorry they sold their impressive looking embassy...
Met  the newesrt neighbor in our building yesterday, sort of..
Not exactly a sweety pie.
Hard to explain because in all reality women have a sort of odd ball sick demented  code of sorts.
I got the "You look too good for your age but then again I am a doctor look" not bragging but if I was looking like your typical "old lady" I am sure I would of been met by way too many,"hello honey's""
Women are the meanest sometimes. Men will never know exactly what in the world women are talking about because I doubt that men look at each other in a second and judge how they look or are preceived in one glance.It's like who is better in one glance. I sometimes do wish I was born male and didn't have to even try to understand this sick stuff.
I'm am so over it, seen the most "Bitc*** women in my field of cosmetology  that some 59 year old HU dentist just can not get under my skin that much.
i always wonder with women's lib and all why women see each other as "the enemy". One would have to ask a women to get a clue about what on earth I am trying to explain. sick stuff for sure
Whatever happened to "sisterhood" was it all a lie?
All good off to my Turkish soap soon, dang talk about an addictive drug, nothing more additive then a good Turkish soap. Forget Turkish coffee, it's all about the soap operas.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

....
Meh. Who cares but criminals. The US Dollar is the world currency at the moment. So, duh, it will be the most monitored. And? So what. And I am sure all countries track transactions in their currencies. The international banking system is specifically setup to monitor such things. People only freak out about the USA. Weird.


Side note: I have bought Cuban Cigars from a company in Germany online, paid in USD online, all recorded. Nobody cared. Nobody pulled me aside and searched orifices during my trip to the USA in April. Seriously, don't be over paranoid. The US Treasury has bigger fish to fry.

But yes, your Cuban cigar transaction would have been recorded if actually in USD.  From what you say, your transaction was however to a German company, not to a Cuban one. If you'd paid in USD to a Cuban supplier direct then that's  where you would have come unstuck as you'd be sanctions busting albeit in a trivial way.  They could get you if they wanted - if you used a USD card then already you're on the wrong foot.

Oh please. You are way over paranoid. And contrasting what you said earlier. Which is every USD transaction was, as recorded, a risky issue. You now corrected yourself, and yes, it is completely legal for me to buy Cuban cigars from a German company. So the USD issue is not really an issue. Seriously--- stop the conspiracy theories.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Another one is the US data gathering from SWIFT in Belgium.

Oh, please.

Again? And?

This is an issue of the banking system. it is not secure against ANY government checking into it. And any seizure probably was due to illegal activity. Quiet frankly, good. Don't believe the cigar cover story. Prove me wrong.

But even if it was true, it just proves the importance of the USD as "the" world currency (see your comment below). Since, the seller, should have been happy getting GBP.... if that was still a serious world currency.... Which it ain't LOL!    People, world wide, want to, more often than not, to be paid in USD. So when selling, the seller want to be paid in USD so they don't loose in converting currencies. Deal with it.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I would disagree that the USD is the world currency at the moment.  There are plenty of other reserve currencies to use instead - like the EUR, JPY, GBP or AUD to name a few.  In the past, pre-EUR days, we'd have used primarily the DEM (Deutschmark) in Europe as the benchmark.

LOL!!!

Did you ever bother to check how many international transactions were done in USD versus GBP? Seriously... you Brits.... your time has passed. The GBP really ain't that important anymore. Deal with it.

And even suggesting the AUD is a world currency comparable to the USD is too silly to even dismiss as ridiculous. A commonwealther hoping for the glory days of the commonwealth? BJ may just ruin that for you.

With Donald, I suspect the USD reign is also on a short leash. Americans will have to also eventually deal with that. Oh well. Tough then for Americans. Who will complain as much (and more I am sure) than you are now. Such is life.

Regarding the USD as the world's currency, also see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_cur … .S._dollar (also shows how the JPY is not really that important anymore).

https://www.thebalance.com/world-currency-3305931

zif wrote:

Nobody likes to take the time to write a carefully considered post only to see it tossed in the trash.

Even a carefully crafted off topic reply is an off topic reply in a moderated forum. So if you did not realize that your comment was off topic... oh well. It is up to the forum moderators to make that call. That is the "down side" to a moderated forum. The "up side" is that topics don't go off topic.

But that is why "Absolutely Anything Else" topic exists. A place for you to go off topic. 

klsallee wrote:

zif wrote:

Nobody likes to take the time to write a carefully considered post only to see it tossed in the trash.

Even a carefully crafted off topic reply is an off topic reply in a moderated forum. So if you did not realize that your comment was off topic... oh well. It is up to the forum moderators to make that call. That is the "down side" to a moderated forum. The "up side" is that topics don't go off topic.

But that is why "Absolutely Anything Else" topic exists. A place for you to go off topic. 

Not sure where this one came from in the original posting but indeed, nothing can be off topic in a non-topic thread like this. 

Just to chuck in some stuff...not that I'm moderating...

As the instigator of the thread, my intention was that this thread is a free for all for anyone to post something about anything and at anytime.   

I hope we would be self-policing but not really anarchy, racist, homophobic or political ranting unless there's some highly amusing aspect to it involving strange stuff about Donald Trump*, i.e. we're all grown ups (well, Ok, me, not so much).  We all need a bit of absurdity to make our day brighter.

* Legitimate target but some believe so that'll have to be a joke (sort of).

klsallee wrote:

Regarding the USD as the world's currency, also see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_cur … .S._dollar (also shows how the JPY is not really that important anymore).

https://www.thebalance.com/world-currency-3305931

Yes, I know the USD is a popular currency but USD is not always the currency that's used in trade. 

Contracts don't have to be in USD, they can be in anything but choosing a different currency to the country you're contracting with is deliberately done to ensure stability on pricing.  If one has say a 5 year contract, people don't want surprises - HU mortgage crisis is a good example.

Nothing to stop people using any currency they want but no-one is going write a contract in say, HUF but they will write them in other currencies including JPY, EUR, AUD etc.  Makes more sense for Pacific contracts (say) to be in JPY or AUD if those are the main supplying countries.

An amusing thing to do (if motivated by such things) is to look up SDR - Special Drawing Rights.  Sometimes that's used too and it's not even a real currency but one can use it quite efficiently.  Conversions to whatever are then done at the moment of payment.

If you look at the proportions of currencies, then you can see how SDRs are weighted in 2015 (still valid):

Currency           Weights 2015

U.S. Dollar            41.73
Euro                    30.93   
Chinese Yuan    10.92   
Japanese Yen    8.33   
Pound Sterling    8.09   

Ok, AUD is not in there and I'd forgotten about the Yuan but interesting that SDRs almost weight EUR and Yuan as balance against USD.   

They used to do something similar to SDRs in Hungary for HUF exchange rates mainly involving the DEM.

klsallee wrote:

......Oh please. You are way over paranoid. And contrasting what you said earlier. Which is every USD transaction was, as recorded, a risky issue. You now corrected yourself, and yes, it is completely legal for me to buy Cuban cigars from a German company. So the USD issue is not really an issue. Seriously--- stop the conspiracy theories.

Ok, I'll play. 

Correct myself about what?   The US Treasury took the Danish guy's money and the Germans were stuffed too on getting payment.   It was a perfectly legal transaction in the EU but US govt took exception.

What I object to is overt muscling (cf, bullying) the US uses so that it has the "right" and disrespect for its trading partners and allies to apply its laws outside of its borders - i.e. the arrogance of its extra-territoriality.   

Anyone, I repeat, anyone who does a transaction in USD with any party anywhere is opening themselves up to being hassled at a whim according to whatever the US decides is against its interests. 

These are the kinds of tactics communist authorities used against people - keep people on the edge of legality.

And the US is still chasing that Iranian oil tanker! Oh please indeed!

I don't just single out the US for this kind of behaviour. China PRC does it too in commandeering disputed islands to build military bases in the South China Sea. And that naughty Putin seized Crimea. 

klsallee wrote:

.
But even if it was true, it just proves the importance of the USD as "the" world currency (see your comment below). Since, the seller, should have been happy getting GBP.... if that was still a serious world currency.... Which it ain't LOL!    People, world wide, want to, more often than not, to be paid in USD. So when selling, the seller want to be paid in USD so they don't loose in converting currencies. Deal with it.

Depends.  Sometimes it's hard to tell who is being paid in what.  If someone pays via Paypal or plastic, there's almost no idea what conversions are ultimately being made and by whom.  The payment processors hold large amounts of currency for exchange and settlement.  It's a massive treasury business for them and very profitable.   

Credit cards are a good one - you can choose currencies you want to pay in and interestingly the conversion is made by the credit card (CC) company, not the issuing bank.  As a retail user, that can be to your advantage as the CC companies exchange rates are usually better than the issuing bank.

I'm quite happy to be paid in any freely convertible currency that's stable.  It all spends the same one way or another.  GBP is still a world currency because the UK is in the top ten of economic powers in the world and it's considered well run (notwithstanding Brexit).   This is not unexpected.

Sure GBP is going down but imagine if Brexit gets cancelled, it's going up big time - even if as a blip. Or more interestingly it'll go up significantly if Brexit is a fantastic success. 

If it's a success, then the EU may fall apart as everyone will want a slice of the action.  Maybe the rump will remain and the net recipients will have to be covered or they cut back. Germans/French etc may baulk at having to bank roll Greece and other weaker economies. 

In any case, UK growth should be much higher as the GBP approaches parity with USD. It'll make exports cheaper but that will be tempered by increased import and administrative costs.  But UK is nothing if not flexible and probably will have to absorb that. 

klsallee wrote:

.....id you ever bother to check how many international transactions were done in USD versus GBP? Seriously... you Brits.... your time has passed. The GBP really ain't that important anymore. Deal with it.....And even suggesting the AUD is a world currency comparable to the USD is too silly to even dismiss as ridiculous. A Commonwealther hoping for the glory days of the Commonwealth? BJ may just ruin that for you.

With Donald, I suspect the USD reign is also on a short leash. Americans will have to also eventually deal with that. Oh well. Tough then for Americans. Who will complain as much (and more I am sure) than you are now. Such is life.

I never said USD wasn't a popular currency and a lot of people use it but they should think carefully about it. As I keep saying, stability and free convertibility (i.e. can be openly traded without controls) is far more important than the actual denomination.   

Saying stuff about the Commonwealth is just silly.   We like that aspect of history although I think it should be reformed as the UK has become  a PITA over its immigration.  UK is considering opening further immigration routes for Commonwealth citizens.   Pretty OK about that.

Anyways, if you do business in the South Pacific  (say), AUD is good for you if your expenditures and revenues are in AUD even if you are not actually on that continent.   Same for NZD.  Doing it in Rubles would be ludicrous (unless you are trading via Vladivostock). 

As for BJ, he's apparently become as bigly off the wall as The D.

We used to buy Krugerrands in the 80's. Had to cash them in for a downpayment on a house in Ca.
Might be time to think about buying some again or silver ?
The dollar excahnge rate is good ATM but who knows how long that will last.
Without paper money being backed up by the gold standard it is risky business.
Had the gold standard when I was young, the US dollar was actually worth something back then too.
Thought about that cryptocurrency but I personally don't know that much about it and I also do not trust it.
I still remember using filler here in Hungary.
At least the US currency still has pennies in circulation, maybe there is still hope.
My husband and son sometimes get me so paranoid about money, they are always talking about a crash, a big one coming soon.
Time to invest in beans?

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We used to buy Krugerrands in the 80's. Had to cash them in for a downpayment on a house in Ca.
Might be time to think about buying some again or silver ?
The dollar excahnge rate is good ATM but who knows how long that will last.
Without paper money being backed up by the gold standard it is risky business.
Had the gold standard when I was young, the US dollar was actually worth something back then too.
Thought about that cryptocurrency but I personally don't know that much about it and I also do not trust it.
I still remember using filler here in Hungary.
At least the US currency still has pennies in circulation, maybe there is still hope.
My husband and son sometimes get me so paranoid about money, they are always talking about a crash, a big one coming soon.
Time to invest in beans?

Ah bean futures.   The stuff of legend. Or is that pork bellies? It was in a movie -Trading Places.

The famous filler - you really have been in HU a long time.  There are no longer any 1ct EUR coins and I think the 2ct might have gone again too.   

The USD is indeed quite good at the moment unlike the GBP which keeps sinking.  I think it must be deliberate to get it on parity with the USD.  Make exports cheaper.

There will be a crash or at least a recession.  China is slowing down and what with the tariffs imposed by Mr T, tension over Iran, Brexit,  it's all significant. It'll be an economic war if not a real one -somewhere.

I am not strong myself on Bitcoin. Best avoided.  Too much chance of it being stolen.

Land is always good as they say "they ain't making more of it".  If things get so bad I get laid off from my regular work I could always go into taxes or death as both of those are certainties (they say).   I did think about going into the adult entertainment industry but I don't think there's call for movies showing people dozing in slippers by open fires with ticking clocks and sleeping labradors.

I did think I'd like to try something like cheesemaking.  Apparently it was in the bible - Blessed are the cheesemakers - so that's a great endorsement.

Ah well.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We used to buy Krugerrands in the 80's. Had to cash them in for a downpayment on a house in Ca.
Might be time to think about buying some again or silver ?
The dollar excahnge rate is good ATM but who knows how long that will last.
Without paper money being backed up by the gold standard it is risky business.
Had the gold standard when I was young, the US dollar was actually worth something back then too.
Thought about that cryptocurrency but I personally don't know that much about it and I also do not trust it.
I still remember using filler here in Hungary.
At least the US currency still has pennies in circulation, maybe there is still hope.
My husband and son sometimes get me so paranoid about money, they are always talking about a crash, a big one coming soon.
Time to invest in beans?

Ah bean futures.   The stuff of legend. Or is that pork bellies? It was in a movie -Trading Places.

The famous filler - you really have been in HU a long time.  There are no longer any 1ct EUR coins and I think the 2ct might have gone again too.   

The USD is indeed quite good at the moment unlike the GBP which keeps sinking.  I think it must be deliberate to get it on parity with the USD.  Make exports cheaper.

There will be a crash or at least a recession.  China is slowing down and what with the tariffs imposed by Mr T, tension over Iran, Brexit,  it's all significant. It'll be an economic war if not a real one -somewhere.

I am not strong myself on Bitcoin. Best avoided.  Too much chance of it being stolen.

Land is always good as they say "they ain't making more of it".  If things get so bad I get laid off from my regular work I could always go into taxes or death as both of those are certainties (they say).   I did think about going into the adult entertainment industry but I don't think there's call for movies showing people dozing in slippers by open fires with ticking clocks and sleeping labradors.

I did think I'd like to try something like cheesemaking.  Apparently it was in the bible - Blessed are the cheesemakers - so that's a great endorsement.

Ah well.

Too funny, years back I was thumbing through a Las Vegas phone book and hit a huge section dedicated to escort services. I was really shocked to find so many agencies that had over 50 or 60 year old people working as an escort.
I was like what?
I joked ( half way, why not after all...) with my husband and told him he should work as an escort.
he had the whole package, can dance, has a cool accent, knows how to open doors when needed and when to talk and when to just lay back and watch the action. he wouldn't go for it, darn, I was counting my gold and hoping he would deliver. Hate to say it but not too many senior American men look good in a suit and can do the Tango.
I suppose there could be a few high roller whales out there who might be embarrassed to take a young chicky to dinner and want someone who looks like their motherly wife as to not attract too much attention.
Not sure, Vegas is really another world in itself.

We just got in from swimming at Lupa lake, the wind started up so we thought it best to leave before it got too dusty outside.
It is a rather nice place for a man made lake, the water is very nice and very very deep, not sure how deep it is, will have to find out but could be as deep as a crater... Sort of scary to be out alone like I was this morning thinking about how deep the water might be under neath me.
First time swimming at Heves a elderly man wearing a suit and tie came through the fog in a wooden boat with a cross painted on it, he was the lifeguard. He warned us to be careful because the water was about 90 feet deep. At least there was a life guard around even if he looked like the crypt keeper.
When we first visited HU in 1978 I think the dollar exchange rate was 50 forints per US dollar but back then a tram ticket was only 5 forints.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
Too funny, years back I was thumbing through a Las Vegas phone book and hit a huge section dedicated to escort services. I was really shocked to find so many agencies that had over 50 or 60 year old people working as an escort.
I was like what?
I joked ( half way, why not after all...) with my husband and told him he should work as an escort.
he had the whole package, can dance, has a cool accent, knows how to open doors when needed and when to talk and when to just lay back and watch the action. he wouldn't go for it, darn, I was counting my gold and hoping he would deliver. Hate to say it but not too many senior American men look good in a suit and can do the Tango.
I suppose there could be a few high roller whales out there who might be embarrassed to take a young chicky to dinner and want someone who looks like their motherly wife as to not attract too much attention.
Not sure, Vegas is really another world in itself.

I think both of you could do ocean cruises as dance partners (I assume you can both dance).  You could live on the cruise liner all summer and work a few hours a day.  Best time would be winter in HU but watch out for hurricanes.  Really, I think it would be possible.  Free food and lodging and travel in luxury!

It's a skill not many people have these days being able to dance.  Not much call on cruise ships for opinionated British persons with dubious entertainment skills - my small talk would be the movies, car repairs, dog training, technical issues and amateur economics.  Big snooze for some!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
We just got in from swimming at Lupa lake, the wind started up so we thought it best to leave before it got too dusty outside.
It is a rather nice place for a man made lake, the water is very nice and very very deep, not sure how deep it is, will have to find out but could be as deep as a crater... Sort of scary to be out alone like I was this morning thinking about how deep the water might be under neath me.
First time swimming at Heves a elderly man wearing a suit and tie came through the fog in a wooden boat with a cross painted on it, he was the lifeguard. He warned us to be careful because the water was about 90 feet deep. At least there was a life guard around even if he looked like the crypt keeper.
When we first visited HU in 1978 I think the dollar exchange rate was 50 forints per US dollar but back then a tram ticket was only 5 forints.

Mein Gott, that's a bit of a step up.  I didn't realise Lupa Beach had developed into a Hawaiian themed water park.  I thought it was just a gravel pit but they've fixed it up more than I knew.   I've given a heads up to Mrs Fluffy.  Unfortunately, it's now school time so only weekends would be possible if the weather holds up. 

I remember (I think) tram tickets under 100 HUF.  I also remember a packet of 20 cigarettes were about 300 HUF.  Those were the days - I no longer smoke (gave up 25+ years ago) and I rarely travel by tram although I use Metro 4 when I go to the dentist.  I think it's 300 HUF now per ride. 

I continue to hope they will extend Metro 4 out to Budaors. It was supposed to come to my village (Budakeszi) at some point. I was absolutely in favour of it. But the village rejected it (I think they would have had to put money into it and they don't want the village to get any bigger or have debt except in a very slow way) although I can understand their thinking. Eventually they will have to do something as the road into Budapest is blocked in the mornings with commuters.   I've scaled down my ambitions to have just a cycle path to Budaors. It's just so dangerous on the road.   They do have money to build new schools which must have cost a few million (we've just got a brand new high school and rumour is that it will have its own swimming pool as well).

In our small town of Simi, Ca. there was only one HS when my sisters were in school there. It had the only swimming pool open to the public.
Later they opened a second HS closer to our house were I and my younger sibs went.
I really wanted to go to the other HS but our house was out of their area.
Was so looking forward to learning to swim in gym class.
Now right across from my HS there is a huge nice public swimming pool in a park setting.
I always wondered why my parents didn't put a pool in our huge back yard. We had an above ground pool but it wasn't as glam looking as a inground pool would of been.
It wasn't really great for learning to swim either.
I wish Orban would build more swimming pools in Hungary and less football stadiums. More people would enjoy it then sitting watching a ball going back and forth.
My sister is set for a new hop in the morning... I am a bit stressed thinking about it, will be in my thoughts all day long until I hear she is out of surgery and up and walking around.
If she had told us sooner we might of gone to visit her for a bit until she was back to normal. Her friends will keep her for a while at their house. Suppose she will be forced to get well fast as she lives alone.

SimCityAT wrote:

I can't find where the first post was made about Toms

But I am getting a good crop daily from my €1 plants

Rote Zuckertrabe (cocktail Toamtoe)

[img align=C]https://scontent.fvie1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/68264257_10157218086057279_327844379941142528_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_oc=AQk0b5ICS8ptf8GMCo6EFqm0KscEGWYN1cnDgVbmWxSgC3UaJQe0jf6fmrmLlYLlYqM&_nc_ht=scontent.fvie1-1.fna&oh=3c19cd8c2b994693a045d989ca354dd2&oe=5DCFA475[/url]

Wow, those look so delicious! I want to grow my own veggies for a while now and do a little 'garden' in my balcony, but never have time for all that...

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
I wish Orban would build more swimming pools in Hungary and less football stadiums. More people would enjoy it then sitting watching a ball going back and forth.

My sister is set for a new hop in the morning... I am a bit stressed thinking about it, will be in my thoughts all day long until I hear she is out of surgery and up and walking around.
If she had told us sooner we might of gone to visit her for a bit until she was back to normal. Her friends will keep her for a while at their house. Suppose she will be forced to get well fast as she lives alone.

I suppose OV could boost football in the winter and water polo (or whatever it is) during the summer. 

Hungary is pretty good in water polo but weak but improving in football - they did better than expected in the last World Cup.  They apparently have money for football players and Puskas Akademia (OV's Felcsut team) brings in players from all over.  But they have hardly anyone watching - average gate is low 1000s and I expect most of them are mates of OV showing willing and trying to gain favour with the autocrats.

Hope your sis's surgery goes well.  I think she'll be told to get up and move.  I would have thought months of physio and recovery time in the worst case.  I think the artificial joint lasts 10 years so that's not too bad. Heart bypass same kind of time but if that fails, I think they can do it one more time only before it's a one way trip to the cemetery.  Not so good.

Looks like Brexit is cancelled for the moment which is perhaps a good thing.  If Breakfast was cancelled I'd be complaining.

Thanks, I've had my sister on my mind for a few days now.
She will be up and running ASAP. Not common in our family to play sick and be ill.
I even do my yoga when I have the flu unless my temp. is too high.
I dislocated my knee for the 3rd time on my son's 1 year birthday.
He was already walking on his own but he was still so tiny.
Had no one to help me care for him , well my husband who was either working or surfing and our single Hu room mate who was also not hme much.
I had to scoot myself on the floor with my son on my lap and then get my crutches to life him or wash him up.
There is always a way to do things if you have to.
My grandmother from Poland'ex-Hungary lost her arm at age 12 and took care of 9 children by herself and even traveled on boat with 2 of them ( my dad and auntie) alone for weeks over to Ellis Island.
No cry babies allowed in our family.

Sorry to say I am not a huge fan of football or of watching any sports.
Would rather do them myself then just watch.
I did watch the HU "football" team for the whole 90  mins in Colorado but that was ages ago before we got married.
My deceased sister's English boyfriend in S. Ca. used to be on the UK casual football team in Hollywood with Rod Stewart playing with them.
He , her old flame was a real nice guy but he never really took my sis to see them practice, guess he was a bit jealous of old Rod.
There is a Hungarian football team in Honolulu, Hawaii.
My BIL was taken in the 50's to see the old guys from the HU Golden Team here in HU.
Their uncle knew those guys well and took my BIL back in the dressing room and he got a ball signed by everyone. Not sure he still has it or not, might be worth a few bucks now?
Not sure why my husband wasn't taken too, he was just a year younger then his bro.
I think perhaps I do not really like football much is I saw my husband break his arm in practice. He slipped and it was snaped in half.
He had a rod in his arm from another break and when he slipped the rod bent his arm backwards. Worst injury I ever saw, I was also 5 months pregnant at the time and my tummy was so twisted up seeing that.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Sorry to say I am not a huge fan of football or of watching any sports.
Would rather do them myself then just watch.
I did watch the HU "football" team for the whole 90  mins in Colorado but that was ages ago before we got married.
My deceased sister's English boyfriend in S. Ca. used to be on the UK casual football team in Hollywood with Rod Stewart playing with them.
He , her old flame was a real nice guy but he never really took my sis to see them practice, guess he was a bit jealous of old Rod.
There is a Hungarian football team in Honolulu, Hawaii.
My BIL was taken in the 50's to see the old guys from the HU Golden Team here in HU.
Their uncle knew those guys well and took my BIL back in the dressing room and he got a ball signed by everyone. Not sure he still has it or not, might be worth a few bucks now?
Not sure why my husband wasn't taken too, he was just a year younger then his bro.
I think perhaps I do not really like football much is I saw my husband break his arm in practice. He slipped and it was snaped in half.
He had a rod in his arm from another break and when he slipped the rod bent his arm backwards. Worst injury I ever saw, I was also 5 months pregnant at the time and my tummy was so twisted up seeing that.

Yes, I know what you mean - I prefer to be a participant too. 

Ah, Rod Stewart, there's a blast from the past.  He's a really odd guy in one way or another.  He's obsessed by football but apparently has a thing about model trains too.  He likes the same kind of leggy models as well - almost all clones of each other.  I cannot say he's an oil painting himself but I suppose the attraction is his money which I guess proves The Beatles wrong.  Money can buy you love - "short time or long time I love you" to paraphrase some ladies I pass in the street in Asia.

Football is a very aggressive and violent game but a good game is well worth watching.  Trouble is with professional footie is that one injury and your career could be over.   

Some footballers are able to make a transition to other careers - couple come to mind from the UK namely: Gary Lineker (he's on the TV and very popular on sports programmes) and Dion Dublin, also on the TV but a rather nifty percussionist/drummer too playing in bands.  Probably best to have two strings to your bow than one in such a risky business.    I guess it must be the same in US sports like American "football" and Baseball (as we call it, Rounders, often played by kids)*.

I guess you need nerves of steel never mind steel rods in your arm to watch people being injured. I suppose it looked worst than it was really was.  But I expect it hurts a lot more giving birth and people get into that voluntarily.   I've heard hip replacements aren't that bad for pain but take some getting used to.  I am sure your sis will be fine.



* it's a friendly dig at the nature of US "sports" -  I am sure someone will throw that particular ball back at me.

Yahoo was down most of the day, no news about my sister yet..I had a sleepless night thinking of her.
Rod Stewart, saw him the first time with the faces, great concert, saw him later on his own, sucked hard.
Actually a million and one years back, my now deceased sister was out on a date at some high end eating place in West LA or there about's. Her "thing" was going to nice dinners on some poor dudes dime...
Rod was at the same place and as she passed his table to go to the ladies room, he looked at her and started to serenade to her,"Legs" she was 5'10" tall and all legs...That and her getting smacked on the lips by Mick Jagger might just put her in the groupie hall of fame...

fluffy2560 wrote:

Ok, I'll play.

Excellent retort. Bravo. Well done.

Not much to bounce back except:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Correct myself about what?   The US Treasury took the Danish guy's money and the Germans were stuffed too on getting payment.   It was a perfectly legal transaction in the EU but US govt took exception.

How do you know it was a perfectly legal transaction? Just because some news source said it was? Did you contact the US State Department for details? Or the other parties involved? The banks? The seller? The reseller? Did you see all the banking details, and the sales details? Etc. Etc. Etc. Maybe it is more complicated than you know. just saying.

Side note: I like playing fair. So you may also have a point. Read this (scary):

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/us/l … uired.html

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyone, I repeat, anyone who does a transaction in USD with any party anywhere is opening themselves up to being hassled at a whim according to whatever the US decides is against its interests.

I still think you are way -- way -- over paranoid, and are making a huge tempest in a teapot by "Anyone, I repeat, anyone".  Seriously, I will not loose any sleep on my USD purchases of Cuban Cigars.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

zif wrote:

Nobody likes to take the time to write a carefully considered post only to see it tossed in the trash.

Even a carefully crafted off topic reply is an off topic reply in a moderated forum. So if you did not realize that your comment was off topic... oh well. It is up to the forum moderators to make that call. That is the "down side" to a moderated forum. The "up side" is that topics don't go off topic.

But that is why "Absolutely Anything Else" topic exists. A place for you to go off topic. 

Not sure where this one came from in the original posting

From:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 82#4670498

klsallee wrote:

I still think you are way -- way -- over paranoid, and are making a huge tempest in a teapot by "Anyone, I repeat, anyone".  Seriously, I will not loose any sleep on my USD purchases of Cuban Cigars.

Your moderated link stopped me "quoting" so I was more succint below than I would normally be.   It's not only me that's paranoid, it's this new behaviour for posters using links.

I think the cigar thing is just an example of a bigger issue and of course it wasn't about cigars really, it was about extra-territoriality.  Of course, you're now on the edge of legality so if the "man" wanted something to pin on you - anything - they have it on multiple counts of consuming individual cigars and propping up the Cuban regime. 

It could work to your advantage to be involved in "illegal" commerce - the Iranian tanker captain was offered money by the USA to defect with his ship to a jurisdiction for a few million USD. I can see anyone being tempted by that - except he'd need to be in hiding with his family forever.  See here: Tanker Captain Offered Millions

Interesting little dilemma.  I think anyone would have thought about that if it could have established it was a legit offer - cash up front of course.   USA could have then sent a warship or helicopter with marines to grab the ship.  But that would cause issues with Allies in the region.

I'm with Joseph Heller (Catch-22) - ..... just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.   Or whatever.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Your moderated link stopped me "quoting"

The link is now active.

fluffy2560 wrote:

so I was more succint below than I would normally be.   It's not only me that's paranoid, it's this new behaviour for posters using links.

Only links on edited comments are being moderated. But links one puts into posts directly, and then do not edit that post are not moderated. This is not a conspiracy issues, this is just an example poorly planed IT management.

For example, this link will not be moderated, since it will go into my original post and I will not edit this post:

https://www.psypost.org/2018/05/study-c … noid-51216

fluffy2560 wrote:

I think the cigar thing is just an example of a bigger issue and of course it wasn't about cigars really, it was about extra-territoriality.  Of course, you're now on the edge of legality so if the "man" wanted something to pin on you - anything - they have it on multiple counts of consuming individual cigars and propping up the Cuban regime. 

It could work to your advantage to be involved in "illegal" commerce - the Iranian tanker captain was offered money by the USA to defect with his ship to a jurisdiction for a few million USD. I can see anyone being tempted by that - except he'd need to be in hiding with his family forever.  See here: Tanker Captain Offered Millions

Interesting little dilemma.  I think anyone would have thought about that if it could have established it was a legit offer - cash up front of course.   USA could have then sent a warship or helicopter with marines to grab the ship.  But that would cause issues with Allies in the region.

I'm with Joseph Heller (Catch-22) - ..... just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.   Or whatever.

Yeah. Sure. Whatever. See the (un-moderated) link above.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'm with Joseph Heller (Catch-22) - ..... just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.   Or whatever.

By the way, great book. So many quote it, but few of those that quote it have actually read it. I have a copy, and I read it. The antics of Major Major Major Major always made me laugh. But then not. While a persiflage of sorts, and a brilliant joke, which some call an absurd joke, I have actually known such people in real life not too dissimilar, so not so absurd.

And thanks for being a good sport and playing. It was fun.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'm with Joseph Heller (Catch-22) - ..... just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.   Or whatever.

By the way, great book. So many quote it, but few of those that quote it have actually read it. I have a copy, and I read it. The antics of Major Major Major Major always made me laugh. But then not. While a persiflage of sorts, and a brilliant joke, which some call an absurd joke, I have actually known such people in real life not too dissimilar, so not so absurd.

And thanks for being a good sport and playing. It was fun.

I guess it's the new sport to try and stir it up - not really trolling more small talk.  Thanks for thanking me about being a sport about being paranoid but now I'll have to keep wondering what you are up to being so complimentary.  Or was it sarcasm.

Many years ago I did read Catch 22 but I prefer to just watch the TV or movies these days - quicker to get it over with and get the summary.  I read so much for work, I cannot be bothered reading for leisure.

There's a new adaptation of Catch 22 which has a dash of George Clooney in it. Despite him headlining, he's hardly a major character.  He plays training officer Schiesskopf for a bit of an obvious joke of a name.  I've got a soft spot for George C as he's a liberal. 

I think Catch-22 was on Netflix but other sources are available (i.e. downloads).  We've got a Netflix account from the UK so we can watch it sometime.

Persiflage is not a word you hear a lot. In fact, I'm up for admitting I had to look it up - I was quite discombobulated.  Now, that's a word I keep hearing - it's more popular than it was (I first heard it on the TV show Blackadder).   I now try and insert it into conversation. It's sort of quite good as a bit of onomatopoeia.

Been a few days since my sister had her hip replacement surgery and although I told her to forward my e-mail address to her friends I haven't heard a thing as of yet about how she is doing.
Seems my other sib's suck. They have not contacted her, I suppose I will just call her up on my own tomorrow.
She is probably out of it for a bit .
Yes, seeing my husband's arm twisted at a 90 degree angle from
where we usually expect an arm to be was a bit shocking. His screams of pain still ring in my ears.
I think it was more painful then me having a baby, seriously I think so.
Having my son was more like I was pissed off at the medical staff then really being in unreal pain.
I was left alone in a room by myself , having my first baby the pain levels sort of were scary because one didn't actually know how hard they would be. Wasn't as horrible as the movies make it out to be, at least not for me.
I will never forget or forgive the insane medicals staff on Maui who tied my arms and legs down and put gas over my mouth when I told them a big fat no thanks.
The lazy old dam white doc also used forceps on my son for no good reason other then he wanted to get it over with fast. I had a sort of horrible delivery team, they can all rot in hell as far as I care.
When my beautiful white red headed boy was born the nurses started to laugh and say mean stuff about white babies not looking as cute as the local babies did, "he look a kinda
foonnnny." was what they said. " The local babies much more cuta". F them .

I was then left in an empty delivery room while the cleaning lady came in with a mop and  bucket. So unreal , no one would believe it unless they were there.She started to clean the room for the next victim.
I begged a nurse who finally came in the take my BP to stay with me, no way, was all alone until, Show time'. I was in labor by myself for about 2 hours. Every hour or so  anurse would just ask how I was getting along.. wow, thanks a ton.
My husband was in the waiting room, in those days they didn't let the father in unless they were legally married.
Maybe it was good that they physically tied me down becuase I might of gone off the table and beat the hell out of those evil nurses.
When I see on the internet how some women are treated like gold when having a baby it really turns my stomach.
The only blessing was seeing my beautiful. "white funny loooking" son. I tuned out all the negative vibes from these so called "professionals" My  doctor was some old white dude who seemed more interested in hitting the golf course on time then doing his job.
I hardly respect people in the medical field, just seems I've always run into the bad ones, must be a large % of bad ones because I can count the good ones on one hand and the others I've lost count of.
One reason I only had one child didn't want a redo of that horror show.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I guess it's the new sport to try and stir it up - not really trolling more small talk.

Not new sport. Even Thomas Jefferson said, “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” (but he was talking about intellectually based revolutions -- not what we too often see today due to anti-social media).

I play the devil advocate often. Just to see how strong one's real intellectual arguments are on a topic. I test. I question. I probe. Often my questions are hard, biting and maybe bitter. After all, there is no fun playing if the game is easy. Right?

If you give a good intellectual reply, I congratulate you.

But by calling it "small talk", a form of dismissal of a challenge, I do now wonder if you are afraid of being challenged? A symptom of those on both extremes of the political spectrum.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Thanks for thanking me about being a sport about being paranoid but now I'll have to keep wondering what you are up to being so complimentary.  Or was it sarcasm.

It was complimentary. That is, your retorts were well stated and intellectual.

When I am being sarcastic, I usually leave the three little dots to indicate my intent. (such as here).

And no, I do not consider you paranoid. But, yes, I do think you are still a bit basing your comments on conspiracy theories. If you read the article I linked to, you will understand the difference. Basically, paranoid people think everyone is out to get them. Conspiracy people think some group in power (such as the US government via the USD, or even George Soros....) is out to get them. Your comments fall into the later group. 

You 2 dudes are some of the most interesting on this site.
I think it is wise to be a bit paranoid because in all reality the world is twisted and not on your side.
Dog eat dog, or is it human sacrifice?
I used to live with rose colored glasses on but after getting kicked in the pants a few times, I've learned to be a bit wary of everything and everyone.
Sad really to live knowing most people are out to get you one way or the other, be it just passing you in traffic or ripping you off blind.
Sad to say I now understand why and how that old lady down the street would scream at kids on her lawn and  yell whenever anyone rang their door bell...
I, too, love to stir it up, it is fun to see when and where you can cross the line and upset someone for the slightest infraction. call me bad...

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I think it is wise to be a bit paranoid because in all reality the world is twisted and not on your side.
Dog eat dog, or is it human sacrifice?
I used to live with rose colored glasses on but after getting kicked in the pants a few times, I've learned to be a bit wary of everything and everyone.
Sad really to live knowing most people are out to get you one way or the other, be it just passing you in traffic or ripping you off blind.

I live in the countryside. I have become recently extremely paranoid of local conditions. Of many things. This has gotten worse in the last year. And there seems to be a bit of growing Nativism about it.

I put a new super lock on one door recently due to "some local events" that I will not go into.

And I just found a bunch of garbage thrown onto one of my properties yesterday. And a neighbor angrily yelled at me and accused my dog of pooping on their property and me leaving it there (he did not, and even if he did, I pick up all his poop on our walks). This person completely ignored the other half dozen other locals what walk their dogs along this road, and all the weekend tourist with dogs. Oddly, I am the only "foreigner" in the mix. This is just one example, not to mention other issues that have occurred in the past few months. If one wants to be paranoid, one need only look at the toxic environment the current Hungarian Government is creating in Hungary.

So I am constantly now paranoid about what "next" will happen. And my paranoia is about all the local people here around me, because, I have no idea which  of my neighbors is dumping garbage on my properties, etc. Really annoying.

Will my paranoia go to the point I have to buy, at no little expense, brush cameras to record when some idiot dumps garbage on my property? 

Breathing into a paper bag now to reduce my hyperventilation.......... " **

** Anything over three dots (in this case 10 dots) means I am being self sardonic not sarcastic,