News from Forum Participants

[Nonc Hilaire]

images (2).jpeg

That lawn furniture meme is popular in Brooklyn right now.

[Typhoon]

I was surprised to learn that one of the largest series of earthquakes that occurred in the continental US was in the area of of what is now Missouri.

Wikipedia | 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes

Estimated intensity range of 7.2 to 8.6.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Survived the Great Quake of 2024.

What, no, not the serious ones in the Pacific. The tiny little one which freaked out the media because it happened to them right in Manhattan.

Felt throughout the northeast; the aftershock we felt seemed to last longer than the initial earthquake.

Glad to learn that you survived

For comparison, the Taiwan earthquake was about 316 times more powerful than the one that rattled the chattering classes in New York.

I can only imagine.

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The news of the non-event did produce a bit of trivia I wasn't aware of: NYC skyscrapers are built to withstand up to a 6.2 on the Richter Scale.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Post some pictures, HP!

For sure will .. 3 days Tokyo, 3 days Kyoto, 3 days Tokyo and back

Shabu Shabu, here we come.

.

How was the trip HP?

[Heracleum Persicum]

Post some pictures, HP!

For sure will .. 3 days Tokyo, 3 days Kyoto, 3 days Tokyo and back

Shabu Shabu, here we come.

.

How was the trip HP ?

.

Very very interesting

Was 3 nights in Tokyo .. Tokyo is NYC style but 100 time nicer, very high end .. stayed in Ginza, beautiful streets .. Japanese extremely polite AND friendly, and helpful, very discreet

Tokyo is very clean .. smoking and eating on the street not allowed, fined Yen 1000 .. one sees real wealth .. Asakusa district nice, looked around many places.

But

The real action is Kyoto

Took bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, 2 hrs , 280 km/hr speed

Stayed in Kyoto centre, 3 night, did not use taxi or bus, did walk all to mingle with .. people much more relaxed (In Tokyo life is fast) and fun

Kyoto is the real classic Japan .. real, still active, full of very beautiful still active Temples in Gion & Miyagawa region, you can see real Geisha

Kiyomizu-dera｜清水寺.png (5.87 MiB) Viewed 2065 times

https://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/en/visit/

https://www.discoverkyoto.com/places-go/kiyomizu-dera/


https://www.snowmonkeyresorts.com/activ ... ka-pagoda/


Many very beautiful, still active Temples AND Shrines .. Weekend pretty much all Japanese mostly (men and women) with Kimono in many "Shrines" .. bought a real antique silk Kimono from MAIKO ANTIQUES KYOTO .. Tea Ceremony must attend with Kimono

All Kyoto is full of very nice, mostly white, Cherry blossom trees .. Beginning April is the best time to go, not later

Food was excellent and not expensive in Kyoto .. had twice Shabu-Shabu in Kyoto, $ 40 per persone, including beer and all in (there no tip in Japan) .. Excellent Sushi .. only expensive is Kobe Beef, had once just to see what it is , Canadian beef as good or even better (for me). Beer is best beer, for some reason Whisky is cheaper than beer in restaurants, Japanese Whisky premium, Japanese drink whisky like you drink Coca Cola with food.

Kyoto hotels have also Thermal bath (spa) as Kyoto is next to volcano .. men and women separate, and must go NAKED.

ZIPAir flies non stop fron Los Angeles, San Fran and Vancouver .. non stop, 8 hrs

Narita is outside Tokyo, must take bus or train, $ 15 each

I had bought a "Data SIM" .. connection was fast and excellent everywhere even in Bullet train

Very few Japanese speak english, but they all very helpful

Funny thing is neither going nor coming back I had any "JetLag" , although Vancouver/Japan time difference is 16 hours .. I did not feel any discomfort .. Took off Narita airport 3:40 PM , Arrived vancouver same day 8:30 AM .. gained 1 whole day

More later
.

[Typhoon]

Glad to read that you enjoyed your trip to Japan.

Your timing with regards to 花見 | hanami - cherry blossom viewing this year was spot on.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

I've been perfecting my homemade won ton soup.

Easy to make; hard to master.

The local Chinese restaurant-- I think they changed their name to a general Asian recently after a brief stop as a Chinese/Japanese restaurant-- has become too costly (starting before the pandemic) AND too varying on quality.

There was an old Chinese lady who owned it, and for a while I didn't mind the higher prices because however she ran it, the food always came out well.

In the last few years, her grandchildren have been running it and its just all over the place in terms of what you're getting.

[noddy]

nice, if i got round to making pork and prawn dumplings Id just eat them instead of then making a soup for it

shumai dipped in chilli oil is good stuff.

the fancy meal ive slowly been perfecting is malay beef rendang - a slow cooked coconut and ginger curry type dish thats super rich and one of my all time faves - impossible to buy a decent one in my area.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

The holy grail is the dumpling. We've done it in and out of soup and for whatever reason, the consensus is that our dumpling method is good but not quite there yet; we are missing something to take it to a next level.

----------------------

malay beef rendang

This is completely new to me; my knowledge of southeast asian foods is very narrow.

[noddy]

I tried to make japanese gyoza dumplings a few times but we have such good dim sum around i tend to just go for dumpling feasts.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

We went to a minor league baseball game for fathers day.

It was a fine day overall, everyone seemed to have a good time.

There was this toddler, or maybe just a small child-- it was a very small, delicate looking family-- who may have been the most out of control kid I've ever seen.

She was not boisterous or crying or throwing a tantrum. I've seen a special tantrum or two just having worked at a toy store as an afterschool job; those kids burn out within minutes, little embarrassing but no problem.

This little girl was absolutely recalcitrant, with a permanent scowl etched into her face. She refused to sit in her seat, refused to be distracted by anything going on the field, even refused ice cream. For most of the game, she wanted to stand in the middle of the aisle, arms crossed, looking at the concrete steps. Then she decided to just stand in front of me. "Honey, honey, let the man have his space." "You're in his space, please move."

Nothing. It was very strange. I didn't want to say a single word because nothing good could come out of getting involved with someone else's kid and she took up so little room that there wasn't a problem but I kept thinking, "just pick her up; she's clearly beyond reasoning."

[Nonc Hilaire]

This being Father’s Day, I suggest you practice screwing up your brow and shouting, “OUT!” with your thumb in her face like a recently divorced umpire.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

It's just a warning of the petulant monsters to come- ours may be a grim future.

[Typhoon]

This seems like the thread to post this suggestion.

If any of the active posters know of someone who they think would be interested in this forum and would make a contribution,
then please suggest OTNOT to them.

[Doc]

This seems like the thread to post this suggestion.

If any of the active posters know of someone who they think would be interested in this forum and would make a contribution,
then please suggest OTNOT to them.

What I have noticed is that the forum is not getting results in the search engines for what is posted here. IE people aren't seeing it outside of the current membership. Have you informed the search engines that the forum exists?

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Took a much needed vacation. Not much a beach person but love the water; the water was freezing cold and incredibly aggressive the past week, as the remnants of the hurricane which hit...well, I was so unplugged, I don't know exactly where it hit but someone told me it hit somewhere and was making his or her way up the coast.

So the beaches were practically empty except for a few scattered families and surfers out in full force.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

Took a much needed vacation. Not much a beach person but love the water; the water was freezing cold and incredibly aggressive the past week, as the remnants of the hurricane which hit...well, I was so unplugged, I don't know exactly where it hit but someone told me it hit somewhere and was making his or her way up the coast.

So the beaches were practically empty except for a few scattered families and surfers out in full force.

I hope no sharks......'>.....

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Took a much needed vacation. Not much a beach person but love the water; the water was freezing cold and incredibly aggressive the past week, as the remnants of the hurricane which hit...well, I was so unplugged, I don't know exactly where it hit but someone told me it hit somewhere and was making his or her way up the coast.

So the beaches were practically empty except for a few scattered families and surfers out in full force.

I hope no sharks......'>.....

We were on an island where one side was the ocean and the other a bay. For several nights, the whole party spent a small part of the evening watching the bay, because the bay side had a lot more marine&avian life activity which the little ones were extremely fascinated by.

One evening, this rather large fin kept emerging at some distance to the waters surface. I have no clue what creature it was but the little ones convinced themselves it was a shark. I thought better of correcting it because it was pure enthusiasm to "see a shark" and "crabs as big as they were" and "snakes" (little watery worms) to go along with all the very active birds and they kept wanting to go back to see what would happen next.

The Atlantic side of things was a lot less busy, probably because of the great unrest heading up the coastline.

I've not been in a long while but there were several days where the waters were actually clear and you could see the sea floor out to a certain extent-- that's something I've only noticed farther down south, like at the gulf of Mexico or Caribbean or Floridian beaches.

There were also a strange absence of jellyfish and seaweed which, memory served, could liter the shoreline at any given time.

My niece says she came across a jellyfish but we couldn't figure out which species she was describing.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

Well, I guess that's a cue for the musical interlude.....;>........

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Pros and Cons of a German Shepard pup?

Have a chance at a free pick of the litter. Tempted with the free part.

The Cons that immediately come to mind:

1) Don't know the lineage, German Shepards can have some really nasty health problems.

2) Require vigorous training. As I've never trained a dog to do anything, don't even know what lazy training means. Might not want to start with a dog that are naturally aggressive if not trained properly.

3) The cat is deeply anxious as it is. I can't see in the mind's eye how I introduce another animal into the household without the cat being permanently upset.

[Nonc Hilaire]

Never had a German Shepherd, but I’ve found if you start with a female pup and just give them positive attention they are always good dogs.

Used dogs are iffy. Males tend to run and maintain an independent streak.

[noddy]

in australia atleast, shepards are usually lovely dogs that often come with hip dysplasia prolems, vet checking before commiting to a lifetime of bills is worth it.

training is wise but you will only get really bad outcomes from neglect, dogs are social animals and will fit in with the rules of the house provided they are included and get some rules.

you might be surprised with the cat, or might not be - a good mannered dog will be gentle with it.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Did not know the Australian Shepherd is a California creation

The Australian Shepherd is a breed of herding dog from the United States. The name of the breed is technically a misnomer, as it was developed in California in the 19th century. It is believed to have its origins in sheepdog breeds from northwest Spain, as well as collies imported, alongside sheep, from Australia and New Zealand; the breed reportedly took its name from this trade. Originally used solely as a herding dog, the Australian Shepherd has become one of the most popular companion dog breeds in North America.

I am confident enough that the dog will not run roughshod; and I'm 99% sure we're going female.

I do worry a lot about the cat and not from the dog itself. She is really a furball of anxiety and it would be terrible if she couldn't adapt to a new, introduced animal.

At the same time, I've toyed around with the idea that maybe another animal companion would make her feel better. We've even thought of a new kitten after hearing stories about new kittens bringing mature cats out of their shells...maybe some mothering instincts would kick it.

That could go in the complete opposite direction, so who knows? It's an awful big roll of the dice.

Anyway, as for the pup, we've another few days to decide.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

That being said, the cat over the years has made some really great strides. Unfortunately, it's probably as far as it's going to go. She's a one person cat.

We put a lot of time into getting a point where she'll sit comfortably out in the open (when she wants to) or look to be petted and so on....she even surprised us when she started vocalizing a few years back out of nowhere....

thing is though, that's only with the missus. Every one else is within polite detente at best if there isn't too much movement. If you bend over away from her on the opposite side of the room, her flight response kicks it. It's really the darnest thing.

The funny part is that I was the one who played with her every day as a kitten and sat there feeding her by hand or just sat at the food dish so she'd associate me with positive feelings and none of it stuck. She'll accept food from me but only reluctantly.

And while she's gotten older and plays a lot less naturally, it's also become very difficult to do so at all because she developed this habit where she'll start the act of playing and then immediately, go and hide. I've said it before, it's all flight and flight responses with her.