|
Post by Karen on Sept 27, 2003 18:13:17 GMT -5
Also brush fires, don't want to forget those, and the resultant mudslides and flash floods! And the 75mph Santa Ana (very hot) winds that drive the brush fires... And smog... Tell me again why I live here? Oh, yeah, family. I knew there had to be a reason. Yep, family - same reason I live in the middle of corn country. Boring, flat scenery, corn and bean fields for miles, muddy rivers, NO OCEAN BEACHES, tornados, humid summers, cold, nasty winters. No neat mountains to ski down, not enough snow to ski cross-country. Closest ocean 22 hours by car, closest mountain 14 hours.
|
|
|
Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on Sept 27, 2003 18:18:20 GMT -5
I wouldn't have thought the Australian bush was desert. Too many trees (Eucalypts, wattles and banksias) and ferns and other shrubs, but my geographical knowledge is abysmal so I am probably wrong. I love the Eucalypts too, even if they do drop branches making it hard for councils to choose to plant them. There is no snow in South Australia and barring bush-fires and occassional minor flooding there are no natural disasters to fear. South Australia is on an inactive fault-line aparrently. Snakes and red-back spiders are a problem, but most people don't worry and the bites are not widely publicised making me think it is not a common occurrence. Ditto for sharks. California desert is pretty lively, full of bunnies, tortoises, coyotes and other wildlife, and cacti, and yuccas and Joshua trees - it varies depending on the location and altitude. The desert in Restless is also California, but sand dunes where not much grows. Actually, a lot of plants and animals get transplanted to California - palm trees, eucalyptus, koalas and kangaroos at the San Diego zoo - it's a wonder we have any native plants and animals left at all, now that I think of it.
|
|
|
Post by Kerrie on Sept 28, 2003 2:43:10 GMT -5
California desert is pretty lively, full of bunnies, tortoises, coyotes and other wildlife, and cacti, and yuccas and Joshua trees - it varies depending on the location and altitude. The desert in Restless is also California, but sand dunes where not much grows. Actually, a lot of plants and animals get transplanted to California - palm trees, eucalyptus, koalas and kangaroos at the San Diego zoo - it's a wonder we have any native plants and animals left at all, now that I think of it. We have a lot of introduced species too. Rabbits, cats, dogs, cane-toads are all a menace in Australia. Ditto for introduced species of plant. When an Ameerican friend sent me some chocolate and Twinkies it got radiated as part of our quarantine reqirements.
|
|
|
Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on Sept 28, 2003 10:46:15 GMT -5
We have a lot of introduced species too. Rabbits, cats, dogs, cane-toads are all a menace in Australia. Ditto for introduced species of plant. When an Ameerican friend sent me some chocolate and Twinkies it got radiated as part of our quarantine reqirements. I've read about Australia's problems with invading species; it's really hard on the native ones, isn't it. I'm sure the Twinkie wasn't damaged at all - those things will survive the next nuclear holocaust. How did you like our American junk food?
|
|
|
Post by Kerrie on Sept 28, 2003 16:43:38 GMT -5
I've read about Australia's problems with invading species; it's really hard on the native ones, isn't it. I'm sure the Twinkie wasn't damaged at all - those things will survive the next nuclear holocaust. How did you like our American junk food? Australian native animals are mostly vegetarian or eat only insects. They don't have many preditors except the introduced species. I think the only native mammallian predators in Australia are dingoes (and they are after everyone), Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian Tigers (extinct). However, Australia's quarantine requirements have kept things like Foot and Mouth Disease and rabies out of the country, even if it doesn't keep much else out. I don't think the Twinkies were damaged. The chocolates definitely weren't. On other occassions I have tasted Hershey bars and Wonka bars and I did not like them. I am a big fan of all Mars products. The chocolates I received were from Lilacs and they were divine. The Twinkies must be an acquired taste. They were too sweet for all of us, including the kids. Ian soldiered through a couple, but that is because he is a stoic.
|
|
|
Post by Micha on Sept 28, 2003 17:12:10 GMT -5
Canadian housing... Hmmm... Pretty much like northern US housing. Mostly wood structure buildings except in large centres where high rises have begun multiplying. Thank goodness! I say this because Ottawa currently has a vacancy rate of 0.05% so finding housing is a chore, and affordable housing is becoming nonexistant. This trend is not helped by the fact that the city is selling off much of the remaining land in the centre of town for condominiums. (starting at half a million dollars for a 650 square foot one bedroom condo.) Ottawa isn't like most large cities though. Because we are the national capital the downtown core is full of government building, museums, art galleries and parks. Lots and lots of parks. The older parts of the city are built of brick and stone while the newer housing in the suburbs is more of the two storey variety. Many townhouses are being built to fill the housing demand (row houses with postage stamp sized back yards). Many people commute from the outskirts to the core using the bus system (pretty good) and some people actually do the reverse and travel to work in Kanata (silicon valley north. Home of many of the larger (but shrinking) computer companies like Nortel, Alcatel, Cisco...) Ottawa has an odd character since it is really a recent ammalgamation of several municipalities, Ottawa, Nepean, Vanier, Kanata, Orleans... so you actually have to travel through farmland to get to other parts of the city. The outlying centres, like Kanata, are home to huge strip malls with their vast acres of parking lots located were farms stood just 3 years ago along with planned communities of townhouses and small detached and semi-detached homes all looking far too similar, leading to nightmares about not being able to find the right house. And if that wasn't enough diversity, Ottawa isn't really a stand alone city. Ottawa really is the National Capital Region which includes Ottawa/Hull. Or should I say Ottawa/Gatineau since Hull just underwent an amalgamation of it's own, gobbling up Gatineau and Aylmer. Each of these hamlets has their own character and especially since Hull is on the Québec side of the Ottawa river. Suddenly you go from the bilingual signs in Ottawa (since it is the capital of a bilingual country) to the unilingual French signs in Hull. Travel too far from Ottawa in Ontario and all the signs become English... Hull (I still call it Hull although it officially became Gatineau a few weeks ago) is crammed full of office buildings for civil servants (like me) amidst the factories (like Scott Paper which is across the street from my office in downtown Hull. No kidding!) Hull is still a small town (at least it feels like it in the downtown core) and is less touristy than the Ottawa side although Hull is home to the stuning architecture of the Museum of Civilizations. (gotta go see some pictures of this, stuning work my a Native Architect.) www.civilization.ca/cmc/genereng.htmlHey that's my office building in the central background of the middle picture! Okay. I've droned on enough to bore you all to tears. Micha
|
|
|
Post by Kerrie on Sept 28, 2003 17:13:47 GMT -5
Yep, family - same reason I live in the middle of corn country. Boring, flat scenery, corn and bean fields for miles, muddy rivers, NO OCEAN BEACHES, tornados, humid summers, cold, nasty winters. No neat mountains to ski down, not enough snow to ski cross-country. Closest ocean 22 hours by car, closest mountain 14 hours. It sounds like John Denvor country. I can appreciate the flatness and the muddy rivers. I can even empathise with the humid summers, I experienced those in Melbourne. But no beaches! That would be harsh! I love the beach and the furtherest I have lived fromit would be about 1.5 hour's drive in Melbourne and Launceston. Australians are largely coast dwelling.
|
|
|
Post by Kerrie on Sept 28, 2003 17:26:42 GMT -5
Ottawa does sound a bit different with the farming districts in the middle and the bi-lingualism. When you talk about affordable housing do you mean to rent or buy. Except for Sydney and Melbourne, the great Australian dream, which is largely achievable, is for people to buy their own homes. In South Australia the state government matches the National government $7000 new home-owners grant so that people can put a deposit down on a house. It is keeping the building (and banking) industry ticking over.
|
|
|
Post by Micha on Sept 28, 2003 17:38:40 GMT -5
Ottawa does sound a bit different with the farming districts in the middle and the bi-lingualism. When you talk about affordable housing do you mean to rent or buy. Except for Sydney and Melbourne, the great Australian dream, which is largely achievable, is for people to buy their own homes. In South Australia the state government matches the National government $7000 new home-owners grant so that people can put a deposit down on a house. It is keeping the building (and banking) industry ticking over. Ottawa, at least the old-Ottawa, was surrounded by the "green-belt", a no construction zone. Beyond the green-belt lay farmlands and then the satelite communities. When these outlying communities were gobbled up, the green-belt and farming areas were necessarily taken as well. So to get to my favourite movie theatre I have to drive past corn fields. The housing market is bad for renting or for buying. There is such a backlog for builders that they can charge exhorbitant rates for half-a$$ed work. New homes (and small ones at that) run an average of $250,000 to $300,000 provided you don't mind commuting a few hours to and from work. A house within old-Ottawa city limits? you don't even want to know... Ottawa also has two major Universities as well as numerous smaller universities and colleges, so students abound and every little dingy little apartment is going for ridiculous prices. There are students in my building who are living four to a one bedroom apartment... Really crazy. Apartment prices are better in Hull, but the taxes are higher in Québec and apartments don't necessarily come with a stove and refrigerator (you actually have to bring your own.) M
|
|
|
Post by Becky H on Sept 29, 2003 7:59:00 GMT -5
Since this fit my qualifications for my posts (asinine and completely random), I thought I would share this interesting article from Yahoo. story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=2&u=/nm/20030926/od_nm/britain_dogging_dcSex with Strangers Dogging English Parks
LONDON (Reuters) - Voyeurs and exhibitionists drawn to outdoor fun have discovered erotic pleasures in normally placid English parks that have nothing to do with walking the dog.
"Dogging," a term that loosely describes a variety of sex acts performed outdoors or in parked cars in front of strangers (and sometimes with them), has become such a craze that health authorities have warned against its dangers.
The term "dogging" apparently comes from those who claim only to be "taking the dog for a walk" -- but are actually on the prowl for something more.
Web sites have sprung up across Britain extolling the pleasures of sex under the stars and online message boards list the best parks and carparks to watch people express themselves.
Becky - better watch out! ;D
Brought to you by Lee, who is proud to bring you the most inane, random posts imaginable.
LEE - ALWAYS RANDOMI promise I'll be careful but I think I'm a little too far north for most of this. The aberrant behavior you're most likely to see here is something called the Naked Mile. There's a pub just outside the far gate to Harlaxton and from that gate back up to the Manor is a mile. The (mostly) student tradition here is to get hammered at the pub, disrobe, and run (or stagger) the mile back home. For this to be an official Naked Mile, there must be witnesses. Other than the 24-hour closed circuit surveillance camera tape, that is!
|
|
|
Post by John G on Sept 29, 2003 11:42:28 GMT -5
I'm sitting here at work with no assignment, so, what the hell, I'll add to the forum here. This week-end was pretty uneventful, but yesterday afternoon I lost all patience with the kids. Usually, I try to focus on being a Cosby (understanding, pateint) mixed with John Amos (strict disciplinarian) type father (for those of you unfamiliar with John Amos, you simply must give Good Times a chance. I know it may be something unfamiliar, and something you can't relate to on all fours, but its a great comedy, at least for the first 2 years). I also try to be a good husband, and give Vicky some time off from dealing with the Rugrats over the week-end. But yesterday, after having woken up with Anya at 4 a.m., I begin to lose my patience with both Anya and Xavier by afternoon. I was watching the football games, which usually relax me, but it didn't help. But early evening, I had to ask Vicky to take them and keep them away from me. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't fly into a rage and beat the crap out of them, but I yelled alot (and poor Anya doesn't get it, and is whining about stuff beyond her control- excpet the I Want Daddy to Carry Me Around crying). Anyway, I feel so bad that I got like that, which I usually don't. And poor Victoria had to deal with both all night. I just called home and she's exhausted and barely speaking (not out of anger, but out of exhaustion). Not sure what pushed me to that point, but it's not a side of me I like.
|
|
|
Post by karalee on Sept 29, 2003 12:07:00 GMT -5
I'm sitting here at work with no assignment, so, what the hell, I'll add to the forum here. This week-end was pretty uneventful, but yesterday afternoon I lost all patience with the kids. Usually, I try to focus on being a Cosby (understanding, pateint) mixed with John Amos (strict disciplinarian) type father (for those of you unfamiliar with John Amos, you simply must give Good Times a chance. I know it may be something unfamiliar, and something you can't relate to on all fours, but its a great comedy, at least for the first 2 years). I also try to be a good husband, and give Vicky some time off from dealing with the Rugrats over the week-end. But yesterday, after having woken up with Anya at 4 a.m., I begin to lose my patience with both Anya and Xavier by afternoon. I was watching the football games, which usually relax me, but it didn't help. But early evening, I had to ask Vicky to take them and keep them away from me. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't fly into a rage and beat the crap out of them, but I yelled alot (and poor Anya doesn't get it, and is whining about stuff beyond her control- excpet the I Want Daddy to Carry Me Around crying). Anyway, I feel so bad that I got like that, which I usually don't. And poor Victoria had to deal with both all night. I just called home and she's exhausted and barely speaking (not out of anger, but out of exhaustion). Not sure what pushed me to that point, but it's not a side of me I like. I know how it gets sometimes, John. With each additional child I find myself with less and less patience. I went all psycho-mom on Tabitha before school on Thursday. As a matter of fact I'm about to do it again at this moment. Tabitha is the most particular child about what she is wearing so she is crying about her pants right now. I know I'm not going to make you feel better, but I think every parent has times like that. Remember that Cliff Huxtable was a fictional parent. He had patience written for him. I'll bet Bill Cosby had days where he blew up at his children. (As I write this, Tabitha is getting closer and closer to a good yelling at) I don't know what else to tell you. I'm sure you are a wonderful father and a little yelling won't change that. BTW. I used to watch Good Times everyday after school (reruns of course). I always loved it
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Sept 29, 2003 12:14:56 GMT -5
I'm sitting here at work with no assignment, so, what the hell, I'll add to the forum here. This week-end was pretty uneventful, but yesterday afternoon I lost all patience with the kids. Usually, I try to focus on being a Cosby (understanding, pateint) mixed with John Amos (strict disciplinarian) type father (for those of you unfamiliar with John Amos, you simply must give Good Times a chance. I know it may be something unfamiliar, and something you can't relate to on all fours, but its a great comedy, at least for the first 2 years). I also try to be a good husband, and give Vicky some time off from dealing with the Rugrats over the week-end. But yesterday, after having woken up with Anya at 4 a.m., I begin to lose my patience with both Anya and Xavier by afternoon. I was watching the football games, which usually relax me, but it didn't help. But early evening, I had to ask Vicky to take them and keep them away from me. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't fly into a rage and beat the crap out of them, but I yelled alot (and poor Anya doesn't get it, and is whining about stuff beyond her control- excpet the I Want Daddy to Carry Me Around crying). Anyway, I feel so bad that I got like that, which I usually don't. And poor Victoria had to deal with both all night. I just called home and she's exhausted and barely speaking (not out of anger, but out of exhaustion). Not sure what pushed me to that point, but it's not a side of me I like. Sounds like a classic stress-response, John. Don't be too hard on yourself, the kids will survive. When I get in that (leave me the heck alone) mood, I put on some music *really* loud - and sing to it. If nothing else, it drowns out the kids' noise. I think we get so in-tune to our children's needs, that we forget about our own. And little bitty children need that constant attention and vigil that really saps our energy. More mental stress than physical, altho, I tend to feel it affecting the body physically. Also, make sure you are eating right and taking vitamins. The body in constant stress-mode really depletes the B vitamins. Take extras of those and you will probably feel more energetic.
|
|
|
Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on Sept 29, 2003 14:11:17 GMT -5
I'm sitting here at work with no assignment, so, what the hell, I'll add to the forum here. This week-end was pretty uneventful, but yesterday afternoon I lost all patience with the kids. Usually, I try to focus on being a Cosby (understanding, pateint) mixed with John Amos (strict disciplinarian) type father (for those of you unfamiliar with John Amos, you simply must give Good Times a chance. I know it may be something unfamiliar, and something you can't relate to on all fours, but its a great comedy, at least for the first 2 years). I also try to be a good husband, and give Vicky some time off from dealing with the Rugrats over the week-end. But yesterday, after having woken up with Anya at 4 a.m., I begin to lose my patience with both Anya and Xavier by afternoon. I was watching the football games, which usually relax me, but it didn't help. But early evening, I had to ask Vicky to take them and keep them away from me. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't fly into a rage and beat the crap out of them, but I yelled alot (and poor Anya doesn't get it, and is whining about stuff beyond her control- excpet the I Want Daddy to Carry Me Around crying). Anyway, I feel so bad that I got like that, which I usually don't. And poor Victoria had to deal with both all night. I just called home and she's exhausted and barely speaking (not out of anger, but out of exhaustion). Not sure what pushed me to that point, but it's not a side of me I like. John, what you did was understandable. You and Vicky are under a huge strain right now. Mine still drive me to madness sometimes, and they're nearly 11 and 15, and should know better. The important thing is, you knew you needed help, and you asked for it before things got out of hand. Hang in there, you're a good dad. Hug everyone when you get home; they know you love them already, but you could probably use a hug too.
|
|
|
Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on Sept 29, 2003 14:14:31 GMT -5
I just read everyone else's posts: Hugs all around!!!!! {{{ }}} Is this how you do a cyber-hug? It's meant to be one. Back to the real world now...
|
|