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What Floats Your Boat 4

mack

By mack
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marron

marron

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Smoggy said:

Also can recommend a vist to the NASA Deep Space Centre around 40ks SW of Canberra...nice cafe with views also...

 

I presume this is where you found out about the wombat poo. They do serious work at NASA.

 

(The ability to squeeze out cubes from soft material would actually have huge implications for all sorts of processes I believe :lol: )

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wendybr

wendybr

Posted
Posted

WFMB - an email from one of my ex students ( a Chinese International student who got into Sydney Uni at the start of this year)  - the same one who used to send me work at 11.30 pm and wish me a pleasant evening  :lol:....and who wished me Merry Christmas from China on Christmas Eve.

Why do I share these?
 
I guess.... to simply show a little of what I find every day working with these kids - which is, how lovely so many of them are.
 
That isn't the case with them all, of course. For a proportion of these kids - whose parents pay a small fortune into our system for them to be here - there are major problems of adjustment and some do not overcome the language barrier. May are addicted to their mobile phones (seriously -worse than Aussie kids - by far) - and many of these have not survived the rigours of the Chinese education system.
 
But many of these young people have been amongst the loveliest kids I've taught - and I've taught many lovely kids.
 
Many have an excruciating time at first - as 15, 16, 17 year olds...sent overseas to live and study among strangers. But if they survive that, and make something of their opportunities, they become very strong and resilient young people.
 
Anyway, here's what I found in my emails inbox a short time ago...
 
Dear Ms. Br,
 
I’m glad to say “Happy Easter” to my dear teacher.
 
Time goes really fast, everything looks different now. During the first half semester, I can feel pressure and harsh experience, including the course understanding and the significance of the time management. Unfortunately, I get sick recently due to my irregular time management with less sleeping time. Anyways, I promise to get a better sleeping time during the short holiday.
 
However, I made a lot of friends, mostly are really kind and independently powerful. We know each other and communicate different study methods, which is really helpful and beneficial. I also actively attend events and volunteering works in uni societies. Which makes me really tired but enjoyable.
 
How’s Miss going recently, is everything going okay? I hope Miss would have a well enough sleeping time and a wonderful Holiday.
 
 
:):)
 

 

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wendybr

wendybr

Posted
Posted
On 22/01/2019 at 10:28 PM, wendybr said:

It's been 9 days since I returned from my rescue mission with Benny, and for most of those 9 days, he's been kept well away from the others - who all freaked out in their own ways at the sight and smell of an interloper under their roof.

Slowly slowly, and one by one, I've been trying to introduce him to the others...which he is happy about :D (he wants to be one of the gang) but this is the first time he has been able to lounge around in close proximity to even one other.

Progress!! :xbop:

 

On 24/01/2019 at 2:26 PM, SomeGuy1977 said:

I've always found it funny how cats react to new cats being introduced into the family. In every case (which I know isn't unusual), the cat (or cats) have always hated the new cat being introduced to the house and **** fights ensue. My cats have always hated change, and they don't like to share. And god forbid you bring in a dog (which I have done, and the poor creature nearly had an eye taken out by one of the cats; he was a street fighter who ruled the roost and would **** any dog up). Cats seem to hold a permanent grudge against any new animal.

CAT HATERS ALERT!

GO AWAY! 

Forgive my indulgence...but I thought I'd give anyone who is interested an update. Maybe Some Guy?

It's a Benny Br update! :xbop:

I'm enjoying a lazy morning cuppa in bed...with Benny and our two other male cats. All happily snoozing together for the first time.

Two days ago...Benny played chasings with Dora...our youngest female. Hilarious to see this very regal 17 year old galloping through the kitchen after her...then peeping around a corner getting ready to do it again.

Anyway...Two older females are still a bit wary of him...but are generally not too bad.

The other 2 boys and Dora are fine with him.

So...it is possible to integrate a new cat into a household with other cats...but it takes time. It's an individual thing no doubt...because cats are individuals too.

PS Desexed boy cats are far more enjoyable pets than females I've always found....for anyone contemplating getting one.

Not that I've encountered many cat lovers here. :lol::lol:

 

 

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SomeGuy1977

SomeGuy1977

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, wendybr said:

 

CAT HATERS ALERT!

GO AWAY! 

Forgive my indulgence...but I thought I'd give anyone who is interested an update. Maybe Some Guy?

It's a Benny Br update! :xbop:

I'm enjoying a lazy morning cuppa in bed...with Benny and our two other male cats. All happily snoozing together for the first time.

Two days ago...Benny played chasings with Dora...our youngest female. Hilarious to see this very regal 17 year old galloping through the kitchen after her...then peeping around a corner getting ready to do it again.

Anyway...Two older females are still a bit wary of him...but are generally not too bad.ooo

The 2 boys and Dora are fine with him.

So...it is possible to integrate into a household with other cats...but it takes time. It's an individual thing no doubt...because cats are individuals too.

PS Desexed boy cats are far more enjoyable pets than females I've always found....for anyone contemplating getting one.

Not that I've encountered many cat lovers here. :lol::lol:

 

 

That's great that he fits in now!

I'm not too crazy about boy cats though. For me, they're disgusting crapping machines. Love them dearly (mostly), but somehow they find a way to miss the cat tray. This is the case for my daughter's cat Benson (Benny for short, funnily enough!). He's the only boy we have at the moment (and only reason we have him is because he's the 'support' cat; long story for another time). He will crap on the floor NEXT TO A CLEAN TRAY. I am in no doubt that he does it to piss me off. He's THAT kind of cat. And when the boys get old (at least with the previous boys we've had), they don't even bother to look for the tray. You hear that scratching sound, and you move at the speed of light. You have about 3 seconds, or you're cleaning it up.

Any who, the ducks continue to float by boat. They are hilarious without even trying. We have 12 babies at the moment, plus 3 slightly older ones one who have lost most of their yellow feathers (plus the 4 adults, and we've  rescued another dumped duck, so it's quite a pile of duck crap). The boys set up the slip and slide on the weekend. It all up and running, they just want a bit of detergent. We go back outside, and all of the ducks had moved onto the slide and were enjoying a bit of a splash in the water at the bottom. The boys attempts to move them off were met with the honks (from muma ducks), so they just went in and slid anyway. The boys would slide down, the ducks would scatter, the boys would laugh, more honking, they'd get up to go again, and by the time they got to the top (which is only a few meters away), the ducks had moved back in. On it went. At one point, the boys got annoyed with the honking, so they'd splash them, thinking it would shut them up. "They're ducks you twits, they love the water". It only encouraged them further. And when they'd finished, rescue duck moved in and was playing in the pool of water like she'd never seen water in her life. Quacking and splashing like a dog might (well, a dog wouldn't quack obviously) and having a great old time.

The babies are ready to be moved on (probably a bit overdue TBH), so if anyone wants a couple, PM me and I'll see hook you up (assuming my wife hasn't moved them on already).

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wendybr

wendybr

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, SomeGuy1977 said:

I'm not too crazy about boy cats though. For me, they're disgusting crapping machines. Love them dearly (mostly), but somehow they find a way to miss the cat tray. This is the case for my daughter's cat Benson (Benny for short, funnily enough!). He's the only boy we have at the moment (and only reason we have him is because he's the 'support' cat; long story for another time). He will crap on the floor NEXT TO A CLEAN TRAY. I am in no doubt that he does it to piss me off. He's THAT kind of cat. And when the boys get old (at least with the previous boys we've had), they don't even bother to look for the tray. You hear that scratching sound, and you move at the speed of light. You have about 3 seconds, or you're cleaning it up.

Just returning here ....to "The Official Cat and Duck Appreciation Thread" :D for a minute....

Does your Benny have a standard size cat litter tray? If so, There might be a problem with that for him.

2 of our 3 males are BIG cats...one is just very long, and the other is HUGE all round.

The piddling/average sized  cat litter trays (excuse the pun) wouldn't accommodate them at all!

So I use a few of those clear plastic crates with low sides but which are much longer than pet shop trays. I think they're meant to go under beds??

They are big enough for the big boys to actually stand in length-wise, without hanging over the edges.

Just a thought re the problem with your Benny crapping beside clean litter trays.

 

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Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, wendybr said:

Just returning here ....to "The Official "Cat and Duck Appreciation Thread" :D for a minute....

Does your Benny have a standard size cat litter tray? If so, There might be a problem with that for him.

2 of our 3 males are BIG cats...one is just very long, and the other is HUGE all round.

The piddling/average sized  cat litter trays (excuse the pun) wouldn't accommodate them at all!

So I use a few of those clear plastic crates with low sides but which are much longer than pet shop trays. I think they're meant to go under beds??

They are big enough for the big boys to actually stand in length-wise, without hanging over the edges.

Just a thought re the problem with your Benny crapping beside clean litter trays.

 

And this is why i never want cats folks.

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LeeMarvin

LeeMarvin

Posted
Posted
On 20/03/2019 at 7:38 PM, Edinburgh said:

I worked for Westpac for almost 34.5 years. I was made redundant almost 19 years ago. I still have accounts with them.

I met the current local branch manager at business networking events last year. Including one where he took a keen interest in myself and another long serving former employee. 

I opened another account at the local branch a few months ago. The employee looking after us remembered me from my days as treasurer/registrar etc with Emu Plains FC. We got to talking about a few things. Mention was made of Westpac's book of its 200 year history, expecting I would have received a copy, but I hadn't. 

Got a call yesterday asking me to call in when next in Penrith. Called in today. The manager had managed to get a few copies and gave me one!

Rapt.

 

Why did the kid throw his bank passbook in the ocean?

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SomeGuy1977

SomeGuy1977

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, wendybr said:

Just returning here ....to "The Official Cat and Duck Appreciation Thread" :D for a minute....

Does your Benny have a standard size cat litter tray? If so, There might be a problem with that for him.

2 of our 3 males are BIG cats...one is just very long, and the other is HUGE all round.

The piddling/average sized  cat litter trays (excuse the pun) wouldn't accommodate them at all!

So I use a few of those clear plastic crates with low sides but which are much longer than pet shop trays. I think they're meant to go under beds??

They are big enough for the big boys to actually stand in length-wise, without hanging over the edges.

Just a thought re the problem with your Benny crapping beside clean litter trays.

 

Thanks Wendy.

It's more about when he does it. I'll yell at him for something (fighting with the others, or knocking something off the table or whatever), or even I'll just put him outside so he can go do his business and enjoy a bit of sun. I'll find the 'payback' on the floor not long afterwards. 

Benny isn't the biggest of boys by any means, but I'll take what you've said and give it go. Can't make it any worse really, can it? :unknw:

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wendybr

wendybr

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, SomeGuy1977 said:

Thanks Wendy.

It's more about when he does it. I'll yell at him for something (fighting with the others, or knocking something off the table or whatever), or even I'll just put him outside so he can go do his business and enjoy a bit of sun. I'll find the 'payback' on the floor not long afterwards. 

Benny isn't the biggest of boys by any means, but I'll take what you've said and give it go. Can't make it any worse really, can it? :unknw:

Hahahahahahaha! and  :rofl:

Sorry!

The idea of disciplining a cat is....funny!

And the idea of him delivering a payback is equally funny!  :D

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Prydzopolis

Prydzopolis

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, wendybr said:

Does your Benny have a standard size cat litter tray? If so, There might be a problem with that for him.

Can I recommend something for your litter issues? 

We had the same issues as above, my issue would be the small trays would last a day or so, the big white tubs were marginally better but still somehow managed to get out of the box. And the smell :bad:

We ended up with a dog kennel type enclosure with a doggy door that worked brilliantly. Not only did it keep all the poop inside but the smell problem was significantly better. The litter bags are never big enough but this made life much easier for us. Doesn't stop the occasional slippage especially from the younger one who always needs a clean litter :rolleyes:

I it appears I have traded for dealing with one kind of poo to another :rolleyes: 

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wendybr

wendybr

Posted
Posted

Had a lovely chat tonight over dinner with a 24 year old girl....who wanted to talk about how much both Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand meant to her. She is not a bit political.Wouldn't know a thing about the "Alt-Right".

I've watched a number of their discussions.

There wasn't an intro to this one - but Russell Brand, former heroin addict, and JP are well attuned in this conversation (well they have been in all the discussions I've watched).

It seems that they are kind of comparing their ideas about beating addictions, and undergoing transformations....and their "rules' for life in general. 

Some interesting (if abstract) discussion points.

 

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StringerBellend

StringerBellend

Posted
Posted (edited)
12 hours ago, wendybr said:

Had a lovely chat tonight over dinner with a 24 year old girl....who wanted to talk about how much both Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand meant to her. She is not a bit political.Wouldn't know a thing about the "Alt-Right".

I've watched a number of their discussions.

There wasn't an intro to this one - but Russell Brand, former heroin addict, and JP are well attuned in this conversation (well they have been in all the discussions I've watched).

It seems that they are kind of comparing their ideas about beating addictions, and undergoing transformations....and their "rules' for life in general. 

Some interesting (if abstract) discussion points.

 

Ask her how the whole young people not voting thing turned out in the UK? 

 

Edited by StringerBellend
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Smoggy

Smoggy

Posted
Posted (edited)
40 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Ask her how the whole young people not voting thing turned out in the UK? 

 

It that in reference to brexit? If so that is partly true, but as always with brexit it is never that straightforward. I went on a tour of my sons new high school a month or so back and I went in to an English classroom and on the walls they had brexit projects. Each student had written an overview of what it was, and why they thought it happened. I would say about 20% were well thought out and impressively close and considered each side of the argument well. The remaining 80% were stunningly bad and straight from far left (green party) type social media. There were a few that were incredibly condescending to people from the north of England and branding them all a certain type lol

The wife just told me to move on and that they were just kids projects and pulled me away from the teacher before I opened my mouth and got my son thrown out before even starting :D

Edited by Smoggy
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StringerBellend

StringerBellend

Posted
Posted
39 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

It that in reference to brexit? If so that is partly true, but as always with brexit it is never that straightforward. I went on a tour of my sons new high school a month or so back and I went in to an English classroom and on the walls they had brexit projects. Each student had written an overview of what it was, and why they thought it happened. I would say about 20% were well thought out and impressively close and considered each side of the argument well. The remaining 80% were stunningly bad and straight from far left (green party) type social media. There were a few that were incredibly condescending to people from the north of England and branding them all a certain type lol

The wife just told me to move on and that they were just kids projects and pulled me away from the teacher before I opened my mouth and got my son thrown out before even starting :D

Reference to Brand going on a rant about How he didn’t vote and young people shouldn’t until a party for them exists, including a childish all politicians are the same bit, given that the Tories got in again it turned out really well

He’s all style over substance 

 

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wendybr

wendybr

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, StringerBellend said:

Reference to Brand going on a rant about How he didn’t vote and young people shouldn’t until a party for them exists, including a childish all politicians are the same bit, given that the Tories got in again it turned out really well

He’s all style over substance 

 

Oh sorry...just saw this.

I like his desperate sincerity...and that he has battled his demons...and is hopefully winning.

He is a spiritual  "seeker", from what I have seen of him.

Bit he seems unnrealistically naive on some issues.

And that's a ridiculous position to take, I agree.

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