threadkillers

[seashore]

Since we have lost our way back to the thread having it posted somehwere other then chat it may hang around longer. So this time our breadcrumbs lead back to Other Subjects, sounds fascinating doesn't it?!

Anyway, NWG, KAQ, TW, and others, all welcome, to loiter and banter, I hope my link works cause they seldom have in the past.

Look! I killed it!

Hey AMB and TW glad to see you guys are back, I was considering getting a Mad Men boxset as I haven't seen any of it and everyones seems to like it so much.

We're down to the last mince pies here now, although it's dh and dd that eat them, I'm not big on Christmas food as I don't like dried fruit which seems to be in it all!

Hope you're safe there in Australia Thumbwitch? well away from the flooding, it's terrible, all so sudden, a lot of Irish over there too.

Thanks seashore - I am safe but there is a MN thread with lots of Queensland MNers on it who are affected, some directly. It's quite harrowing, even when we are safe ourselves. We have friends in Brisbane but luckily they live at the top of a reasonable hill so they are unlikely to have their house affected; but they might be cut off by flood waters.

It is desperate up there - so sad and I hope that it isn't as bad as they're predicting.

We ate the last of the mincepies yesterday and DS was sooo disappointed, he wants me to make some more. I might - they were rather yum! (I love Christmas food and dried fruity things, sorry!)

I'm desparately trying to shed the pounds that xmas has put on! I'm being really strict with myself, its not much fun, but I've prmised myself that I will lose the rest of the baby (and xmas)weight I started my diet on Sunday at 10 stone 11 and not even 1 leftover xmas chocolate has passed my lips. :(

Jeans are feeling a bit loose tho!

Really glad you're not in the flood zone TW! Did I just read right about a shark? In the streets? off to check, really should be in bed, back soon!

Holy crap! shark in the park!!!

Heh heh - I haven't looked at your link, but yes, bull sharks have been sighted inland from where they should be!

Mind you, they didn't seem to report too much about crocs in Rockhampton - I mean, up there, they are pretty endemic even when it's not flooded, so I'm surprised they didn't turn up in the main street - or if they did, that no one mentioned it.

It's a bit strange now - there's more flooding going on in other areas of Australia but you can feel the lack of interest from the news teams - Brisbane was the "crisis of crises" and nothing else is quite matching up to it, so they're going "oh yeah, and X,Y and Z in NSW and Victoria have also been flooded". (well not quite, but you get my drift). No one has died in any of the other areas (thank God) so that's probably one of the reasons - but it's also trauma-weariness, I think. Some western parts of NSW are going to cop the heaviest rainfall in over 100 years - probably also causing flash floods - and it's barely getting a mention.

The next problem is going to be the amount of sick people - because of the humidity and general temp in Q'land, the mould will start quite quickly. One friend of a friend who lives in Rockhampton (they copped it a week or so before Brisbane) says it's already started on her stuff; and the big problem is that they're not going to reconnect people's electricity until their houses have been safety checked - so no fans, no air con, no heaters to dry the place out - perfect mould-growing conditions, and the spores will --> asthma attacks, chest infections etc. Plus the issues with contaminated water - people are running the risk of septicaemia if they have open wounds on any part of them in contact with the water/mud; and they need to boil their water in some places because of E.coli contamination from sewage.

It's bloody awful. If I thought I could really achieve anything by going up there, I would - but I can't, in all honesty, and I have DS who is only 3 so it's a bit unreasonable to abandon him. So :( though.

Hmmm, found your current name on another thread, TW and was going to ask if you had deserted us!

Yes, interviews with people in Rockhampton a week or so ago, left me shocked when I heard temp wa +30C and no power for many. At first the heat sounds like it would be OK, but then mention of malaria and so on and it sounds like jungle of S E Asia (but without jungle as so much is under water).

So bad in Australia, but in December there were other areas affected worldwide (not perhaps on same geographic scale) in Bosnia (SE Europe) and S America, and of course other places such as Haiti and Pakistan are far from rebuilt or safe from weather or disease a year on from their calamities.

I don't know whether much can be blamed on global warming, or just natural disasters all in a row and several started (or exacerbated) by torrential rain.

We get away quite lightly most of the time, in the UK, and really don't have a lot of experience of the extremes so many other places get, eh?

Brazil is copping it good and proper just now as well, they did manage to fit that in around the non-stop Queensland flood coverage. Haiti has also been mentioned as we went past the anniversary.

Less malaria, more dengue fever and Russell river fever, I believe, Network Guy.

I have now placed this thread under Watch, so it doesn't drop off my Thread's I'm On and get lost. :)

I think it's fair to say that climate change could be implicated - but I can't really agree with it being called "global warming" considering how cold and snowy it's been in the UK! And the snow dump they had in NZ a few months back was astonishing! A storm cloud the size of Australia, they said - dumped however many inches of snow in a very short space of time and broke buildings! (OK, mostly the roof of a sports stadium and sheds but still).

Interestingly the floods in Brisbane are similar to those of 1974 - but they build the Wivenhoe dam to stop anything like it ever happening again. The rain they've had this time was twice as much as the rain they had in 1974 - if the Wivenhoe dam hadn't been built, Brisbane and surrounding areas would have been in a whole heap more shit than they currently are (literally).

Talk of mince pies makes me hungry. I didn't buy any until Christmas Eve this year (I resent the price rises hitting so many things), and was lucky to get some cash out of a client just-in-time as the alternative was going to be pizza and a can of cider!

Mind you it was after I had sent that client an e-mail about an invoice from early November ...

Anyway, just had Gas, Electric and Water bills this week, all together. Have not even opened the Electric bill yet, but looks like British Gas will undercharge me (well, spread the cost a bit) as I remembered an announcement of them upping the cost on 10/12 last year... so I read my meters and submitted readings on 14/12.

It was a selfish reason, really, insofar as I could dispute their estimated usage "before" and "after" the price hike. But what has happened is that the billing system sent me e-mails to say "See your online bill" and a day or two later "Thanks for your meter readings" (ie taken the figures from 14/12 as this week). Means the next bill will cover 14/12 to 10/01 as well. I'd betted put in some meter readings in early/mid February.

I don't mind paying them a few coppers extra for the portion they will assume was from 14/12 as I'm stuck for cash this minute and the Bank charges + interest if I went overdrawn would cost far more than the odd quid difference in my paying part of the pre-10/12 usage at the after 10/12 price.

Also I get to spread the winter usage cost into future months a little. Have cut my usage this week (no snow, and no ice on the windows indoors now).

Anyway sorry for the digression... Glad people have had a good Christmas and hope 2011 is a great year for you all.

Peter.

OK on it not being malaria - my imagination when I thought of swamp and heat not that they specifically mentioned it on radio... just muddy and unhygienic waters would give all sorts of nasties.

The snow dumped on the UK is a result of different air currents, and there was even mention of the Gulf Stream no longer making the waters to the south west much warmer (which is what helps keep Cornwall in particular, and UK in general, a lot warmer than Europe as a whole).

I suspect that different airflow will bring all sorts of different, unusual, and even extreme conditions. After all, the warming is not 'all year' but the world as a whole, and different effects will be felt (LA has had some extra rain this year, but even 10 years ago there was extraordinary weather happening from time to time in California which is affected by El Nina ? and another similar sounding set of air currents - one of my past visits to San Francisco was blighted by rain every day. I was there in early February just before my birthday on 15th and that February [up to 11th] had been wettest in 100 years. They had 100 days of rain, and homes built after previous ones had been washed away were again sliding down hillsides and crashing into each other, demolishing everything in their path... very thin soil on very hard mountains mean there's little to absorb rain and the soil just washes away, with or without a home on top).

Found a lovely thread - but please only look there if you are 'fussy' about English too.

It should probably go in Pedants' Corner but when I saw some of the examples of mistakes people make (mostly in spoken English, not on MN), I laughed and marked it to watch so I could go back later.

I never took A levels, went off to college and did other things up to degree equivalent (British Computer Society exams) but our Mum did encourage us to read and wanted us to use good English so while I am far from perfect, I know my limits and will search to find the 'correct' form if I need to use some particular expression.

Ha, yes that is one of my hobby horses too, NG.
I can see I'm going to have a hard time teaching DS to speak "proper" English though when he's surrounded by Aussies who can't!

Hey that's a nice name NWG! Think I'll always call you Peter now!

KAQ, that sounds like a completely normal weight, I'd go on and have a mince pie if there's any left,although as I've said, I loath them, my treat is a daily spelt muffin.

Glad to hear your safe and sound there TW

Hi Seashore!

I know, It sounds like a perfectly normal weight until you factor in my height at 4ft 5.... Only joking!!! I'm 5ft 5 really!

the xmas choccies abstinance is paying off!!!! I am now... 10 stone!!! I've lost 11 lb in 16 days! I've got 7lb to go to reach my interim goal weight and 13lb total to reach my ultimate goal of my pre-baby weight at 9 stone 1. I have never managed to get back to that weight, I've got pregnant again every time I try!

I'm off to have a look at NWG's link - I have a friend who persistantly says "pacific" instead of specific and "limtus" instead of litmus, I suspect I'm going to be scratching my teeth in a minute!!!

Glad you are ok TW! Just keep speaking with that "BBC English" that was forced on us as children as your ds will be just fine!!!

Wow! well done and nice twirl KAQ! glad it's paying off, you'll reach your interim goal for sure, you sound very determined. I was 10 stone for a while (unless the old weighing scales at my parents is bust!) but you know it must have been in all the right places [confuced] cause it looked fine. Strangely lost some weight last year (it was a stressful yr), weight always falls off me when I'm stressed so now I'm just back to normal and thankfully everything else has settled down so I'm not stressed anymore.

I'm off to check out NWG's link too.

Thats not fair|!!! When I get stressed I comfort eat into a whole new dress size!!!!

Nope for me, when under pressure, I lose my appetite. Believe me it's not a good thing, I got scared I lost my baby weight so quickly last year after a tough time when ds was only 20 weeks old. I'm back to normal now but my stress issues show badly on my skin, we all have something! In general I'm just a normal weight, good appetite.

I've had a rough couple of days here. and I think I've put 2lb back on

Haven't even filled in my diet sheet.

Tomorrow is going to be stressful too. I think I may just start up again on monday with a positive attitude. :)

ah, sorry to hear that , maybe you need habits to help destress that are nothing to do with food. I use a hypno relaxation cd and since last weekend I've been doing a 15 min meditation in the middle of the day that I've learnt from the little booklet which came with last weeks Guardian, the same booklet is online with The Guardian, they also have three great animation videos about it at guardian.co.uk/starthappy.

But, you know, KAQ you've been so focused and have achieved such a distance with dieting by the sound of it that you'll get there in the end, don't be so hard on yourself, hope the rough days soon end,X

Thanks Seashore. There is just such a lot happening atm, Hospital referral for no3, got to sort eye appt for 1,2+3 (and me) there is something wrong with my hearing, I've put on 2lb, I may need an operation, I've now had a sore throat for nearly 10 weeks, my friend has had a disaster and tomorrow I'm in the paper and on the radio to publicise an event I've organised to help her, the world has gone mad,.....

Have you ever heard that curse? "May you live in interesting times"....I'm cursed......

Night all..........

We weren't that different just before Christmas, in fact the last year has just been pretty much one thing after the other, what frustrates me is that I so want to enjoy my dc while they are so young but events just kept getting in the way. I really hope you won't at least need an operation, and hospital referrals, oh my they are so stressful let alone it being for your child.

Try and take some time for yourself.

You've just reminded me I desperately need an eye app myself, and dh, we keep just throwing the reminder letters into recycling.

Good luck tomorrow

Just caught up with this thread after too long away - sorry to hear you're all going through "interesting times"! KAQ - hope your appts all went well and your sore throat is improving.

I have had another friend on the frontline of a natural disaster - this time the Cairns cyclone. Luckily she was a bit north of Cairns and the cyclone hit a bit more south of it, so it wasn't too bad in terms of destruction - but it was terrifying! She and her family are ok; she hasn't said what state her home is in, but I guess ok or she would have mentioned it.

I am an habituée of the Pedants' Corner - I find that malapropisms and persistent mis-spellings grate on me like nails down a blackboard!

For NWG - yes, it's the combination of the El Nino and La Nina weather systems - we're having a rotten La Nina phase at the moment, apparently.

I am awake at 4am because it's too hot to sleep comfortably, even with the fan on - I have had to put the air con back on in the living room because it's so hot (another westerly wind today, bringing the desert heat from the red centre).

Hi TW, The "interesting times" continue. You made me smile with your air con comment tho! I'm freezing! I've been searching online for an electric blanket!!!

My throat however seems to be fixed!!! (touches wood!) All those superstrong antibiotics they gave me for the original throat infection???? yep they caused a massive case of thrush in my throat! Thank god for google!! I had to convince the GP and refuse to leave until they prescribed, but it did the trick!

I'm busy in another corner of the net atm, but I will be glad when a few things are sorted and I can be here a bit more.

Its been a sad month. Hope your friend is ok.

Thanks seashore for the goodluck, it must have worked. But then my day went very very wrong.

I am trying to stay positive, but I still think I'm cursed..........