CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Marty]

23 hours ago, Marty said:

I've just been reminded that, seven years ago yesterday evening, I was in Dublin for an open air concert featuring around three and a half hours of non-stop music and song by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Interestingly, a few evenings earlier, Bruce had had his microphone turned off by the concert organisers in Hyde Park, London, when his concert went over a curfew that had been set by Westminster City Council. Perhaps more interesting is that the then Mayor of London, a certain Boris Johnson, was upset by the microphone having been turned off. He apparently said that they (Paul McCartney was on stage with Bruce at the time) should have been allowed to "Jam in the name of the Lord."

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jul/15/bruce-springsteen-microphone-switched-off

 

3 hours ago, BabyXander1990 said:

Boris Johnson? Who might be the new PM of the UK? 

Correct, Xan!  

One and the same.

[Page Scrawler]

2 hours ago, dughlas said:

Here it's currently 93/34° with heat index of 104/40°. We've some clouds helping to keep the temp down. There were concerns the the temp could reach 100/38° with heat index of 115/48° today and tomorrow. 

Took Thistle to a nearby pet store that has a DIY dogwash for a bath. I towel dry him enough so he doesn't drip and then let him air dry. It helps him to feel cooler.

Hey, Dugh and Thistle!     *scratches Thistle behind the ears*

[Marty]

4 hours ago, clochette said:

It's "only" 26°C here but there's no real sun so it's heavy and feels like much hotter. A good thunderstorm would be good. I finally went to pick red currants with mom just now, over 4,590kg in less than an hour! Now to make jelly!

 

3 hours ago, Headstall said:

4,590 Kilograms? That's a lot of currants.  

 

1 hour ago, clochette said:

Oh right I forgot on your side of the world you're weird with numbers  I meant we picked up 4 kilograms and 590 grams of currants

I think in certain parts of continental Europe, when separating groups of three digits in decimal numbers, they use the comma and full stop the opposite way round to the way they are used in the UK, Ireland, and many other parts of the world.

So when clo typed 4,590 kg, I immediately guessed she meant 4.590 kg.

I've some German friends who left me confused initially when I saw the way they wrote decimal numbers...

[Marty]

Well, Pride was fun. The day was cloudy to begin with and I was worried that rain would spoil it all. But it kept away, and there was actually a bit of sun for the parade itself, which made it all that much more fun. It did rain a bit on the drive home in the evening.

I managed to take about 200 photos. Hopefully some of them will be really good, but before I left Castlebar, I quickly downloaded them all onto my laptop, and then used PhotoShop to batch resize them all down into a separate folder. I copied that folder onto a memory stick, which I gave to one of the Pride organisers before leaving town. They may already have some of them on their FaceBook page but, just at the moment, I'm too tired to go check.

In separate news, I uploaded Chapter 6 of my The Charmed Life of Danny Murphy story to GA early last night. Although it hadn't got past the Moderation Queue before I left home early this morning, I saw it had done by the time I got home tonight.

Hi all, by the way!!!

 

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by Marty
Correcting another of my inevitable typos.

[Headstall]

31 minutes ago, Marty said:

Well, Pride was fun. The day was cloudy to begin with and I was worried that rain would spoil it all. But it kept away, and there was actually a bit of sun for the parade itself, which made it all that much more fun. It did rain a bit on the drive home in the evening.

I managed to take about 200 photos. Hopefully some of them will be really good, but before I left Castlebar, I quickly downloaded them all onto my laptop, and then used PhotoShop to batch resize them all down into a separate folder. I copied that folder onto a memory stick, which I gave to one of the Pride organisers before leaving town. They may already have some of them on their FaceBook page but, just at the moment, I'm too tired to go check.

In separate news, I uploaded Chapter 6 of my The Charmed Life of Danny Murphy story to GA early last night. Although it hadn't got past the Moderation Queue before I left home early this morning, I saw it had done by the time I got home tonight.

Hi all, by the way!!!

 

 

Hi, Marty!  

[Marty]

Gary, my friend. How's it going?

[Valkyrie]

53 minutes ago, Marty said:

Well, Pride was fun. The day was cloudy to begin with and I was worried that rain would spoil it all. But it kept away, and there was actually a bit of sun for the parade itself, which made it all that much more fun. It did rain a bit on the drive home in the evening.

I managed to take about 200 photos. Hopefully some of them will be really good, but before I left Castlebar, I quickly downloaded them all onto my laptop, and then used PhotoShop to batch resize them all down into a separate folder. I copied that folder onto a memory stick, which I gave to one of the Pride organisers before leaving town. They may already have some of them on their FaceBook page but, just at the moment, I'm too tired to go check.

In separate news, I uploaded Chapter 6 of my The Charmed Life of Danny Murphy story to GA early last night. Although it hadn't got past the Moderation Queue before I left home early this morning, I saw it had done by the time I got home tonight.

Hi all, by the way!!!

 

 

Sounds wonderful   I'll have to check out their FB page  

[Marty]

Here's a photo I took at the beginning of the week of Rindoon Castle, a ruined Anglo-Norman castle that was built on a peninsula on Lough Ree, County Roscommon, Ireland, back in the early part of the 13th Century. At its height Rindoon, the town that grew up under the protection of the castle, had a population of around 1,000. London only had a population of about 20,000 at the time. The town and castle were protected on the landward side by a 20 foot high stone wall,1,640 feet long, with towers and gates, that ran from one side of the peninsula to the other. Most of that wall is still standing today. There is also the remains of a 13th century nave & chancel church near the castle. The harbour in front of the castle is known as Safe Harbour, and there are the remains of jetties and wharves, where boats using the Shannon waterway (Lough Ree is one of the large lakes on the River Shannon) would load and unload cargo. Safe Harbour was the main landing point for the town’s trade which, in its heyday, was highly profitable. Records show that in 1259, the town paid 8 pounds, 5 shillings, and 8 pence in annual taxes, and by 1285, when taxes had risen to £320, the town was importing corn, cloth, and wine from Bordeaux. For a while Rindoon thrived as a trading post strategically located on the Shannon. However, with the Gaelic resurgence of the late 13th and early 14th centuries the town was sacked and later completely abandoned. It remains abandoned to this day. 

 

[Valkyrie]

4 minutes ago, Marty said:

Here's a photo I took at the beginning of the week of Rindoon Castle, a ruined Anglo-Norman castle that was built on a peninsula on Lough Ree, County Roscommon, Ireland, back in the early part of the 13th Century. At its height Rindoon, the town that grew up under the protection of the castle, had a population of around 1,000. London only had a population of about 20,000 at the time. The town and castle were protected on the landward side by a 20 foot high stone wall,1,640 feet long, with towers and gates, that ran from one side of the peninsula to the other. Most of that wall is still standing today. There is also the remains of a 13th century nave & chancel church near the castle. The harbour in front of the castle is known as Safe Harbour, and there are the remains of jetties and wharves, where boats using the Shannon waterway (Lough Ree is one of the large lakes on the River Shannon) would load and unload cargo. Safe Harbour was the main landing point for the town’s trade which, in its heyday, was highly profitable. Records show that in 1259, the town paid 8 pounds, 5 shillings, and 8 pence in annual taxes, and by 1285, when taxes had risen to £320, the town was importing corn, cloth, and wine from Bordeaux. For a while Rindoon thrived as a trading post strategically located on the Shannon. However, with the Gaelic resurgence of the late 13th and early 14th centuries the town was sacked and later completely abandoned. It remains abandoned to this day. 

 

Stunning picture  

[Headstall]

30 minutes ago, Marty said:

Gary, my friend. How's it going?

Good. I haven't accomplished much since this morning. I am, however, impressed with how good my central air is. It handles days like this with no problem, and that's a relief, because you just never know.   Have you rested up from your full day?

[Headstall]

4 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

Stunning picture  

What Val said.  

[Marty]

2 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

Stunning picture  

It's a stunning place as well, Val!

It's around 50 miles from me, and the feeling of history that I get just looking at all of it, is palpable.

As an archeological site, it's probably one of the most important medieval sites of its type in Europe. Strange thing is, so few Irish people even know it's there. 

[Marty]

15 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Good. I haven't accomplished much since this morning. I am, however, impressed with how good my central air is. It handles days like this with no problem, and that's a relief, because you just never know.   Have you rested up from your full day?

I'm assuming that central air you are talking about is what I would probably know as air conditioning.  If that's the case, I assume that's very necessary to you at present. We don't get the sort of temperatures here in Ireland that would normally require air conditioning to be installed in the home. More important would be that we have central heating! 

I am rested, thanks. But I'm still going to go to bed soon (it's about ten minutes to midnight). Have to be up early - meeting a friend for breakfast in the morning. Wouldn't want to sleep in and arrive late.  

Edited July 20, 2019 by Marty
Correcting another of my inevitable typos.

[dughlas]

1 hour ago, Marty said:

 

 

I think in certain parts of continental Europe, when separating groups of three digits in decimal numbers, they use the comma and full stop the opposite way round to the way they are used in the UK, Ireland, and many other parts of the world.

So when clo typed 4,590 kg, I immediately guessed she meant 4.590 kg.

I've some German friends who left me confused initially when I saw the way they wrote decimal numbers...

I spent well over 20 years working in the print industry. The first 10 or so as a proofreader the remainder as an outsource Production Editor/Project Manager specializing in science and medical journals. We had many European authors so I never even paused at Clo's use of a comma in the decimal place.

[dughlas]

22 minutes ago, Marty said:

Lovely photo and appreciated the wee history lesson.

[BabyXander1990]

3 hours ago, dughlas said:

Do you mean the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA? That's only 10 miles from my house.

Yes...that is the place..Going to be at Steamtown, Strasbourg, Altoona, Valley Railroad, RR Museum of New England and the Connecticut Trolley Museum...

 

[dughlas]

Just now, BabyXander1990 said:

Yes...that is the place..Going to be at Steamtown, Strasbourg, Altoona, Valley Railroad, RR Museum of New England and the Connecticut Trolley Museum...

 

Have a grand time.

[BabyXander1990]

2 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

Someone needs to slap that woman in the head with a shovel, maybe it will knock some sense into her. I feel sorry for her kids.

Hey, Xander, Dennis, Jordan, and Ash!         :hug.  *waves to the foster kids*

Hi Page...How are you, Morgan, Mickey, Remi (and if Rory around, him) today...

[BabyXander1990]

3 hours ago, clochette said:

Oh right I forgot on your side of the world you're weird with numbers  I meant we picked up 4 kilograms and 590 grams of currants

We aren't weird with numbers....😀. I can't believe we can't get metric here...but we love being different...

[Valkyrie]

13 minutes ago, Marty said:

I'm assuming that central air you are talking about is what I would probably know as air conditioning.  If that's the case, I assume that's very necessary to you at present. We don't get the sort of temperatures here in Ireland that would normally require air conditioning to be installed in the home. More important would be that we have central heating! 

I am rested, thanks. But I'm still going to go to bed soon (it's about ten minutes to midnight). Have to be up early - meeting a friend for breakfast in the morning. Wouldn't want to sleep in and arrive late.  

Central air refers to air conditioning that works through the furnace ductwork and cools the whole house, as opposed to window units that only cool the room they're installed in. I have central air too.  Best money I ever spent! 

[BabyXander1990]

37 minutes ago, Marty said:

Here's a photo I took at the beginning of the week of Rindoon Castle, a ruined Anglo-Norman castle that was built on a peninsula on Lough Ree, County Roscommon, Ireland, back in the early part of the 13th Century. At its height Rindoon, the town that grew up under the protection of the castle, had a population of around 1,000. London only had a population of about 20,000 at the time. The town and castle were protected on the landward side by a 20 foot high stone wall,1,640 feet long, with towers and gates, that ran from one side of the peninsula to the other. Most of that wall is still standing today. There is also the remains of a 13th century nave & chancel church near the castle. The harbour in front of the castle is known as Safe Harbour, and there are the remains of jetties and wharves, where boats using the Shannon waterway (Lough Ree is one of the large lakes on the River Shannon) would load and unload cargo. Safe Harbour was the main landing point for the town’s trade which, in its heyday, was highly profitable. Records show that in 1259, the town paid 8 pounds, 5 shillings, and 8 pence in annual taxes, and by 1285, when taxes had risen to £320, the town was importing corn, cloth, and wine from Bordeaux. For a while Rindoon thrived as a trading post strategically located on the Shannon. However, with the Gaelic resurgence of the late 13th and early 14th centuries the town was sacked and later completely abandoned. It remains abandoned to this day. 

 

Who sacked it? The English? What a lovely area...💓

[Marty]

4 minutes ago, BabyXander1990 said:

Who sacked it? The English? What a lovely area...💓

No, the Irish.

It was a Norman-English town, built in Ireland.

[BabyXander1990]

20 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

Central air refers to air conditioning that works through the furnace ductwork and cools the whole house, as opposed to window units that only cool the room they're installed in. I have central air too.  Best money I ever spent! 

We have central air, too. We love it...

[BabyXander1990]

7 minutes ago, Marty said:

No, the Irish.

It was a Norman-English town, built in Ireland.

Oh, just wondering....I knew the Danes invaded England, so I thought it wasn't the Danes, thou, since it didn't get over there...The Vikings did...Sailed across to America..and who knows how much they explore here...

[Marty]

27 minutes ago, BabyXander1990 said:

Oh, just wondering....I knew the Danes invaded England, so I thought it wasn't the Danes, thou, since it didn't get over there...The Vikings did...Sailed across to America..and who knows how much they explore here...

And one story is that an Irish monk, now known as St Brendan the Navigator sailed to America and back over three years around the middle of the 6th Century, apparently 500 years before the Vikings got there. He sailed there in a tiny currach, a traditional Irish boat with a wooden frame wrapped in hides of leather.

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/05/16/did-st-brendan-reach-north-america-500-years-before-the-vikings/

https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/others/saint-brendan-first-america

In 1976, adventurer, writer, and historian Tim Severin decided to build a traditional currach and see if it could match the accomplishments in the St Brendan legend. Using traditional design and building techniques he fashioned a modern currach, christened it Brendan and set off from Ireland to reach North America. Successful in showing that it could have been done, Severin published a book and an article in National Geographic Magazine, and a 1500-year-old tale was given new life.

Here's a link to a video featuring Tim Severin describing the Brendan Voyage in 2005 in a free public lecture at Gresham College, London (it's nearly an hour long and only has Tim's voice).

Edited July 20, 2019 by Marty
Clarification