Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey Topics), 5 July 2015

I keep up with World News by reading the BBC News on here -- I saw the bit about the Chinese stock exchange this morning, but I didn't know about the NY one!

LINDY- I didn't even know it was on BBC here so that shows my ignorance ,lol! My OH is a news fanatic and watches TV news and internet news but I only really hear it when I'm in bed, not sleeping, hence the World Service which comes on Radio4 at 1am till 5.20am. Earplugs in all night, chronic insommnia but not a lethal condition, just tiring !!!!

Heather: I leave the BBC World Service on at night from midnight until 5:00 a.m. I can't stand the silence here. :-) If I try to sleep without the radio, I start listening to every little sound. Are the raccoons trying to get under the house? Is that a prowler or just the deer by my window? Is that the owl on the roof? LOL! I usually wake up several times during the night and listen to the latest BBC reports.

I also check the news sites a few times per day online and follow news sites on Facebook. I don't have television, so I get my news that way. (I watch TV shows online, too.) I also have National Public Radio on all day.

You're right about the market collapse in China. I feel very sorry for all the people who've lost their savings.

Also, Heather, that's very impressive that your stepson is piloting the Britannia. Wow!

I hope you have a wonderful time at the wedding and that everything goes smoothly.

Diane: I couldn't see anything on the BBC website re the Chinese market (finally found it on CNN). I've heard rumblings about the Chinese market for some weeks and, coincidentally, my OH's former colleague and current good friend (an investment guy) just called and mentioned he wasn't completely surprised by the drop. He's heard that the NYSE exchange shut down is currently being attributed to a "street trader" problem (too many moving parts and so when one goes down, etc. etc.) although he suspects it's probably just plain old incompetence on someone's part.  Time will tell.  I didn't realize that the NYSE is a much smaller player in the global trading market than it was some years back. In his office, it's apparently business as usual today with other exchanges - which are everyday trading partners even when the NYSE is up and running - picking up the extra business.

DIANE- I find the radio a great comfort at night, also. In my widowed years I had sound on in the bedroom but obviously now, with OH slumbering beside me, I use earplugs. Even here in the town, strange things happen. I have seen prowlers and shouted at them. Not often, I hasten to add. One time I opened a,window and asked a guy what he was doing in our drive.He replied that he was just going out of the gate! Cheeky or what!!

Heather: That reminds me of when my sister and family came to visit sometime in the late 80s.  I had a really nice quality garden hose coiled up at the front of my driveway and my BiL asked if I shouldn't put it in the garage to avoid having it taken. I was surprised by his suggestion, since that kind of thing simply didn't happen - at that time I wasn't living in the best, but also not the worst, part of town. Anyway, the darn thing was out there for 20 years with no problems.  And we currently have one coiled up outside our back gate...   Probably it's because our criminals are looking for much larger targets!  :-)  

I see the NYSE is up and running again.

ANNETTE,I have probably said here before (OG, aka the memory lady will know) that one night I saw a garden seat being carried down our street. I phoned the police a bit later and apologised for disturbing them during the night. Reply was 'Madam, the police in Inverness are never at rest'.

Heather: Wow, that prowler was cheeky! That's good that your police force is so diligent and polite, too. There's limited law enforcement out here where I live. We have a Town Marshal, who may or may not be available. The county police usually don't come down this far; they stay around the county seat where I get groceries.

Heather/Annette: There's a pub on the highway that borders my property, and the people there aren't very...trustworthy. A suffering local economy, questionable ethics, and hard liquor are a bad combination for some folks. Also, we have a huge methamphetamine problem locally. So I don't leave anything of value outdoors. If I'm mowing and I have to take a break, I even bring the lawn mower back to the front door, instead of leaving it out.

Annette: Interesting comments from your OH's friend. It was a really long freeze by the NYSE. I initially suspected it was a hack to slow the flow from the Chinese market. Whether it was incompetence or a cyber attack, I doubt we'll ever get the full story. Nobody will want to admit to either one. LOL