Weekly Chat, Sunday December 12, 2010

meant to say that it would be wonderful to see a Hoopoe at any time of the year. I have never seen an Avocet or a Kingfisher so feel very deprived!!!!!

For AQ

Hey, AQ. Look at this!!! I've posted in the past about National Geographic's Genographic Project, which is tracing DNA and discovering interesting and surprising information about ancient humans and their migration history worldwide-- our deep ancestry.

Well, the University of Adelaide hosted a Nat Geo event there in the city, and DNA tracing was done on 100 Adelaide residents. They now have the results! You can read this article for info on Adelaide's deep ancestry, the origins of Adelaide's early people. I was fascinated.

Results:  http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/dna-tracks-us-back-to-the-stone-age/story-e6frea6u-1225966648802

The event in Adelaide: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/genographic/2010/12/genographic-public-swabbing-ev.html

Hope you're okay, AQ. Please send some of that summer heat to me today!!! Dang, it's cold here.

Woops, not sure what happened there - I ended up responding on last week's chat!  At least I think I did.  So here it is again - I hope...

I seem to miss a day or two and find myself way out of touch!  Hope this isn't too long as I catch up.

Diane so nice to see you back again.  You have been in our thoughts over this very difficult time.  I can well appreciate your reluctance of returning to the city after the peace of the country even with all the problems country living can bring.  Unlike Brenda,  I haven't seen anything about avian keratin disorder.  But have had trichomoniasis in some of the garden finches, which is distressing to see.  It sounds as though your snow storm was quite an event.  Certainly like Auntie you are 'enjoying' some extraordinarily cold temperatures.  Your 'emergency' preparation puts us to shame I think.   Well, with the exception of those living in remote areas who are used to such weather.  OG's blue and green bird is a blue tit which love clinging on to the feeders, often upside down, to peck at peanuts. Do take care of yourself.

Super photos of your blue tits Lindy, and yes, I love your colourful tiles!  We have navy, blue, teracotta and cream over our hob and Aga, and I thought I was being daring at the time!

Annette thanks for asking, but no my aunt does not have any relatives who live closer.  We are a rather small family!  What a wonderful APOD photo over Montana.  Really impressive.  If only it were warm enough to sit out in the garden with a book here!  Don't worry about nodding off, just enjoy it!  So you are treating yourself to a new laptop afterall.  I am sure you will find it fun once you have sorted out all the different querks a new machine has.  I have just got a trial version of MS Word 2010 and it's a nightmare.  When I worked I could do most things with the keys and hardly handled a mouse, but now I've either forgotten (how to superscript/subscript/change spacing from 1 to 1.5 to 2, to 3 lines, etc) or it doesn't seem to work.  It's all the personalising that you need.  I'm still working in inches, not cms, so the ruler has to be changed.  Now, how do I do that?  Oooh!  I don't like squiggly quotes, but prefer 'smart' quotes, how did I do that 6 years ago.....!

George Sorry to hear about your mishap twixt garage and car tyre.  An unwanted expense, but perhaps better that you skidded at home than on a road miles from home when the consequences might have been much worse.  Do be careful, I believe we (UK) are expecting more snow and low temperatures nearer the weekend.

What a brilliant Sunday morning you had TerryM, what with all the birds and your cycle, but a bother with the puncture.  It was quite good down here too on Sunday, and OH and I walked an hour over the fields to a pub at lunch time only to find we were the only folk in there and the fire almost out.  An elderly regular arrived and berated the lass behind the bar and set to to make it a flaming and welcoming fire!  With a hot mulled wine in my hands it was most warming!  I was glad to learn that our evenings are now getting longer Tiger!  I understand that by the shortest day our evenings with the two minutes longer.

Thank you OG for highlighting the Bear programme in January.  I have put it in my computer calendar with a reminder!  Lovely blue tit photo too!  So lucky to catch them in the frame without a blurr like mine!  Good luck with the solar panels, I hope the sun shines on you all year round!  Yesterday's lunch at Powfoot Golf Hotel sounds absolutely yummy.

Lindy a wonderful Monday smile!  And another beautiful photos of Sweetpea.  It sounds as though you had an excellent shopping trip!  Well done, and the shared cake was well-deserved.

Brrr Auntie, minus 15, now that does sound a trifle chilly!  Your icy rainbow sounds quite magical.  Chloe beautiful vertical rainbow photo!

Oh Alan, I laughed when I read about the colour of your TV!  How is Dundee doing of late?  I'm afraid footie isn't something I particularly follow, although OH keeps an eye on Burnley.  Sorry to hear that Hamish is having a small post-op problem and that the antibiotics do their work.

I was delighted with the choice of the finalists in Strictly too.  But I am undecided about who I will choose to be the winner!  They are all good in their own way.  Kara is just so wonderful to watch, Pamela is amazing (dare I say it) for her age - I wish I could do a tiny bit of what she does - and Matt is lovely, I felt for him when his dance was being criticised, I thought he would cry, bless him!!  As I would expect, the public has been sensible when to came down to it.  It was all a bit of fun to keep Ann in, as the less talented folk went, but she left at the right time.

Oh lucky you Valc.  Waxwings are on my 'wish' list!!  They are near, but not near enough!

Lynette ouch, sorry to hear about the tooth.  Not my favourite past time I have to say!  I travel 20 miles to my dentist at a practice the family signed up to when we moved to Hertfordshire in 1963.  My dentist joined the practice years after that, but I trust her and wouldn't like to change unnecessarily.  She is younger than I, so hope she will be there for a few years yet.  Good luck at Brixworth Mini Farm and carol singing.  It sounds fun.

DjoanS so glad to hear that your budgie able to cope with its problem.  It was obviously a huge relief to you.

Take care everyone and I hope to pop in tomorrow.

Thanks very much for the nice card Alicat.

Sheilafe: Dundee are undefeated since they went into administration and making inroads into the 25 point deduction.

The Dunedin webcam is back on line after being down for a couple of days. No ospreys there at the moment.

http://ospreynest.info/ospreycam.php

Unknown said:

Thanks very much for the nice card Alicat.

Sheilafe: Dundee are undefeated since they went into administration and making inroads into the 25 point deduction.

The Dunedin webcam is back on line after being down for a couple of days. No ospreys there at the moment.

http://ospreynest.info/ospreycam.php

Thanks Alan how is Hamish doing

Diane - That DNA ttracing was fascinating. I didn't know it was happening (I don't watch the right TV obviously!) or else I may have been tempted to join them. Though I heard they had to queue for hours. Yesterday's warm weather forwarded. LOL. At 11.30 pm we had 2 dozen large spots of rain, a bit of wind and this morn it is overcast and cooler again.

Apologies to those of the male species but I was sent this:

Why retired men shouldn't go shopping with their wives . . .

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse.

Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target.

Dear Mrs. Samuel,
Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behaviour and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

4. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layby.

5. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

6. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.

7. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

8. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

9. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.

10. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

11. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

12. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

13. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a foetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least:
14 . October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here." One of the clerks passed out.

Looking in for first time today, went to gym in the morning for a swim then library, then home., had a quick lunch and then shopping came so spent most of the afternoon sorting it out so was wacked afterwards. A woman's work is never done - dinner then had to be done except I forgot it and it burnt - so burnt offerings all round, there's a first time for everything!!!!!!!

Just put the Barn Owl cam on from Starr Ranch Sanctuary and got these lovely pics

last one of him/her preening.  Will catch up in a minute on all your news.

Have just caught up with the posts.

Alicat - lovely Christmas card.

Alan - glad to hear Hamish is recovering well.

DJoan - Glad to hear Harry appears to have arthritis and nothing too serious - you must be relieved.