For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Perhaps because it is the most universal truth.

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Brain off now please.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Been there done that, does it come as a teeshirt ?

When I die I want a green burial - I want my body to be used to feed the earth.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

To die alone in the woods, so that the animals can eat.

Possibly the greatest piece of science fiction in the world about a species who conquers the world ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

It was novel to them, they had no immunity.

Don't mind me--it might not be you.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Stay away from that Agnostic.com site, I have noticed it seems to have that effect on people. Best wishes, and spoil yourself.

So.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Nice boxes well done. I do hope that more people find as good a use for their extra spare time. What a difference that would make. I see that in the US you use dowel perches on them, in the UK they are not generally used. Because people say that they do not help the birds much, but do help predators. I think that it may just be a cultural difference though, that has no scientific support.

Hi everyone.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

No, I joined and its been going downhill ever since.

In this very international group, and globalized world of ours, what are the comfort foods you go to...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

In my area there are food banks for the poor, but at the end of the day they are sometimes left with things they had too much of even so. So the surpluses are put in boxes and distributed to the older people in the area. I count it seems, though only sixty three. Must be my sad face. The trouble is that you usually get a lot of only a few things. This week it was onions dozens, just one carrot, sweet potatoes vast amount, chilly peppers and mushrooms. So day one was onion frittatas, day two vegetable curry, and today, chicken mushroom and sweet potato pie. I make up the recipes as I go, but they all turned out well. But what is really great, is that with the lock down there is time for experimental cooking, (thinks don't always turn out well ), and for making sure nothing goes to waste.

WHO latest figues, well over a million cases and climbing as of April 4.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

I always have difficulty saying "exponential", it seems to do things to my tongue about half way through. But what is more of a worry, is how many people seem to have difficulty understanding "exponential", as in. " There ain't many cases yet , why should we worry, lets have a party."

The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

I will take all the vice that's going, but I don't pay much for it, because one of my main vises is meanness.

Woo alert!!! [agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

I think that it was meant to be, a humourus tongue in cheek, metaphorical view of the stoic position, not woo to be taken literally.

Does anyone else notice the cabin fever that's revealing itself in some of these posts?

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

A lot more posts certainly.

There are people in my community who are using Covid-19 as an excuse to abuse people of Asian ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

" Could face hate crime charges." Where does the 'could' come from, why not, is going to.

Coronavirus and churches. [sacbee.com]

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Well of course a lot of evangelical ministers, will have an eye on the many legacies that will be coming into the church if the older members of the congregation die off. You put your money in the collection plate, they get it, you leave some in your will, they get it sooner, its, win win. LOL

There are people in my community who are using Covid-19 as an excuse to abuse people of Asian ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

No its not reasonable. You have to add in the total failing of the states responsibility to educate everyone to the level of, basic responsible adult understanding.

It's funny but people wonder what it's like after death when they already know what it's like ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Good short summing of the Stoic position.

“Dead yesterdays and unborn tomorrows, why fret about them, if today be sweet”.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Oh, my beloved, fill the Cup that clears, To-day of past Regets and future Fears- To-morrow ?- Why, Tomorrow I may be, Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years.

I’m glad in these days of StayHome that I have my pot garden with flowers blooming as one of my ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Why when I click onward after the last photo, does a picture of what looks like two large hemp plants appear. LOL

The stimulus packages are going to create monumental additions to our deficit.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Yes but you have to remember that most countries in the world are doing similar things at the same time, so everyones deficit will go up and the currencies will balance out.

Spring allergies, a cold or COVID-19?

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

If you have asthma do be especially careful, try your very best to be one of the few that has not had it, when it reaches herd immunity stage. Time , money, work and effort are nothing, if they buy you life.

Birdhouses & Grackles.

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Make them different types and give them different hights and orientations, you can put as many up as you like just don't expect every one to be used, they will pick their own favourites and space themselves out.

Israel's health minister has virus, top officials to isolate

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Our health minster and several top health officials have caught it here in the UK too, it is very hard not to catch it when working in health even at a top hands off level. Which makes you wonder just how infectious it is, and how far it would have spread by now if everyone had not taken the measures we did. People, deniers, who like to compare it to seasonal flu are forgeting that they are not comparing like with like, in that sense

I really wish people would stop saying others are "toxic".

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

See number 3.

Translated in precís form from a Spanish newspaper, printed this morning.

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Do they know how long this may last.

A short poem written in 1869 during the time of the Great Famine in Ireland.

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Nice thought, but whether it is going to come true or not ? I do not have a crystal ball.

Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done as fear of the ill that may happen to...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

No. That may be true for him conditioned by the religious mind set and age, but not for most secular people. For secular people who are not involved in a cult of repentance, repentance when it comes, brings no rewards and can only be done for its own sake and because we feel that that is the way to move forward. It is perhaps not as common as the religious form was, but it is still there and it is genuine.

“The tyranny of a prince in a oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Or the uneducated citizens prejudices.

They created war so Americans would learn geography!!!

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Failed.

I am concerned about shoes and people tracking the virus all over their house after a trip to ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Gloves are more likely, and more important.

Trump’s quotes on covid-19 show how his response has changed over time - Washington Post

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Sorry it may be informative, but I just can't look. Its got to the state now where when he comes on the TV, I hide behind the sofa and cover my ears. And I don't even live in the US.

Hi.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Hello and welcome. Enjoy the site and since you may have plenty of time now that you are locked down, take a look at the groups, there is something for everyone. You will a least find that it is fairly free of religious babble, and if you do have a problem then you will find that there is a good community here, who support without laying guilt or debt on.

I look like a bandit. Will people trust me with my face covered?

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Ok, so this guy is going to the bank tomorrow.

States tell Pacific Crest Trail hikers to cancel their trips.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Yes it is irresponsible to do any dangerous sports at this time. Sadly it seems that here in the UK there are reports from the police, that since the roads are nearly empty of traffic, some, mainly young, people have taken the chance to start using them a car racing tracks. Maybe not quite as dumb as licking shelves in the supermarket, but not far off.

My dear extended family.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Can't disagree with that. Though I must say, one small point, that the rich and poor are not in it alike. The rich in their rolling acres are not in the same place when shut down, as the poor without even a balcony on their flats.

This study shows that overall mortality rates for the EU countries as a whole are no higher than ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Old joke warning. A man fell off the roof of a sixty story building. People on each floor said they heard him calling out as he went down. "So far so good."

Hello All.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Hello and welcome to the site. Enjoy it, and if you are on shut down do look through the groups, there is something for everyone.

Monday, death projections @100,000.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

I think its called a Pyrrhic victory. I will be if the Trump manages to persuade a good number of voters that he is the hero of the day, who defeated the virus, and gets himself elected again. ( PS There are some good real estate deals to be had in Europe now. )

“Solitude produces originality, bold & astonishing beauty, poetry.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

So its all good then. Perverse, disproportional, absurd and forbidden, yes please , bring it on.

Had to travel across the mountains yesterday (medical necessity so calm the fuck down) and decided ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Strange days, and to get stranger.

Honesty in reporting Corona Virus numbers Countries where health agencies are not independent of ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

There may be many reasons why countries wish to falsify their numbers, and countries that do so. You could for example almost certainly add Russia to that list.

Fox News reportedly fears its early downplaying of COVID-19 leaves it open to lawsuits

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Oh dear, I am so worried, at this time especially, about the threats that those terribly wealthy people who own fox news could be suffering under. ( That sentence may not be a verifiable fact. )

30 Of The Best Photos From Our Wild2020 Contest To Brighten Your Day | Bored Panda

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Like the orangutan and otters story too.

Megachurch pastor arrested after holding crowded service in defiance of rules - AOL News

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Lets hope they put him in a jail which is infected.

India's coronavirus response must address caste and class divide

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." Anatole France.

I just need to know one last thing. When do the Zombies and the giant spiders come for us?

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

You don't need to worry, you know they always go for the teenagers first, and that apart from the hero and his family, the miserable old bloke is the only surviver at the end.

I thought everyone already knew this.

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

That is not all. They also added huge chunks of pure fiction which they made up themselves. But you have to remember, that they believed that they were inspired by god and that therefore they could write no wrong.

What natural phenomena could be considered all-powerful?

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

All of them, take any one away and the universe falls apart.

“What is better than wisdom?

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

I certainly know quite a few women who tell me that, woman and wisdom is the same thing. And I think that I am wise enough not to argue.

It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. - René Descartes

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Also true of, life, liberty, friendship, time and health.

Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

And when that does not work, you can always follow his example and hit the booze.

Would it be possible please to fix or improve the Bold and Italic features so they are easier to use...

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

It is perhaps a good thing they are not easy to use. One of the things which makes Facebook so horrible is people SHOUTING all the time. Please not here, I would have to leave.

This would make a birder's eye twitch.

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

It could be intended as a squirrel feeder. Why not have one for them and another for the birds. Reminds me of the garden in Scotland called Little Sparta, where the bird table was made in the form of an aircraft carrier.

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." - H.L. Mencken

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Certainly applies to the political sphere, but not I think in science, charity and technology. So overall perhaps not.

What's the difference between religion and spirituality?

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

It perhaps depends on how you define the word spirituality. Spirituality is an almost meaningless word with no clear definition, therefore people are able to use it to mean almost anything they want, ( Like, 'thingy'. ) Which means it is used for everything from. "I can talk to dead people." to. " I sometimes have emotions which do not fit with any of the words usually used to describe emotions." And many other things between and around those. For myself I find it hard to think there is any truth in the first, but I think it is quite likely that the range of words we usually use for emotions has large gaps in it, through which some emotions fall.

New Evidence Indicates Intelligence Not Contagious | The New Yorker

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Its the herd immunity that is really frightening.

[youtu.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

No. I know its funny, but I just can not watch. It makes my toes curl under in a painful way.

What price on Trump still being around by Easter?

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

I thought he always sounded like that.

Why do we think there is a correlation between post-death existence and deities?

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Because there is no evidence for either, they are both invisible. And since humans are animals with pattern seeking brains, who like to classify, if two things share a quality, then they both belong in the same box. Or. Since there is no profit to be made from post-death existence for anyone, especially priests etc. , unless you can make the claim to be able to exercise some control over it. Then you need an employee, ( God ) who can manage the technical details for you.

god didn't create people. People created god

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

In their own image.

This for you

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

No, its just an interesting and relaxing thing to do.

I'm watching Trump bitch and gripe about CNN's ratings and all the while squinting his eyes and ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Bitter irony at least.

Unbelievable.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

True tribal beliefs. I hate to offer praise to any church, but years ago in the UK at least, the Methodist church introduced using trays of separate little cups for communion wine. So how backward and brain dead do you have to be, not to simply follow a good example when it has already been set for you ? Or do you deliberately avoid following good examples, because, you don't do what 'they' do, since every priest is the competitor of every other priest for control of the 'sheep', and religion is, by its nature, divisive and tribal.

“We sometimes talk as if ‘original research’ were a peculiar prerogative of scientists or at ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

I am not sure that just thinking alone is science. People always thought, what sets science apart, is reasoning that the products of thought need to be tested, the 'experimental method'. Someone once said though, that most people do science, since science occurs every time someone thinks something through and then says. "Lets try it both ways and see which works best."

“Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable.” Albert Camus

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

That's the main difference between the religious mind and the sceptical one. To a sceptic, truth is, something that can only be found if you are prepared to accept hard work, abandon existing beliefs and set aside your wishes and desires. To the religious mind, truth is, that which confirms what you wish to believe and promises happiness. They are polar opposites.

I just read about folks still "blaming" China for the COVID 19 origin.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

It was worse than that, I have seen the claim that they deliberately made the virus, and that it was part of a plot to undermine the global economy, and enable China to buy up western companies at knock down prices.

I find it strange that a few right wingers still try to get me to admit the coronavirus is really ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

You have to wonder if they see everything in terms of left and right, or right and everything else. You really have to ask them if they have ever considered, that there might not just be, left and right wing sources, but just some things called sources, and nothing else.

From a friend: Henri du Pont So I thought I would throw up a little history lesson for everyone on ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I usually try not to comment on US politics on this site. Because I am from the UK so don't understand them well, and figure its none of my business, but that rings very true. Well put together.

Is a high point a score better or worse for dating prospects on Agnostic.com?

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

When the shut down is over, we are all going to get together for a badly fitting tee shirt party.

Is a high point a score better or worse for dating prospects on Agnostic.com?

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Don't date any of the people on this site. Being single just is not that bad.

Working from home day 17: here is a photo of our daily 8:30am staff meeting.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

What I am doing is my garden. I alway thought I was lucky to have one, it is only now that I really feel sorry for the people in flats and apartments, it would send me mad.

Working from home day 17: here is a photo of our daily 8:30am staff meeting.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I think it is possible that you may have been in isolation too long already. Just saying.

Shostakovich; symphony 5 [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Well that was a little drama. Quite woke me up.

The Corona virus is NOT a nice little practice run for dealing with Climate Change.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Good article.

Question; I have six coffee filters. Are they effective to block covid19??

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

No but if you make Irish coffees with them, and drink all six, you wont care.

a bit of humor!!...we need it

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Groan, groan, groan, groan, groan...... Its like multiple kicks in the groan.

cheerful anemones! I know Dan @Lincoln55 loves ranunculi and anemones .

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I was lucky enough a few years ago, to see red anemones growing wild in the mountains of Turkey. The wild red anemones are smaller and more delicate than the cultivated forms, but I quite like that. Imagine just growing by the road in in the rough grass.

Totally pointless random whine: Clarification Edit: below you shall find a jokey hyperbolic ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Its no fun at level 8 anyway. But here you go a few more points for you.

In 2017 we took a train trip from Norfolk VA to San Francisco and then north to Bend Oregon to view ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Well done that took timing.

These were taken from the top of the Asoteague Lighthouse.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I like the abstract map like quality of the river in the first shot.

Lochranza Castle Isle of Arran Scotland taken in March 2012

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Ah. Holidays and travel. Yes, I can remember what it was like to have those available. Lovely photo.

The Inquisition from a Catholic perspective.[catholiceducation.org]

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

The article fails to mention the most important thing about the Inquisition, which is the number and amount of the fines and expenses charged to its victims. And that the best way to get forgiveness is said to have been. "Name as many other heretics as you can, preferably rich ones." The whole thing was basically a money making enterprise, on a truly vast scale.

'We're keeping an eye on those holes you keep digging' - Your Neighbors.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I used to know a lady whose garden lay just down a very steep slope below the village church yard. As the bank eroded, bones would tumble down into her garden. "What do you do with them. I suppose you have to tell the authorities ?" I asked. "Oh no, that would take too long. I just throw them in the hedge bottom, the weeds soon grow over."

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

True but sadly that is not limited to conservatism.

“When the debate is over, slander becomes the tool of the loser”.............Socrates.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

And sometimes they just reach for their guns. Beware winning the debate too well and too quickly. Look what happened to him.

Don’t laugh .

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

You just leave them three or four days before handling, or use rubber gloves and wash them with soap. But high tec always works better don't it. LOL

Watching "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" last night.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Remember the term, 'cafe culture'. It may not be the same memory in future, 'cafe' will have a bitter taste.

Now this is a dystopian nightmare. [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

There are no people about to stop them, and sadly a lot of their usual food from fast food waste, has probably dried up.

"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and...

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Yep, the natural results of their own neglecting of the duty they have to educate, is the most usual reason governments give for opposing democracy. It is very similar to the method used by governments and private companies to justify the ending of services and supplies they no longer wish to provided. Only open the department every third Sunday, make people produce two forms of identification and a large cash deposit, ( no cards or direct debits) before they are allowed in and don't deliver for two months. And then say. "Well nobody was using it."

Please, don't do anything dangerous during the next few weeks.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

In the UK, the government said that you could go out for an hours exercise, close to home , each day. I have never seen so many mad cyclists on the roads for years. Obviously people who had nevver riden a bike on the roads for years, and had no idea how to ride safely.

Encouragement - this is 6 days! Arugula and lettuce popped up on day 3, basil and parsley starts ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Very quick germination, you are lucky to have such a climate.

I have two close friends that are Christians.

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

Post away, post away. If they don't like it, they don't have to look at it.

Do you fear your mortality?

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I am very careful to stay happy, healthy and alive for the sake of my friends, especially one who needs my care. But when they are all gone, then no, it will be time.

It was a cloudy day in Yuma this afternoon. My friend and I walked nearly six miles

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I live in the UK, and I just wondered, if please, you could explain what all the blue stuff is meant to be, and did you use photoshop.

I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from - Galileo Galilei -

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

Yep that " - " sure is wise.

Coronavirus: Hobby Lobby billionaire keeps stores open after ‘God spoke to him’ – but won’t ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Funny how God alway seems to tell you to do what you want to do. Don't think he has told someone to do something they did not want, since Abraham.

Talk about random - check out the cause of death for this old guy!

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Too small to read, sorry.

Trump Cabinet Bible Study Leader Faults Gay People, Environmentalists For Virus

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

No I don't believe he does study of any sort.

I got my summer reading material early, so now it’s my isolation reading.

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

Journeys From The Centre Of The Earth, by Iain Stewart, sub-titled How Geology Shaped Civilization. Its describes how the history of the Mediterranean world especially, was shaped by mineral wealth and the trade in minerals.

Wanna make Big Money in commodity futures?

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

A small amount of the lime, wrapped in a coca leaf takes the bitterness away, so they say.