The christian says "We don't need the logical proof, we have faith! So .

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2018:

My personal advice to you is. Don't ever get married.

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

@THHA Good idea.

Hi there. How are you?

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 23, 2018:

To whom is this directed?

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

A hook is not directed it just dangles.

How do you measure intelligence?>

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

First you have to define intelligence, and if you can do that then you are very intelligent indeed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

@maturin1919 And were you born able to do that ?

How do you measure intelligence?>

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

First you have to define intelligence, and if you can do that then you are very intelligent indeed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@maturin1919 Can you do it?

How do you measure intelligence?>

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

First you have to define intelligence, and if you can do that then you are very intelligent indeed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@maturin1919 So if I spend my entire life learning the number of every fire engine in the world, which would be both a skill and knowledge, and in doing so I loose my job all my friends and any chance of a meaningful or sexual relationship, is that intelligence?

How do you measure intelligence?>

dahermit comments on Dec 22, 2018:

Although many have challenged I.Q. tests as the true measure of intelligence, I.Q. is the default and universally used measure.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

There is nothing wrong with IQ test as a way of measuring achademic problem solving skills, but there are a lot of people who have those to the highest level, who still beleive in things like gods. Real world, working intelligence needs to include things like honesty, dedication and integrity, not accepting second class answers, plus caring, taking the trouble to aquire knowledge because you feel it matters.

I fear for our intellectual future:

yamaha45701 comments on Dec 22, 2018:

I owned a new/used bookstore in Athens, Ohio which is home to Ohio University. I had the store for over 25 years and watched sales slowly go down year after year. Our store was named one of the top 5 used bookstores in Ohio and was voted best bookstore in the city in our local paper. Why is my store...

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

Part of the problem, at least here in the UK and I am sure it is the same with you, is that in our failed and broken education system, the only think thought worth while, is to get children reading at all. And therefore any problem with that is met by the easy way of dumbing down. Children don't read, try them with something easier, until you find something that even the stupidist child finds easy. Then they never encounter any real reading, the sort which challenges and excits, which suits the political, and church establishments who control education; because you would not want to train them to ask intelligent questions, would you ? Then they leave school thinking that reading is something they have "done" and that it is unchallenging stuff that serves no useful point. And soon the whole thing becomes a self feeding cycle, because soon you have teachers joining the schools who have never themselves read a challenging book either, and would not know the difference.

Fate vs (hard) determinism..

Dietl comments on Dec 22, 2018:

Fate or destiny implies that there is some kind of goal, that everything happens for a reason. Determinism is the opposite.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

I am not sure that determinism is the opposite of fate, it just lacks the goal part.

With the relatively mild winters in the UK, we can overwinter a few things outside.

CeliaVL comments on Dec 22, 2018:

Good-looking produce. Do you put sprouts and parsnips in a curry? Seems like a waste, to me.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

Its a fairly mild curry and they go in last, the onions go in first and are browned first, then the apples, which cook down to thicken the sause, it does work quite well.

I have the end wall framed up and the door hung plumb!

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

If you are covering it in plastic and it is still as warm with you as you say. It will be best to get the plastic on as soon as possible since it stretches and goes on far better when the weather is warm, and it then tightens as it cools.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@farmboy2017 Sounds like a good plan.

All authority is quite degrading. Oscar Wilde

IamNobody comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Ok this one is interesting, wouldn't you say Oscar Wilde was an authority of sorts?

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@IamNobody dokala makes a good point that the word actually has two quite different meanings. And one of those meanings, authority as a sourse of truthfulness includes the fallacy called, the argument from authority, in its meaning tautologicaly. Hope that does not make your brain hurt as much as it does mine.

All authority is quite degrading. Oscar Wilde

IamNobody comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Ok this one is interesting, wouldn't you say Oscar Wilde was an authority of sorts?

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

I think that his pose as a voice with authority was in part mocking satire. He was of course, as you know, persecuted through the courts for his sexuality and refused admission to the church of his choice, Roman Catholic, for the same reason.

Happy Winter Solstice, all!

silverotter11 comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Wonderful memes even the last on;)

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@phxbillcee You managed it.

Mars Probe...

Haemish1 comments on Dec 21, 2018:

What is Nougat exactly? Is there an interaction between it and regret?

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@BeeHappy Wow! This is really confusing. Since we have Snickers in the UK but it is nothing like a Mars, and a Milky Way is a sort of soft Mouse covered in chocolate. But I guess that the first bit cholate malt nougat could be what lies at the bottom of a Mars, so I am now completely mixed up. But just to add something more to the fun, it is said that some fast food sellers in the UK a few years ago, took to dipping a Mars bar, (very soft to start with) in batter and then deep frying it. It became a running joke for people to mention this, when they were talking about how low fast food could sink. If you look at the photo however this is certainly what we call a Mars in the UK.

Mars Probe...

Haemish1 comments on Dec 21, 2018:

What is Nougat exactly? Is there an interaction between it and regret?

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

Interesting, I think that the joke may refer to the chocolate bar we have here in the UK called a Mars Bar,. It is very popular here but I do not know if you have it in the US, the photo certainly looks like it but the list is probably quite wrong since I do not think it contains any Nougat, which is ground nuts boiled to a paste with honey or sugar.

I find that I’m now host of yet another group, and didn’t even know it! It seems Balou has ...

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 21, 2018:

People come....people go. Eventually we all will leave. The only thing certain is change.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

Lo! some we lov'd, the loveliest and best That Time and Fate of all their Vintage prest, Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before, And one by one crept silently to Rest.

Random photos in my garden from this year.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Beautiful pics. Boy you Canadians can grow some pretty flowers up there. I would love to be able to grow some ferns like you show here, just to dang hot in Texas. Forget about Hostas down here too. Just to hot. My counsins in Golden, B.C. grow some beautiful flowers too.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@flower_nut That sounds like club-moss, they are actually quite interesting plants which are unrelated to the true mosses in a group on their own. Some of them of course especially the Lycopodiums are famous because back in the Carboniferous they grew to be huge trees, and gave us much of our coal. Some are quite beautiful and the spores have been collected for a number of economic uses, (they are water repelent and explosive ) the trade in spores has however left some of them endangered.

Got the door for my hoop house built and ready to install.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Really good doors for hoop houses. Well Done.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@farmboy2017 I like it that you do such a good job, I am ashamed to say that I just prop up old fence panels in the ends of my hoop houses. Though it is a cheap way for those on a budget.

Random photos in my garden from this year.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Beautiful pics. Boy you Canadians can grow some pretty flowers up there. I would love to be able to grow some ferns like you show here, just to dang hot in Texas. Forget about Hostas down here too. Just to hot. My counsins in Golden, B.C. grow some beautiful flowers too.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@flower_nut Hard to tell from the photo , but I think that it may be a club-moss.

Just a good story about sailing round the world. [youtube.com]

Cast1es comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Recently saw a different version , by a British woman . Her version was so screwed up a ten year old would recognize her mistakes .

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

I thought this one was very clear, and I really liked the graphics though a few modern photos of places and relics would have been nice as well.

What could possibly go wrong?

Elganned comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Wolves becoming rats. Evolution gone horribly wrong...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

Would not matter so much if they were even healthy rats, to be cripled and face lives riddled with genetic weaknesses just because someone thinks it makes you look cute, and forced your parents into incest. That is sick.

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

cava comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Frederick Jameson said: "it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism," Capitalism is the way the majority of world's economies operate with no realistic alternative in sight...socialism/communism will not change how the marketplace is practiced. Governments are now ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

@maturin1919 Agreed, the problem is that capitalism uncontroled leads to feudalism, socialism uncontroled is already a form of feudalism, since, as the left fail to understand, the political establishment is an institution which exists, first and formost, to obtain wealth and power for its inner members: because it is impossible for any institution to do otherwise. The only hope for the vast numbers of people in any age is the one thing which both the left and right hate the most, and that is strong active and well informed democracy. Almost impossible to obtain, very difficult to sustain, but as good as it gets.

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

WilliamFleming comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Not every trader is driven by greed, herd instinct, and fear. I would suggest that those so driven are a small minority and that people like that are generally not successful. The most successful small business owners are thinking of ways to provide services to the public. Counting your winnings at ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

@maturin1919 Yes of course Baseball players can be greedy, people in every walk of life can be greedy, but I meant that when "playing" it is not greedy to want more runs, since that is the point of the game. Ditto it is not, always, greedy to want your beusiness to earn more money since that is the point of the game. The big failier of the left (and I am on the left a lot of the time,) is the failier to understand that human nature does not change because you work in the private sector or because you work in the public sector, Greed is a failing of many people in all walks of life, but it is not a failing of everone nor is it exclusive to the private sector.

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

WilliamFleming comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Not every trader is driven by greed, herd instinct, and fear. I would suggest that those so driven are a small minority and that people like that are generally not successful. The most successful small business owners are thinking of ways to provide services to the public. Counting your winnings at ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

@maturin1919 Very true, but self interest and scoring well is not the same thing as greed, there are many reasons for being in business it does not have to be alruism or greed. You would not say that a Baseball player is greedy because they want to score as many runs as possible,

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

WilliamFleming comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Not every trader is driven by greed, herd instinct, and fear. I would suggest that those so driven are a small minority and that people like that are generally not successful. The most successful small business owners are thinking of ways to provide services to the public. Counting your winnings at ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

I agree the vast majority of business is still run by small businsses who are always service led. The idea that the only reason for being in business is greed is just silly.

All caps. Ugh

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2018:

Even more irritating than no caps at all. 1. The shift key is the one between, Control and Caps Lock. 2. Caps Lock is the key you push, IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY YOUR LIFE COMPLETELY.

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

@jlynn37 Its called irony, I am sorry it is something we do in the UK, sometimes I forget this is an international site.

A message for the festive season from E.

IamNobody comments on Dec 19, 2018:

Need more coffee to process this one

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

@IamNobody To true. Coffee goes well with wine, beer, good food, coversation, reading, sex and sitting by the shore watching the waves. And that is about everything.

Population growth. [youtube.com]

Mitch07102 comments on Dec 19, 2018:

So sad he is no longer with us.

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

Yes, it was not just the insights he gave but his humour was always wonderful too.

It is a lesson which all history teaches wise men, to put trust in ideas, and not in ...

Paul_Clamberer comments on Dec 19, 2018:

Anyone got a job for an unemployed history teacher? ;-)

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

Everyone should have.

"The planet is fine, the people are fucked" ---George Carlin

camne comments on Dec 17, 2018:

Pity the next evolution of intelligent life on this planet, after humans have gone extinct. We've taken the easily accessible fuel/power sources, and metal/mineral resources, and turned them into the poison that killing us. What's the next species going to do?

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

It may not be able to develope technology so quickly , and that means it may live longer.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

jos2588 comments on Dec 18, 2018:

For the first time in my life, I will be spending time alone on xmas. I'm actually looking forward to it!

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

Good for you.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

Tinocca comments on Dec 18, 2018:

I feel lonelier during the holidays than other times of the year. I would welcome visitors stopping by. There are none for me. I agree simply "remembering " people in your thoughts is annoying, but I would love to receive those well wishes in person, and maybe a hug or two.

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

You never know someone may think you are worth a visit, and if you do get one then you will know you have a real friend.

Pagan celebrations

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2018:

Great photo. Soon the solstice will be here and the long slow return of life begins. Enjoy some good feasting.

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

@Shelton Yes, you sort of get a let down in Jan, just when you need a lift the most.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

AmiSue comments on Dec 18, 2018:

For me the bigger issue is: Why do I feel particularly alone during the holidays? My siblings are estranged every day of the year, why is it so acute now? Why am I finding 'triggers' that make me sad during the holidays? I am striving to deal with whatever loneliness or holiday induced sadness that...

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

It is not the same for everyone, I am lucky in having a good friend who I spend the day with, cooking and making merry. But if you are lonely anyway then it must be extra hard. The sympathy may sometimes be welcome, but even so I think that a little practical help and an invite is worth a lot more than thinking and prayers. If you are ever in England at Christmas I will be happy to cook a dinner, for you.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

AnneWimsey comments on Dec 18, 2018:

I have Open House all day, with traditional feast foods, for members of my over-55 singles club. Some years I get 10, some years 1 or 2. We have a good time, eat, play cards, yak

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

For the day I usually go to a friends and we cook a meal together.

Dear Believer: Why Do You Believe?

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2018:

Given the amount of proselytizing that religions do, I think that your small act is a long way from even balancing the scales, and you did not (hopefully) use any social pressure to compel him to accept any of this, therefore you are only stating your case, which is not proselytizing. Thank you ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 17, 2018:

@irascible Yes its so sad, and "if you don't use it you loose it".

I made many mistakes today.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2018:

Please explain tiger candy, it looks lovely.

Fernapple replies on Dec 16, 2018:

@LadyAlyxandrea Lovely thank you.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

HeathenFarmer comments on Dec 13, 2018:

North? This is December where is the snow those fields are green, I won't see that colour again for at least 5 months. Hope you save it.

Fernapple replies on Dec 14, 2018:

North is relative, but it is frost not snow which kills tree ferns, infact if we got snow i would not have to wrap them.

To what degree should instincts be reined in?

Fernapple comments on Dec 11, 2018:

Depends on how you define instinct, but since I am happy to accept genetic determinism, that is what I will call instinct and I will go with my own usage, to say. We are sailing ships. Instinct is the wind, emotion the sail and reason the rudder. Loose any one of the first two and you are a ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 12, 2018:

@Meili I don't myself see any difference between instict and emotion, and regard them as the same parts of the whole genetic complex that we obtain for our heritage. (Except perhaps that one is the mechanism and the other the outcome we see to some degree.) Some people do however see them as different, and I have had long pointless arguments with too many people, over the issue of the usages of these words, all arguments about words being pointless to me, since they are just movable tags we put on ideas. Some people however, especially those inclined to fall for tricks like religion, are so lost and trapped in human culture, (I would call them culture victims) that they loose all contact with nature and all taste of objective truth, and they think of human cultural artifacts like words as having their own inherent truth. To avoid such debates therefore I threw them that as a sop in the anology.

To what degree should instincts be reined in?

Donotbelieve comments on Dec 11, 2018:

Good question. I'm going to think about it for a while and then respond in a more suitable fashion. Really good question!

Fernapple replies on Dec 11, 2018:

Good answer, I wish we all, espcially me, did that more often.

Can compost get too old?

RussRAB comments on Dec 10, 2018:

My grandfather used horse manure on his gardens. He said it was never good until it had aged several years. Overall, compost is good for your garden, but it can also have a short term negative effect of binding up nitrogen. I don't recall the details, but nitrogen generally needs to be "fixed" into ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 11, 2018:

Nitrogen use by compost decaying in the soil is not likely to be fast or too serious, unless there is a very high carbon content in the compost such as when using a lot of sawdust in it. And as too much nitrogen can make growth soft and vunerable to P. & D. I would only bother to add a fertilizer if I wanted especially fast growth especially or if there are signs or nittrogen depleation such as yellow leaves.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 11, 2018:

@Hebert54 Watford gap that's it, I could not remember the exact location, but will now.

"When overseas you learn more about your own country, than the place you are visiting.

IamNobody comments on Dec 10, 2018:

It does help to expand horizons for comparison purposes. Works the same each way.

Fernapple replies on Dec 10, 2018:

My thoughts exactly. I think that it is very good even to travel outside of human culture itself and look back from natures viewpoint, if you can.

Someone in Washington State really doesn't like Jehovah's Witnesses... [msn.com]

Bendog comments on Dec 10, 2018:

I live about an hour away. This sounds personal. Someone who left the cult is now pissed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 10, 2018:

Almost certainly.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Donto101 comments on Dec 9, 2018:

I never thought of using bubble wrap. Thanks for sharing

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

Thats OK. but you do need to attach it well or cover it with something else.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Zoohome comments on Dec 9, 2018:

It's interesting because in southern Brazil, there is a native tree fern. It grows on the mountains (like our mountains are far from any decent height). But snows and get cold there. No one covers them. It puzzles me what is different on that weather that some plants survive and I cant get them to ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

@Zoohome Mine are D. antarctica.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Zoohome comments on Dec 9, 2018:

It's interesting because in southern Brazil, there is a native tree fern. It grows on the mountains (like our mountains are far from any decent height). But snows and get cold there. No one covers them. It puzzles me what is different on that weather that some plants survive and I cant get them to ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

Rainfall, and when it comes, has a lot to do with it, most tree ferns need to be wet year round, yet if a ball of ice forms iin the crown, then they are dead. Some plants can not take ice at all and can only take low temps if it is dry, others need water from the ground so they can take air frost but not frozen soil. Some alpines can take overnight frost because they have natural insulation, but only enough for one night, if the cold goes on therefore they die. Other plants rely on snow cover and will die if the snow thaws. Some need low fall temps to get them dormant. It all gets very complicated, but then, that is the fun of the gardening challenge.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

flower_nut comments on Dec 9, 2018:

Lots of work but if it saves the ferns I'd do it too. I only have one plant I religiously protect each year by covering with leaves. A voodoo lily I'm hoping will bloom next year after being moved a few years ago.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

I cover some things with leaves as well, and because winters can be wet in England and that will often kill many things even more that the cold, it is a common custom to place a sheet of glass at an angle over plants such as alpines and succulents to keep them dry.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Cutiebeauty comments on Dec 9, 2018:

Looks like a lot of work.. How many you have to do?

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

I have three, but they can cost one or two hundred pounds each, so it is worth the effort.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

@Red_Cat London is where England has its capital yes, but it is a separate country like the Vatican in Italy inhabited by a people called cockneys, who do not speak English, having their own language and culture. They are kept apart from the rest of England by a barrier called the M25, thought they think of it as a ring road. They have many strange beliefs, such as thinking that they live at the centre of the earth. ( Which must mean they think of the world as flat.) They are very fearful and keep a destroyer moored on the Thames with its guns pointed at a service station on the road in, just in case they are invaded from the North. They regard all animals except for pigeons as unclean, and these are the only livestock they keep. They are very primitive and the wealthy among them display their wealth in the form of buttons, imported from abroad, which they sow all over their clothes, not seeming to understand the proper use of them.

A cool little documentary about saving the island fox: [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Dec 8, 2018:

Wonderful creatures I had never heard of them before this video, thank you for posting.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

@Maiasaura Yes that lack of fear in island species can be the biggest problem, that's what some people say killed the Dodo, and saw of several of the giant tortoise. Lets hope people are more aware of the dangers these days. Great Photos.

Support Animal

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 8, 2018:

The support is mutual....I rescued him and he rescued me. My little man. My best friend. My rattie roommate. ????❤️❤️❤️❤️

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

@Donotbelieve Yep, nearly as bad as having children.

Support Animal

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 8, 2018:

The support is mutual....I rescued him and he rescued me. My little man. My best friend. My rattie roommate. ????❤️❤️❤️❤️

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

Looks like he really lives well.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

@Red_Cat The Tower of London, is as the name says in London, not England which is a quite different place.

While in Cyprus this week I found that a lot of gardens had Bougainvillea in flower.

MsHoliday comments on Dec 8, 2018:

One of my favorite flowers, we don’t have them here in Ontario. Boo. I didn’t realize that about the leave.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

They do not grow for me here either, but if they did grow in the cold north then perhaps we would not appreciate them half so much.

While in Cyprus this week I found that a lot of gardens had Bougainvillea in flower.

Cutiebeauty comments on Dec 8, 2018:

Those are lovely especially the white one..

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

Thank you, they do come in all colours but I thought the white especially lovely.

While in Cyprus this week I found that a lot of gardens had Bougainvillea in flower.

FrayedBear comments on Dec 8, 2018:

If I remember rightly they respond to being given a good physical thrashing.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

Like Walnut trees then. They do seem to have a lot of vigour.

Blank line

zeuser comments on Dec 8, 2018:

It may have to do With your browser Or your hardware. Cuz it looks like I can do it without any effort.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

Me too, seems to be there are several things like hovering that only work for some people, I think that the site perhaps works best if you use a computer not a mobile device.

Like most gardeners I only take holidays in the winter.

CourreurDeBois comments on Dec 7, 2018:

I would be looking for seeds

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2018:

Could be worth a try, but then I would have to take another holiday when they are ripe. Oh its a hard life but someone has to live it. Seriously though it may be that some of our local 'Alpine' nurseries have it, so I can enjoy looking there.

My garden minions are calling for the start of new plants.

Alvinsmama comments on Dec 6, 2018:

Much success to you. I've tried growing plants from seeds and never succeeded.

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2018:

@Zoohome Many a thousand seed and many rare plants in our gardens were found on the compost heep, don't worry even great botanic gardens have found things on the compost heap.

Nothing makes me crazier then trying to spell psychiatrist ????

LiterateHiker comments on Dec 6, 2018:

I'm an excellent speller. But I trip up on spelling these four words: Recommend Luxury Accommodate Playwright

Fernapple replies on Dec 6, 2018:

I could not recommend anywhere that would accommodate a playwright in luxury. But I never read introductions, and wonder why you ask such a thing on this site.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2018:

@Hebert54 My female relatives object to that, but I have to say its true the north is the last bastion of matriarchy. Though real dragons are nice animals and they help you to keep warm in winter.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2018:

@Jnei Interestingly on a serious point, it is usual for ecologists to put the north south divide roughly on a line from the Wash to the Wirral, if you think about it it works quite well, and I go with it because at least it is real and not political, though it does cut Linc's in two.

Next time a religious person approach you and try to talk about God, do this.

Novelty comments on Dec 5, 2018:

When someone tells me about their faith I tell them to have faith that everyone will be fine after we die because we all go to the same place. It’s weird how theist either blow out their cool and argue relentlessly or tell me how inspirational what I said was. Neither one seems to get how factual ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2018:

Cool thought. The afterlife they believe in only seems to have value for them if it is exclusive, because otherwise it makes no difference if there is one or not.

If this is a 'possum I'll be a bobtailed raccoon.

Beowulfsfriend comments on Dec 4, 2018:

I believe that is an Australian possum. They are called possums and are related to the opossum in North America.

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2018:

@Wurlitzer There are several sorts in S, America, but none here in Europe, I think they do not like ice ages or mean people.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2018:

@Jnei Sorry, but it is hard to say where Lincolnshire is exactly.If we say east anglia, people say no. if we say east midlands people say we are not in the midlands, if we say north people say we are not in the north. We seem not to belong and to be forgotten, which can be nice sometimes. So with the trent, humber, north sea and fens/wash on four sides we are nearly an island, and with rising sea levels we will soon be just that and able to go UDI. Oh happy Yellow Bellies.

Love this lol

Elganned comments on Dec 3, 2018:

I don't get it.

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2018:

@darien75 Well maybe you are warm and easy going in your judgment, while I am a cynical old !!!!!!.

Are you a bully? Fox News says you are. [mavenroundtable.io]

powder comments on Dec 2, 2018:

At least we aren't the weak as piss cunts who target children and threaten them with eternal damnation if they don't believe our bs. PS science comes from scientia, Latin for knowledge. And knowledge has been around a tad longer than 2000 years. Protestant priest my arse. Did he also invent Latin?

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2018:

It is only four or five words out of many thousands of science terms anyway, don't worry I have not time to list them all.

Love this lol

Elganned comments on Dec 3, 2018:

I don't get it.

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2018:

@darien75 Oh, I thought it was an insurance scam.

.. i miss my garden, i miss summer, i love the green of spring time :)

WarmFluffy comments on Nov 27, 2018:

I like warm weather, too.

Fernapple replies on Nov 28, 2018:

@mahina_child And somewhere where the flowers and seasons are different, I love to go to the Med. in winter for that reason especially.

Voting . . . . Is like wishing for a unicorn to show up.

Jolanta comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Well, not quite true, after all Karl Marx had a lot of power in his life. He was a philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. We all have power but the price for it may not be palatable for many. Power is not necessary, power over ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 27, 2018:

@Jolanta Thanks, that made my day.

Voting . . . . Is like wishing for a unicorn to show up.

Jolanta comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Well, not quite true, after all Karl Marx had a lot of power in his life. He was a philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. We all have power but the price for it may not be palatable for many. Power is not necessary, power over ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 27, 2018:

@Jolanta, @THHA OK, since Jolanta got me back on this page I will make one more reply. It is called "history" and therefore all the threads are attached, and have been so since the start, that is the nature of history.

Voting . . . . Is like wishing for a unicorn to show up.

Jolanta comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Well, not quite true, after all Karl Marx had a lot of power in his life. He was a philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. We all have power but the price for it may not be palatable for many. Power is not necessary, power over ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 27, 2018:

@Jolanta Very impatient, but please explain vegemite, since it is one I have not encountered before and it sounds fun.

Former cult members, at what moment did you go, “oh fuck, I’m in a cult”?

48thRonin comments on Nov 25, 2018:

When I was standing in the middle of desert wearing the same clothes as everyone else and being told that we will sacrifice ourselves for the greater good. No hold on wait that was the Army. ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 26, 2018:

They both use many of the same methods.

Honestly missionaries are evil.

Bierbasstard comments on Nov 26, 2018:

Just as bad are the "hard" atheists on this site that feel that their "esoteric philosophies" are somehow so deep and enlightened that they feel the need to inform the rest of us that we are somehow lacking in our lack of belief or knowledge.

Fernapple replies on Nov 26, 2018:

@Bierbasstard I agree with you.The big division which really counts, is between holding groundless belief or not, the niceties within scepticism are tiny and unimportant compared with that. Some may think that they are on a higher rung of the ladder than others, and that may be true, but the really important thing is to have looked up and started the climb out of the cesspit of ignorance and prejudice which is blind unquestioning faith, looking at the light and not swimming nose down among the sludge where the users want to keep you. Therefore it is cruel and unfair to despise those who use a different ladder or can not climb quite as fast, and for that reason I always call myself a 'Broad Church Sceptic.' But do not worry about the meaning of words, people who want to argue about that are pointless, since words do not have meanings only usages, and any person is as right to give any meaning to a word they, wish as long as they make their definition clear.

Making Mince meat and Christmas cakes.

Varn comments on Nov 25, 2018:

I’ve always thought ‘mincemeat’ was just a cartoon threat ;-)

Fernapple replies on Nov 26, 2018:

@Petter, @Varn It is so good that I sometimes think mincepies are the best thing the UK ever invented. Apart from "Toad In The Hole" ( Does not contain toad.) "Season Pudding", ( No seasons included.) "Summer Puddding" (No Summer.) and Plum loaf, Which guess what , does not contain plums.

Making Mince meat and Christmas cakes.

Varn comments on Nov 25, 2018:

I’ve always thought ‘mincemeat’ was just a cartoon threat ;-)

Fernapple replies on Nov 26, 2018:

@Petter Thank you that is interesting and I will follow the link.

Voting . . . . Is like wishing for a unicorn to show up.

Jolanta comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Well, not quite true, after all Karl Marx had a lot of power in his life. He was a philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. We all have power but the price for it may not be palatable for many. Power is not necessary, power over ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 26, 2018:

@THHA I do not think that it matters in the least if the power goes at a tangent or not. It is still power. You are trying to support your argument by using a personal definition of the word power so narrow that I do not think that anyone else would agree to it. And in the end that makes this just an argument about the usages of words, which I have no time for, since they are always pointless, so Bye.

Is Christmas a well earned break from the working world or a major inconvenience because you can’t...

GwenC comments on Nov 25, 2018:

It is one single day that some things are closed. You'll survive.

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2018:

Wow. You are lucky, round here nearly everything closes from xmas eve till new years day.

I take it a lot of you heard about the recent slaying of a illegally trespassing missionary off the ...

evergreen comments on Nov 25, 2018:

I'll have to admit ... there have been times when, faced with overzealous, holier-than-thou types, were it legal, I might have fired up my bow and arrow too !

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2018:

Do you know where you can get archery lessons? We are troubled by doorbell pushers round here.

I read a post on Facebook yesterday with a bunch of christian friends saying they know the Bible ...

John_Tyrrell comments on Nov 25, 2018:

"Back to the Bible" which many Christians claim is the type of religion they follow really means "make it up as you go along." Nothing wrong with that, because "make it up as you go along" was what the writers of the Bible did.

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2018:

Not sure. What is wrong with it is that, nobody else gets to make it up as they go along and then claim they have gods backing behind them.

Making Mince meat and Christmas cakes.

Varn comments on Nov 25, 2018:

I’ve always thought ‘mincemeat’ was just a cartoon threat ;-)

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2018:

Do you not have it in the US ? It is very popular over here, it dose not contain any meat, it is a mixture of dried fruit and spice with sugar and a small amount of dried fat. Yum, I can smell it now.

Voting . . . . Is like wishing for a unicorn to show up.

Jolanta comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Well, not quite true, after all Karl Marx had a lot of power in his life. He was a philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. We all have power but the price for it may not be palatable for many. Power is not necessary, power over ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2018:

@maturin1919 I agree. His ideas still had power after his death, they killed at least six million Russians and many more beside. What has your funeral got to do with power.

Religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn’t there, and finding...

Fernapple comments on Nov 25, 2018:

I like this, though D. Allen I think in "Iamnoboddy's" post below seems to do it better. While sadly, I am sorry to say, the resort of many who claim to find the cat, is then to threaten to punch anyone who casts doubt on the black cat.

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2018:

@Marionville Always start with the original, and go back to first source. ( If theists did that! )

What platitudes really drive you mad?

WilliamFleming comments on Nov 24, 2018:

I believe that from a cosmic perspective things really do happen for reasons and things that happen transcend the human concept of good vs. bad. It’s all good IMO, and that’s no platitude.

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2018:

That's no different from theism, except that anyone who believes that is vain enough to think that they can write their own bible.

What platitudes really drive you mad?

kltuckmn comments on Nov 24, 2018:

He/she is in a better place. Makes me wanna puke or slap them silly.

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2018:

Especially since they tend to use that one most when they are talking about childrens deaths.Yuk.

Listen to this pastor attempt to prove the existence of god while denying the existence of you! (4 ...

Untamedshrew comments on Nov 24, 2018:

Ah, I'm an atheist because I don't like rules and I worship myself, now I get it! As a social worker, who often gets blessed for doing "the lord's work", I just wish I could find a way to politely inform people these good deeds are done by a godless heathen.

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2018:

There are good people and there are people who don't do good unless god tells them to.

Why do otherwise rational people believe in GOD?

p-nullifidian comments on Oct 8, 2018:

At the heart of the debate lies—it seems to me—the fundamental belief, or lack thereof, in the dichotomy of what Stephen Jay Gould referred to as non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA). In such a worldview, science has its domain, while religion has its own separate space—the two don’t overlap. ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2018:

@KittiPerry I was addressing the philosophy of religion rather than the psychology, but be that as it may, I am still happy to try an answer. What you say is certainly true but we do not spend all our life in high emotion. We all should, and many do, step back and evaluate with the rational brain. That people do not, and do not understand the need to do so, is the fault of western education systems. Which are all too willing to willfully neglect the teaching of the need for carefull thought and good thinking in order to avoid the conflict with their need to indoctrinate. It has been pointed out before, that education in the west tends to be dominated by an unnatural pairing of the far religious right and the far liberal left. So much so, that it is a common-place to say. "I do not agree with what the left/right stand for but at least many of them do good work in the schools." Yet of course the reason why those two groups are dominant in education and happy to come together with those who you would think are their natural enemies, is because they both share a mutual need to indoctrinate, and therefore thought and education are supressed by the very people who are employed to educate. This is the main reason why people are happy to accept emotional proof only, because that is how they were trained to think.

Like button

Fernapple comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Yes. do not push the like button, just hover over it, then go down the menu and click your choice just once, you only click once; if you double click it wipes the click on the like button which counts as a like itself. Sometimes you have to wait a second for it to come up, be patient.

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2018:

@RavenCT I am, sad to say, very old now and would not be without a desktop; nice big screen for old tiered eyes, nice big buttons and mouse for old hands, but most of all no recharging and no downtime because up-dates are almost instant. If I go out I use a tablet nice and big again, but I often wonder why the IT world is so obsessed with tiny, human beings are not getting smaller or growing smaller eyes and fingers. What practical value is a smart watch when we get one, as they say we will? Is it not just a trend which has over-run its course?

Like button

Fernapple comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Yes. do not push the like button, just hover over it, then go down the menu and click your choice just once, you only click once; if you double click it wipes the click on the like button which counts as a like itself. Sometimes you have to wait a second for it to come up, be patient.

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2018:

@RavenCT Wonderful site worth a big screen.

Like button

Fernapple comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Yes. do not push the like button, just hover over it, then go down the menu and click your choice just once, you only click once; if you double click it wipes the click on the like button which counts as a like itself. Sometimes you have to wait a second for it to come up, be patient.

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2018:

@bingst The site is obviously built for people with computers. A lot of sites are not that mobile friendly, though that would depend on the mobile ap you are using.

Like button

Fernapple comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Yes. do not push the like button, just hover over it, then go down the menu and click your choice just once, you only click once; if you double click it wipes the click on the like button which counts as a like itself. Sometimes you have to wait a second for it to come up, be patient.

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2018:

@bingst It works for me. My mouse has magic powers!

Those who know nothing and ask questions are smarter than those who know nothing and give answers.

IamNobody comments on Nov 23, 2018:

Whenever in doubt ask......even if you know, ask anyway...it is always fun and you may discover a new angle

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2018:

That's a good one worth posting as a quote on its own.

What's a Basal Breed? [nationalpurebreddogday.com] interesting...

Fernapple comments on Nov 19, 2018:

Interesting, but on the whole I do not approve of pure bred dog breeding. To take an animal as wonderful and capable of so much as a dog, and to think of nothing better to do with it than to genetically disable it and repeatedly inbreed it, merely for ornamental fancy, seems to me to be a failure of...

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2018:

@motrubl4u No I am well aware of that and think it a very good thing. I just do not like the whole showing business especially, for much the same reason that some feminists do not like beauty contests. I think that intelegent socail animals deserve more respect, and should be valued for better things.

Hello, I'm new to the site.

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2018:

No one here will, I think, judge you for being a none believer don't worry. They will almost certainly tell you that they don't like your taste in politicians, climate laws, clothes, hats, salad dressings, hotels, pets, cars, poets, TV, sports clubs, pot plants, and table cloths etc. But never for ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2018:

@Varn Yep.

Do you think it is inevitable that with increasing understanding and the resulting applied ...

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2018:

It is to be hoped that we will find some way to genetically control ourselves. Because at this time all the selective forces that come from increasing civilization will only have a negative effect on us. Somebody once said that our next step forward in evolution is to become too stupid to use ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2018:

@rcandlish I would have thought that if virtual sex stops the real in some, then that would speed our decline. I do not think that without some form of eugenics anyone can resist the dumbing down, you can not fight evolution, though you may control it, that is confusing cultural evolution with genetic evolution. And sex the vitual form of which is just another contraceptive, with sexual selection which is how we choose those we reproduce with.

When you are young, and simple things seem enough. [youtube.com]

Stephanie99 comments on Nov 22, 2018:

Cute.

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2018:

I like cute too. Some would say that I should be over it by my age, but it just does not go away.

How jocund did they drive their team afield! How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke! ...

brentan comments on Nov 22, 2018:

That's nicely put by the man. It has a similar theme to Ozymandias. Ambition is probably a good thing in itself but not the type that is just the craving for power and money,

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2018:

Yes this bit is very like Ozymadias, and as you probably know, it is from the Elergy In A Country Churchyard; though it is not an elergy. It is well worth looking up if you do not know it because although it does not have the same force as Ozymandias it does cover a much wider range of themes.

This is a new idea, though many may have kind of guessed it was likely.

Cast1es comments on Nov 22, 2018:

Interesting to read , but I keep wondering , what effect does this different concept have on today's society ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2018:

It gives the nerds like me a bit of joy.

OK just because I like dogs, especially if they are smarter than the average creationist.

Marionville comments on Nov 22, 2018:

Of course she’s smarter than the average dog....she’s Scottish and female, just like me! Uses logical thinking too...we could be sisters...(no bitch jokes, please) !! ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2018:

Yes, she is exactly like every other Scottish female; bright, beautiful, full of life, intelligent, friendly, happy to please, silken of hair and above all, wet of nose. (Its something to do with the weather I think.)