I had thought that maybe with the long Christmas weekend that maybe the two of you would be able to spend it together in person at the family home..... Sorry if that wasn't able to happen this year!
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- Thread starter Gutwrench
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Behold the Man who Never Was (no, not the film, the scientific hoax)
Piltdown Man, as he would have been, if he had existed. Piltdown Man Reconstructed
In 1973 I was working for six months in Sydney, taking a break from my Uni studies.
The previous year I had read a book about the Piltdown hoax, and was quite interested in it.
On my way home one night, I stopped into the City of Sydney Public Library, a tiny little set of rooms in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. Browsing the shelves I came across a little pamphlet which was the original publication of Piltdown Man. Literally, my feet buckled under me, and I sat on the floor, just reading this little pamplet.
More modern dating techniques in the 1950s showed it was a fake, but nobody knew who had done it. Suspects included Charles Dawson, who found it, Pierre Teilhard de Chardan, a Jesuit palaeontologist and even Arthur Conan Doyle.
The whole hoax was finally and comprehensively debunked in 2016 with Dawson being named as the hoaxer.
Piltdown Man, as he would have been, if he had existed. Piltdown Man Reconstructed
In 1973 I was working for six months in Sydney, taking a break from my Uni studies.
The previous year I had read a book about the Piltdown hoax, and was quite interested in it.
On my way home one night, I stopped into the City of Sydney Public Library, a tiny little set of rooms in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. Browsing the shelves I came across a little pamphlet which was the original publication of Piltdown Man. Literally, my feet buckled under me, and I sat on the floor, just reading this little pamplet.
More modern dating techniques in the 1950s showed it was a fake, but nobody knew who had done it. Suspects included Charles Dawson, who found it, Pierre Teilhard de Chardan, a Jesuit palaeontologist and even Arthur Conan Doyle.
The whole hoax was finally and comprehensively debunked in 2016 with Dawson being named as the hoaxer.
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Pretty sure he was in my home-room in Jr. High School, although he wasn't rocking that mullet then.
Ha, that's brilliant, a proper 'reconstruction'. There's quite a good few little radio shorts on BBC radio 4 about scientific hoaxes (I don't know if you can listen in Aus) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001psq9
I've just listened to The Planted Plants of Rum - I'll work through the others - I suspect Piltdown will be in there...
Really wishing I had a drain plug (like the oil for your car) for my sinuses. Been fighting a cold since last saturday and I have the mental capacity of a pencil eraser thanks to the sinus congestion and pressure. I was forced to turn to my version of "in case of emergencies, break glass"...Afrin nose spray. It works wonders but once it wears off, you wish you were just dead.
Thank you for the mental image just before dinner! I rarely get ill.
Get well soon.
Maybe steam from a hot shower or bath? To at least alleviate sinus pain
Get a neti pot. They are gross, but do clear out your sinuses. Recommend doing it in the shower.
I've done ALLLLLL of that...
1/2 hour showers at lava temperature
Neti pot multiple times
6 gallons of green tea
Antihistamines
A steady diet of Sudafed and cold medicines
Every time I get a cold or a sinus infection, especially when it's induced by the weather like it is now, the only thing that works for me is Afrin. It's frustrating as hell but thankfully, I have an appointment with an ENT next month and I'd like them to tell me just what the **** is wrong with my head.
I recently finished Diplomacy. I knew right away it was a political science book to be taken seriously because various forms of the word "hegemony" appeared right away.
;-)
Joking aside, thanks for the recommendation. The framework of realpolitik-based versus idealism-based strategies was interesting and revealing. I especially liked Kissinger's analysis of various inflection points in European and US history up to the Cold War. But I think once he reaches the era where he was personally involved, his observations and judgements, understandably, become much less objective. Even so, I think Diplomacy is a worthwhile book for anybody interested in the interplay between diplomacy, politics, and personalities.
Miss AFB is on my mind. 8 years ago this week she left us.
I’m glad it’s Friday. The flooding in our local area is also very much on my mind. It seems the whole country is underwater.
I’m glad it’s Friday. The flooding in our local area is also very much on my mind. It seems the whole country is underwater.
I've had sinus issues since my teens.
Hot showers, (piping hot), humidity and hydration have all helped.
As has insisting that my personal environment is entirely smoke free - I am allergic to nicotine, and violently allergic to cannabis - a whiff of either of these anywhere in the vicinity will trigger a strong sinus response.
Moreover, I have noticed an improvement when I take plenty of water - these days, I will drink between one to two litres of water a day, and, in warm climates, that will easily rise to three litres of water a day.
Having a large glass of water to hand at all times helps, and I will always have a water with either coffee or tea, or a beer or glass of wine.
The other thing I use - and it merely alleviates matters - is Olbas Oil (and here, the primary ingredient is eucalyptus).
It eases congestion, and does help with inhaling and breathing, but alleviates, rather than cures, the condition.
A tough week.
Try to be kind to yourselves.
Yes, I've been following this.
Take care.
Ah man, thinking of you and your wife at what I’d imagine is a very difficult time of year.
It looks awful on the news and my family in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire have thankfully been unaffected personally, but much of the towns they live in are under water. I live 1300ft above sea level near the Brecon Beacons so flooding is very difficult where I live.
If you get flooded the rest of us have had it! But the water comes from Wales to here so do you mind keeping hold of a bit more?
We’re personally not affected either. Just as well. You can’t put your valuables upstairs in a bungalow!
The only things I’d be concerned about loosing are the sentimental things from the aforementioned Miss AFB. Everything else is insured and replaceable.
That thing called the sun has never made an appearance since I got back to WI. It's just been extremely cold and dark.
A lot of the images I see, especially of parked cars flooded do make me wonder if some people have decided to let it happen for an insurance payout.
Where is the political thread round here? Our discussion on taxes in the UK general chat thread was deleted unsurprisingly I guess, as you can't talk about taxes without mentioning government, but I looked and can't find the political thread? Any mods or members able to point it out?
Uhhhhh.... there is none. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/politics-religion-social-issues-forum-closed-july-2021.2303225/
Looks like you'll have to take that someplace else!
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As @rm5 has explained, - and kindly took the trouble to link the relevant thread in his response - there is no political section on this forum.
There used to be one, but it was closed - in fact, it was shut down permanently - in 2021.
I just can’t imagine why you wouldn’t move your car if you know what I mean. There is usually some warning and somewhere to drive it to.
Anyway I’d certainly move mine!
The problem with moving one's vehicle to get it out of the way of potential flooding is that then the driver has to walk back home, which is fine if the safe parking spot is within a reasonable distance without risk of water coming into that area, but what if one has to drive a much further distance in order to get the car to safety?