Author Topic: The Library (Read 2088134 times)

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4600 on:** April 03, 2011, 08:35:27 AM »

The Library

Our library cafe is open 24/7, the welcome mat is always out.
Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

We look forward to hearing from you, about you and the books you are enjoying (or not).

Let the book talk begin here!

*Suggestion Box for Future Discussions
*SeniorLearn's Archives

Yes I agree - and I hope your visit goes well Barbara, your sister will be so glad to see you.

Rosemary

Babi · « **Reply #4601 on:** April 03, 2011, 09:15:29 AM »

Thank you, FRYBABE. I did some exploring on Netflix after our posts yesterday, and found
there is a way. If you click on the image of the book, the details of the book come up.
The information includes subtitles and whether it has cc. All I needed was a little push
to bestir myself to hunt.
A first child at 37! You give me hope, MARYPAGE. My granddaughter is supporting her
fiance until he gets his degree, and then she intends to finish getting hers. I had
given up hopes of any great-grands there, but ...maybe. My other granddaughter and my
grandson have no plans to marry, much less start a family. None of them are getting any
younger...and I certainly am not!

MaryPage · « **Reply #4602 on:** April 03, 2011, 12:55:02 PM »

Interestingly enough, my oldest (17) great granddaughter, who already has a very nerdish beau and who will be off to university next year to learn to be an architect, plans quite seriously to have NO children. She cites the future of our climate and the insurrections there will be from hoards of millions attempting to get where the food is and the additional poisoning of our air, water and soil from the waste products from humans, animals, chemicals and radioactive waste which we insist upon increasing rather than curbing, as her reasons. Apparently many of our very young educated population are increasingly feeling this way, so the planet may well be left to the less thoughtful among us.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4603 on:** April 03, 2011, 01:24:47 PM »

My daughter had her first child at age 37 as well and her second just days before she turned 40 - she wanted 40 to be her cut off date - later she was tempted but decided two was just fine - they are not 17 and 20. Time flies... I was in a two day class a couple of weeks ago where the class was broken into age groups so we could learn the difference in how we communicate and what we valued that was different according to these groupings - and it is true the group under the age of 35 marries much later, play more, are wealthier, have upscale significant jobs, invest their money and are the most professional even though they work less hours than any other generation.I got the impression they really never stop working - all they do is change clothes and continue to make their contacts sitting in a pool or at a cafe.

Babi · « **Reply #4604 on:** April 04, 2011, 08:37:08 AM »

Sad as it seems, these voluntary decisions not to have children may be mankind's survival
instinct rising to the surface. Over-population is one of the major threats to this planet's
future. Our Star Trek dreams of colonizing distant planets seem a bit too remote to be
the answer to the problems we're facing now.

bellemere · « **Reply #4605 on:** April 04, 2011, 03:34:21 PM »

I'm no good at cutting and pasting URLs, but go t You
Tube, and get the one about the two baby boy twins having a conversation! It will make your day a lot brighter.
My friend was an identical twin, and says she and her sister had a secret language when they were little.

LarryHanna · « **Reply #4606 on:** April 04, 2011, 06:47:25 PM »

bellemere, I saw that video a few days ago and it is great. There is also a very good one of a cat using the iPad.

nlhome · « **Reply #4607 on:** April 04, 2011, 06:58:47 PM »

We had our children in our mid to late 30's. My youngest daughter's best friend's mother was young enough to be my daughter. There was a difference, definitely, in our parenting style. In fact, several of my daughter's friends' mothers would call to run things by me - if ok with me, then they were ok with it, and I had to caution them because my daughter was the youngest of three, and by that time, I had figured out what to get excited about. I knew I had much more tolerance than they would for certain things.

I see one of my children not having children - but my daughter will be a happy mom.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4608 on:** April 05, 2011, 03:53:06 AM »

nlhome - that is so true. My 12 year old is the youngest of three, and the other two have periodic moans about how much she gets away with, but you do learn that many of the things that you thought were so important aren't really (or maybe I'm just lazier now...). I had all of my children in my 30s.

Having said that, last night 12 year old suddenly came out with the fact that she is not a Christian and does not believe in organised religion. She is the first of the children to do this - the other two approach Christianity in their own, different ways - son is quite evangelical, elder daughter is more like me and prefers to keep it personal - but although they have never been forced to go to church, etc, since the time they were old enough to choose, they both do. I have no problem with Madeleine's views, I think it is very good to question and think about these things, and I will certainly not try to change her mind - in fact I'm really glad that she feels able to tell us what she thinks. I suppose I was just surprised, because I tend still to think of her as my "baby", and here she is, a young woman with her own take on life.

Rosemary

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4609 on:** April 05, 2011, 05:06:54 AM »

Rosemary sounds like your daughter has recently read or heard about Stephen Hawkings - I would love one day to read an exchange between Stephen Hawkings and Hans Kung - when all is said and done Hans Kung agrees there is very little reason to believe in the church however he sees the rational for goodness only tied to a belief in God - as I say - I would love to hear these two guys address each others point of view.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4610 on:** April 05, 2011, 08:14:45 AM »

Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, the ancient Greek cult of Dionysus, the ancient worship of the god Mithra, total immersion in all history as a study; eye-openers, all.

Babi · « **Reply #4611 on:** April 05, 2011, 09:12:38 AM »

ROSEMARY, if you like, you can mention to your daughter that I regard 'organized religion'
with caution and suspicion, also. However, that is a man-made structure, and doesn't
change my active faith as a Christian. One has to sometimes make a distinction between
faith and 'religion', odd as it may sound.

marjifay · « **Reply #4612 on:** April 05, 2011, 10:26:55 AM »

Rosemary, I admire your daughter, Madeleine, and you, as well, for not trying to change her opinion. (She is young and who knows how she will think in a few years' time). Anyway, it took me until I attended college to come to the conclusion she has already reached..

Marj

Frybabe · « **Reply #4613 on:** April 05, 2011, 05:17:54 PM »

Oh yipee! A water line break. Of course they said it was on my side. I still have water, thank goodness. Until they came out and mucked about a bit, the water pressure was quite high. Since they cleaned out the main shut off area and took a look, there is now water bubbling up at the valve. Now that they loosened everything, I have less pressure and a stream running down the sidewalk. The only reason I knew there was a leak somewhere outside was because I could hear the sound of water running when I went to the basement. The sound is a lot louder now. I can hear it in the living room. It took me a while to call them (like weeks) because my water pressure was so high I didn't think I had a leak. The contractor just called and said it would take about three days to inspect, submit the paperwork and get approval to fix it. Good thing I bought that water line insurance.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4614 on:** April 05, 2011, 05:19:56 PM »

You can buy "water line insurance"

Frybabe · « **Reply #4615 on:** April 05, 2011, 05:49:49 PM »

My water company offers water and sewer line insurance. Right now, I am paying $5.50 a month. Not much considering what it would cost to replace a long line. Copper pipe is expensive. The policy has a lot of caveats so I expect I will still have to some of the costs depending on where the break is.

pedln · « **Reply #4616 on:** April 05, 2011, 11:03:33 PM »

Frybabe, was the leak reflected in your water bill? And the only way you knew you had a leak was because you could hear water running? Oh boy, I'd be sunk because my hearing is so bad I don't hear water running if I've left a faucet on, although I do try to be careful. Especially before going out of town.

pedln · « **Reply #4617 on:** April 05, 2011, 11:04:52 PM »

Most of us enjoyed last year’s film about Julia Child, Julie and Julia, with all its insight into Julia Child’s early cooking experience in France. Was there a book of the same title? I don’t remember.

Now there is a new book about Julia and Paul Child and their life before the days in Paris. A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS. At age 32 Julia McWilliams had no job and had never been out of the USA. At 6’ 2” she was rejected by the WACs as being “too long,” but she ended up in Ceylon working for the OSS (the forerunner of the CIA). And there she met Paul Child.

The author, Jennet Conant, is the granddaughter of former Harvard president James Conant, and is married to 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft. She’s described as “more a storyteller and journalist than a proper historian.” The book describes their early years together and also the period in the 1950’s when they were caught up in the McCarthy investigations. It sounds like a winner, and here’s the link to the USA Today review.

A Covert Affair

Frybabe · « **Reply #4618 on:** April 05, 2011, 11:30:04 PM »

No Pedln, the leak is in the line to the house, before it gets to the meter. Thank goodness. But the sound of the leak carried through the pipes. It was quite loud, otherwise I would not have noticed. The water guy said that even very small leaks can sound really loud if there is a lot of pressure. The water pressure here is quite high. They raised the water pressure last year some time, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of the old pipes in the area can't handle it. In fact, last year the borough of Camp Hill sued the water company because the increased water pressure was busting mains all over the place. One of them shut down Route 11/15 right in front of the Camp Hill Mall.

I can't believe I am reading four books at the same time. Three for our discussions and one is a SciFi. Two are print and two are on my Kindle.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4619 on:** April 06, 2011, 02:14:20 AM »

Pedln - there is definitely a book of Julia & Julia - I saw it in a charity shop this week, but restrained myself as not only is my TBR list completely out of control, but whilst we are camping in our tiny flat, piles of books become dangerous obstacles (though this did not stop me yesterday buying a lovely old copy of "Josephine, John and the Puppy", a children's book that was old even in my childhood - I loved the Josephine books (by Mrs HC Craddock) and could not resist this one in the Oxfam bookshop for £4.99).

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #4620 on:** April 06, 2011, 06:46:32 AM »

I read and loved Julie and Julia. Fun read. I will look for the CIA book. Sounds interesting. having a good time at the elder hostel.

Babi · « **Reply #4621 on:** April 06, 2011, 08:43:43 AM »

I was greatly shocked to read that our government was facing a possible 'shutdown'. Then
I was further astounded to read that this has happened before. "...the 17 government shutdowns since 1977 have all been blips on the radar, with the longest lasting 21 days, from December 15, 1995, to January 6, 1996."
So what really happens when the government is shuttered? Not much. During the 21-day
shutdown, less than 15 percent of the federal workforce was actually idled.
I don't know whether to be alarmed or sigh with relief!

$:-\$

pedln · « **Reply #4622 on:** April 06, 2011, 12:16:17 PM »

Babi, I don't remember exact dates, but I do remember someone had been visiting in DC and none of the museums (which are just about all run by the government and FREE) were open. I don't know if a shutdown would mean that my Fed govt. employed daughter in NY would be furloughed while a shutdown is going on or not.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4623 on:** April 06, 2011, 12:25:26 PM »

I remember when the 1995 crowd came into congress and brought about a shutdown. It winds up costing us taxpayers a small fortune to shut down the government! Now a new crowd, having no memory and learning nothing of the lessons of history, is hell bent to let it happen again!

We WILL continue to get our Social Security checks. If you have a tax refund due, it will not be in the works until the wheels of government grind into business again. If you are just signing up for Social Security, your application will be put on hold.

Oh, the whole thing is just a stinking mess!

No federal employees will be paid, although the congress can put in a rider paying themselves, and they usually do this. But the essential employees are asked to show up and told they can put in for retroactive pay later. Most are patriotic and do show up. Agencies that do not have to do with our national security are usually shut down completely.

jeriron · « **Reply #4624 on:** April 06, 2011, 01:36:23 PM »

The Republicans don't seem to remember how stupid they looked after pulling that stunt the last time. It looks to me that they never learn.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4625 on:** April 06, 2011, 02:24:44 PM »

This is the really big stack of truth on our personal taxpayer platters:

We HAVE to have government. No social grouping, large or small, can exist without a committee or agency to make & maintain roads (even the Incas had this, for crying out loud; and they never even invented the wheel!), to put out fires, to protect citizens from those who would break the laws and do them harm (stealing, killing, etc.), to defend the citizens from attack from other social groupings, to house, maintain and protect the incapacitated who have no one, to arrange education for the young, to try the accused and incarcerate the guilty, to pass laws for the greater good of the citizenry as a whole, to arrange meetings with other societies to reach agreements re trade, barter, values, becoming allied against other threats, boundaries, exclusive and shared territories, and so on and on. If the average American would just force themselves to take so much as one hour out to think of the things we have set our government up to do for us, they would cringe to think of the number of times they have mindlessly condemned government. We get our monies worth, we do! At least, those of us who pay taxes get huge value for our tax dollars. Those of us who pay no taxes but line the pockets of our congress with huge campaign funds and gifts in exchange for promises to exempt them from taxation get an even greater return!

MaryPage · « **Reply #4626 on:** April 06, 2011, 07:05:21 PM »

Tonight's news tells us the congress will get their paychecks when the government shuts down, the military will not.

And yes, all national monuments will be closed; so cancel those spring trips to Washington, D.C.

PatH · « **Reply #4627 on:** April 06, 2011, 08:29:46 PM »

As a retired government worker, I would like to put in a plug for how much we felt jerked around by the politicians during shutdowns. During the 1995-6 shutdown I was working at the National Institutes of Health, in a lab full of dedicated scientists who were motivated by getting their research done, not primarily by money. The whole thing was handled in a way that made it clear that there was no respect for anyone as workers. Designations as "essential" or "nonessential" were fairly arbitrary, not really based on the effect on our research. Thank goodness I was called "essential", since I was in the middle of an experiment, involving a huge amount of work by others, that would have been totally messed up by a delay, but it was just luck that I got to work, no one considered that in making the decision. Some of the more senior scientists, declared "non-essential" were practically screaming with frustration at having their research put on hold for weeks.

And it was going to lead to resentment no matter what. No one knew whether the "non-essential" workers would get paid. If you worked and got paid, you would resent it if the furloughed people got paid for not working. If you didn't work, you had to worry if you would lose your salary, even though you would have preferred to work and get paid. Not real good for morale.

kiwilady · « **Reply #4628 on:** April 07, 2011, 12:12:53 AM »

I really like the last bit of your post Mary P. It echos the situation here. The big boys pay little or no tax but line up to contribute to electoral party campaigns.

Carolyn

FlaJean · « **Reply #4629 on:** April 07, 2011, 10:42:00 AM »

MaryPage, my sentiments exactly! Thanks for posting it. PatH, yours was also good info to know. The last time government was shut down it cost us taxpayers over 1.5 billion dollars according to the news.

Babi · « **Reply #4630 on:** April 07, 2011, 07:20:32 PM »

Quote

Tonight's news tells us the congress will get their paychecks when the government shuts down, the military will not.

I just had a mental picture that I really enjoyed. It was the military showing up on the
steps of Congress to express their deep dissatisfaction with Congressional selfishness.

After all this is over, I propose a groundroots swell to pass a law stating that any
action the Congress takes to stop government pay must include their own. That would
definitely put an end to this sort of nonsense.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4631 on:** April 07, 2011, 08:57:15 PM »

I agree BABI. I am horrified that the idiots are allowing themselves to get paid while not paying the military who do so much to keep us safe for so little as it is.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4632 on:** April 07, 2011, 09:28:56 PM »

It is exactly the same principal as the fact that the congress has the very best medical plan available, and what is more, each member has the guarantee of that plan FOR LIFE, even after they leave the congress. But many will do cartwheels to deny anything like that coverage to the population as a whole. We The People are not of interest to them, except as voters. Greed rules a huge number in the congress, and the game is how much can I get in my pockets and bank accounts before I leave public service through that revolving door and pick up that million dollar plus salary I was promised by that big corporation if I would vote against any taxes or regulations on them. The Washington Post tries to let us know how many have gone through that revolving door and who they went to work for, but I do not believe other papers across this nation let the public in on that dirty little fact.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4633 on:** April 07, 2011, 11:56:00 PM »

Quote

The Washington Post tries to let us know how many have gone through that revolving door and who they went to work for, but I do not believe other papers across this nation let the public in on that dirty little fact.

I don't think I have ever run across that info, at least not in a straight forward manner. I did know several were elected to corporation boards including Robert Rubin who got a cushy corporate board position with Citigroup. Mostly, I run across them when I am looking at proxy statements for the stock I own, or sometimes see their name in reference to a corporation in Barron's or Investor's Business Daily.

I look at the qualifications for some of the people who are board candidates and shake my head. How on earth does someone who runs a regional furniture business qualify for board membership in a large utility company, I have to wonder. Oh yes, he has management skills, but so do a lot of other manager/owners. It is not explained how his skills outshine others, just that he "knows" a particular region where the company does business. Who knows, people like him might actually keep the corporate board breeding down to a lower level than otherwise. It amazes me how many boards some of these people are on and how much they get in compensation. On the surface it doesn't look like they do much but meet a few times a year. I suspect it is being on a board is more involved and time consuming than it appears, however.

marjifay · « **Reply #4634 on:** April 08, 2011, 09:37:43 AM »

Babi said, " I just had a mental picture that I really enjoyed. It was the military showing up on the
steps of Congress to express their deep dissatisfaction with Congressional selfishness. After all this is over, I propose a groundroots swell to pass a law stating that any action the Congress takes to stop government pay must include their own. That would definitely put an end to this sort of nonsense."

Good idea!

Don't know if any of you subscribe to the Borowitz Report, a humorous, tongue-in-cheek periodic newsletter, but the latest one said: "Congress reassured the American people that during a government shutdown essential services would still be provided to Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq."

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #4635 on:** April 08, 2011, 10:15:07 AM »

As if that were our main concern!

marjifay · « **Reply #4636 on:** April 08, 2011, 11:10:05 AM »

The Borowitz Report is humorous fiction, Mary! (altho' there's some truth in it)

Marj

bellemere · « **Reply #4637 on:** April 08, 2011, 11:59:51 AM »

I believe it is a mistake on the part of Republicans to introduce "poison pills" into all their budget proposals. The last one proposed to fund the Pentagon = and the military salaries for the rest of theyear. it also defunded Public Broadcasting Corporation (too liberal) Planned Parenthood (opposed to their religious beliefs) and criippled the Environmenta Protection
Agency (too hard on poluters) Therefore, If you voted against the bill, you were against the military, our gallenat men and women fighting for us.
Those ideological questions have to be debated in another forum, not a budget reconciliation. they should stick to the numbers. By last count those numbers were 34 buiion in cuts agreed to by the Democrats: 39 billion requested by the Republicans. Have they ever heard of "split the dirrerence." The conservatives reject compromises like that. They seek capitulation instead.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4638 on:** April 08, 2011, 01:28:17 PM »

'Tisn't about money, actually. Not for everyone involved, that is. For the serious, it IS about coming to an agreement about cutting expenses. However, there is a fly in the ointment of agreeable compromise, and it is this:

For over 30 years now, a small faction has attempted to get all manner of bills through the congress that would by fiat stop all funding for women's clinics in general and Planned Parenthood in particular. These bills have always failed. They did, early on, get a bill through (the Hyde Amendment) that said absolutely not one cent of taxpayer money could go to pay for abortion; even in cases of total poverty and likely death without the benefit of that procedure. This law still holds, and not one red cent of taxpayer funds are used by Planned Parenthood or any other entity for expenses relating to abortion services. All agencies bend over backwards to make sure of this, because they know spies are infiltrated to gather evidence and ruin them.

Finally, like a child having a screaming temper tantrum and refusing to quit until a candy bar is given, this small minority has decided to resort to extortion. The two sides have agreed upon a figure to be cut from the budget in order to avoid the shutting down of the government. But this minority has put a RIDER into the budget-cutting bill to get rid of any and all donations to the health of poor women through Planned Parenthood! And they will not let go! They know such a measure will never pass on its own merits, so they insist it be in this spending bill, where it does not belong, or they will not play!

It will cost about a BILLION AND A HALF to shut down the government, and may even spin us into a second recession.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4639 on:** April 08, 2011, 02:35:38 PM »

This whole mess just makes me furious........but then i've been saying that since 1980......jean

News:

Author Topic: The Library (Read 2088134 times)