What's made your day today?

[The Picnic Wasp]

Watched a blacksmith on TV upcycling some materials and then claiming he'd made a "green" table after creating the components over a couple of days in a propane fired furnace.😂

[Slim]

Tucker Carlson slapped down.

[David L]

Here is a wonderful little story

A young cashier told an older woman that she should bring her grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The  woman apologized, "We didn't have this green thing back in my day."

The young clerk said, "Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She gave him a firm stare and a hard grin and said "Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles, and beer bottles. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over. They were recycled.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags,  which we reused for numerous things. We walked upstairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower  machine every time we had to go two blocks.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power did dry our clothes back in our day. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room.  The TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded-up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades with a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

Back then, people took a bus and kids rode their bikes instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles in space to find the nearest burger joint.

But the current generation  laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing."

The cashier stood there still and quiet as the old lady found her wallet to pay. Then lady turned to leave but stepped back and turned toward the cashier.  She said "You have a world of knowledge in that little device in your hand. Pity you just use it to gossip, take pictures, and waste time. It would do you good to search a bit of history before you embarrass yourself like this again.

Forward this to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Love this, especially the part about drying your washing outside on the line. My neighbours don't have a washing line. I can hear the tumble dryer in their basement working around the clock. They both drive huge 4x4s. They've got three children. I have none, yet I seem to care more about the planet's future than they do. I just don't get it. Mind you, I love the local wildlife, especially the foxes and deer. I feed the birds and they have a plastic sparrow hawk perched on the fence to scare them away from their porcelain covered garden. We had a massive fall about me feeding the foxes, so I've increased it. I really wouldn't want to calculate my weekly wildlife feeding spend. It's a bit mad.

[dom]

I suppose part of it might be a natural follow on from the argument that the UK's actions will make little difference when you have the likes of China, India etc polluting and contributing to Global warming in such a disproportionate way.

 If a country of 60 million plus can make little difference, what difference will little old me make if I use or don't use my tumble dryer?

[The Picnic Wasp]

I suppose part of it might be a natural follow on from the argument that the UK's actions will make little difference when you have the likes of China, India etc polluting and contributing to Global warming in such a disproportionate way.

 If a country of 60 million plus can make little difference, what difference will little old me make if I use or don't use my tumble dryer?

Well, leaving aside the planet's fate, bed linen feels so much better dried outside and any loose fabric from the process can be used by birds for nest material. Nothing better than fresh sheets just off the line. Plus it saves a few bob.

[dom]

Agree with all that ! And just to be clear, I'm not part of the "why bother" parade.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Agree with all that ! And just to be clear, I'm not part of the "why bother" parade.

I've edited my post as it did look a bit accusatory and patronising. Hopefully it reads better now.

[Nickslikk2112]

Like living in Switzerland today, both trains I caught were prompt to the second

[dom]

Agree with all that ! And just to be clear, I'm not part of the "why bother" parade.

I've edited my post as it did look a bit accusatory and patronising. Hopefully it reads better now.

Thanks but no need for that!  I've had far worse hurled at me on here 

[Slim]

Helped myself to a bit of retro LCD fun. At £8.25 including delivery on eBay, I was half expecting it to be a fake!



_{.. and actually, it is}

[Thenop]

Helped myself to a bit of retro LCD fun. At £8.25 including delivery on eBay, I was half expecting it to be a fake!



_{.. and actually, it is}

I like it. I recall I had a Casio back in the early 80s I think that had 7 different alarm tones, one for each day and a Christmas song (can't recall which, probably Jingle Bells). Monday was When the  Saints go Marching in.
Must have lost it at some point because I don't have it anymore.

[Matt2112]

Bit of a milestone moment today: the little 'un performing a song while accompanying herself on guitar.

Open G helped - you've got to start somewhere.

[Slim]

Just had a call from Vision Express. They've broken my Oakley cycling frames.

Cross-posted that from the "grumpy" thread with happier news. They refused to replace them, but offered a new pair of frames up to £80 in value (ie inferior). After an argument in the store - their manager lied to my face, claiming I'd been told they were likely to break and this would be at my own risk - I gave up and accepted, but I put a powerfully negative review on Trust Pilot.

Their complaints department contacted me to apologise, offered to replace the Oakleys with the original Oakley frames and told me I could keep the ones I'd already accepted as replacements - which actually I quite like. So I've ended up with a free pair of specs.

Just picked up my free Oakleys from Vision Express - very nice! Same as the old ones except black instead of blue / grey.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Bit of a milestone moment today: the little 'un performing a song while accompanying herself on guitar.

Open G helped - you've got to start somewhere.

Any kind of performance is to be encouraged. I can remember being nine or ten years old playing recorder and harmonica, with a classmate on vocal duties, on stage in front of a packed town hall. Fast forward eight or nine years and despite being reasonable on bass guitar I found it very difficult to rehearse in front of a few friends and almost impossible at auditions with strangers. One in particular is a great regret as they were a very good band, and if I'd managed to get over that stage fright things could have been interesting. Not as big a regret as my friend though, when about to tour the US supporting Ozzy, broke his leg in a lunchtime kick about at work and was immediately replaced by a guitarist from the same street.