If any of you know where the hosers Bob and Ted kiznsky is please let me know, eh?

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

Gooday Eh, ya hoser.

The closer we get to the 4th of July in Texas, the harder it is to distinguish gun shots from ...

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

In Canada we only hear gunshots during hunting season, so basically October and November.

History religion

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

My younger brother loves the stuff that Icke puts out but then my brother is a paranoid schizophrenic with delusional tendencies. Nuf Said

Happy 1st of July fellow Canadians

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

Normally this is a day that we as Canadians get to show our patriotism publicly instead of keeping it to ourselves which is so typically Canadian. This year is a little different thanks to the rude and insulting behavior of Trump and his crew towards Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVC677-YmfM

What nonbelievers do you remember from TV growing up?

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

Doctor Who as he was always annoyed with anyone with ridiculous religious delusions, most of the original Star Trek crew (I was deinitely disappointed in Ohura when she got all sappy at the end of the episode Bread and Circuses), Carl Kolchak the Nightstalker didn't seem to be a believer but did go in for the ritual superstition connecting religion and monsters. Rod Serling seemed to be beyond religion as host of The Twilight Zone. My all time favourite Star Trek atheist would have to be 7 of 9, even though she did believe in the Borg collective.

You are right Anthony Hopkins, none of us can get out of this one alive

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

Reminds me of that John Lennon quote where he relates being asked as a schoolboy 'What do you want to be in this life?' and he answered 'Happy', so the teacher said he hadn't understood the question and John told the teacher that he didn't understand Life.

Were we ever so invincible

Surfpirate comments on Jul 1, 2018:

The Age of Infinite Wisdom and Invulnerability, some of us survive those years and some don't.

I honestly don't understand how so many people escape the bonds of religion, to remain entangled in ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 30, 2018:

I would say that the foundation of conservatism is fear and the hatred that springs from that fear. It doesn't have to be based in religion but I agree that religion is all about instilling fear in people in order to make them subservient to their will.

What method do you use to determine whether your beliefs are true?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 30, 2018:

As a reality check I like the scientific method but I also have the sense to do a gut check as well. Believe half of what you see with your own eyes and none of what you hear.

There was a great film I saw about Palio diet and eating things with faces.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 30, 2018:

Is there a link to this great movie or even a title so we can try and track it down. Always good to get some face time with the info. ;)

Spain’s new atheist Prime Minister spells trouble for the Church | CatholicHerald.co.uk

Surfpirate comments on Jun 30, 2018:

Hopefully he will follow Portugal's lead and decriminalize all drugs, treating addiction like the illness it is instead of like a crime. Narcotic usage dropped dramatically after Portugal took this step and crime fell significantly as well, drug dealers no longer find Portugal a profitable place to peddle their wares. How smart is that?

I go out to play some board games and I come home to this.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 30, 2018:

May help fix it?? What is insurance for if not something like this?

How can you support your morality without any God?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 30, 2018:

God is not moral, god does not exist but morality does.

88 degrees with a "feels like" of 93.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

I've only seen them twice, very cool.

Did others catch what trump said, when he was offering his pitiful condolences to the shooting ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

A windbag and a narcissist but then so was Mussolini and he wound up swinging from piano wire.

Why does this sign exist?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

You would think that the alligators are perfectly capable of sourcing their own mushrooms if they want to get high.

So when you stare at a woman, for five seconds, and they say you are sexually harrasing them,then ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

Was your dick hanging out while you were staring? If so then she might have a point, otherwise just forget about it and avoid physical contact without an invitation.

My life is not my own right now....LOL I belong to the Pickle God ;-)

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

I spent the morning cleaning, dicing and freezer bagging scapes, too hot to be pickling here at 32 C. There are more ways than one to be pickled, ice, gin and tonic works for me on this hot afternoon. Happy Friday.

Canada officially strikes back against US tariffs

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

What the article conveniently leaves out is that Canada didn't vote to take action for more than a month after the World Trade Organization ruled that the Steel and Aluminum Tariffs imposed by Trump a few months back were illegal and therefore authorized Canada to level counter tariffs legally. These are counter trade tariffs being leveled by Canada after Trump illegally raised tariffs on Canada.

What's the worst gift you've ever had?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

I don't think there is such a thing as a bad gift, perhaps a thoughtless gift or a gift with strings attached but bad and gift just don't go together in the same sentence for me. Maybe I'm just too much of the optimist but if I got a horse trailer full of horse manure for xmas then I'd grab a shovel and start digging because there has to be a horse buried in there somewhere. ;)

Hey Canadians, we're drying up down here in American South West.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

Not to mention the time we caught the US Army Corp of Engineers almost a km over our borders digging a trench to divert water into the Mississippi basin to raise the water levels. The Americans shit all over the environment and then come and steal the natural resources that we have been protecting as though it is their Manifest Destiny to take whatever they want. I am so fed up with these developmental throwbacks.

Has anybody ever got into the wrong car?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

The Universal Design that most automakers are conforming to makes this a much more likely occurrence and if you are distracted by other things like your phone, etc. then it is only natural. Just count yourself lucky that someone didn't accuse you of trying to steal a vehicle. lol

Weird Satanist Guy - YouTube

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

He's a bit intense.

Hey Canadians, we're drying up down here in American South West.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 29, 2018:

No point in trying to sell America water when they will just steal it like they always do when they want something that doesn't belong to them.

Just putting this out there, without comment. From: The Death of Democracy, Benjamin Carter Hett

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Would Canada be Trump's Austria, would the tanks roll in virtually unchallenged by our tiny military? I suppose by the time February rolled around most of the Americans would want to go back home.

Only in Canada you say?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

One side for the cops and the other for the robbers? lol

Seven reasons why the Internal Combustion Engine is a dead man walking – Tom Raftery's Internet of...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARzujfRiQ3c

Most admired human being in your lifetime

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

I think comedy holds the greatest truths about humanity because it is rooted in the tragedy that we all live through at some points in our lives but it spins it and makes it a learning experience and an uplifting experience, so my vote is for George Carlin.

Soul stuff

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

I think that most people would love the idea of having a soul, it's a great thing to have and probably why the idea of having a soul is so popular down through the ages. I don't have any proof that I have such a thing as a soul but it certainly doesn't seem to be getting in my way if I do. So if it turns out that I do have a soul after my body is dead, I'm 99.9% certain that I have a body, then I can address that issue when it manifests itself - or not.

Discussion time.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Being a xstian and being a good person are not the same thing, possibly not even related. Perhaps she would have done all those nice things and more if she hadn't been a xstian, one thing does not necessarily follow the other. Growing up I went to church with my 3 siblings and my Mom but not my father. There was a couple there that played the organ and they were always really nice to me and I was very fond of them, kind hearted people that lived a humble life and had no kids of their own. I would go over to their apartment some days and they were always very kind to me and would get me some milk and cookies and get me to sing while they played the violin or the piano for me. I thought they epitomized the values of the church but as I grew older I came to realize that they were nice people who couldn't have any kids of their own so they enjoyed having me around. I have fond memories but not of the church.

I’m from Michigan. Can we please make Michigan part of Canada?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Just the Youpers.

I’m from Michigan. Can we please make Michigan part of Canada?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

It depends how long you are going for and how ambitious of a hike you want to undertake but I would suggest that Bragg Creek is an easy day trip and gives you a back door into Kananaskis country, you can go hiking in the conservation area just to the south and the views over the river are beautiful. I haven't lived in Calgary since the mid 90's but there used to be a great little burger joint in Bragg Creek that served up delicious buffalo burgers from bison that were raised locally. Drumheller offers some interesting hiking in the badlands of Alberta, hoodoos and a painted desert topography that you won't find anywhere in Michigan. (love your state btw, spent many summers there working on my antique Chris Craft in Grand Haven) Do not do what the stupid tourists do and go to one of the glacier fed lakes and dive right in, you will learn to walk on water and the locals lying on their towels on the sandy beach will just chuckle to themselves. Ghost Lake is very pretty but nobody swims in it, my older brother found out why the hard way on a visit there but plenty of people flock to Sylvan Lake in the summer and if you want to go for a swim. Too bad that the Calgary Stampede will be over by the time you arrive but drop by The Rocking Horse Saloon or the Ranchmen's Saloon for a cold one as it will be hot in late July, maybe try your luck with the Bucklebunnies but do not, repeat do not try to impress them by jumping into the wagon suspended over the dance floor. I've seen it done and even if you manage to survive the leap without injuries the bouncers are going to take you out back and seriously beat the crap out of you, roper boots can do a lot of damage to the ribs. Have Fun and remember that what happens in Cowtown stays in Cowtown.

Well that was predictable (or is it intentional?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 28, 2018:

What bothers me the most is not Trump, he's a known quantity as a bully and a sleaze bag, but the Canadians who are willing to bend over and just take it. Not only are they cowardly but they are turning on their own elected representatives who are finally standing up for Canadians and with the moral high ground. Nobody wins in every business deal they enter into and sometimes you do get screwed but if you just bend over and take it then you lose respect globally and will always be the whipping boy in any trade negotiations. I'm not a fan of Trudeau's and didn't vote for him but I think he is right on this issue and should have the support of the public.

Well that was predictable (or is it intentional?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Starting on Canada Day, it's only fair but Trump won't think so until he undermines his base in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Alabama and Kentucky.

Sigh i just want a boy friend who is handsome, foreign, well off, not interested in sex too much, ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Such a puny god to worship. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy61Va1L4cM

I have travelled into the interior of the mighty USA (according to President Trump and Republicans ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Many Americans don't know much about the rest of the world or their countries real relationship with the rest of the world. Possibly because many Americans rarely travel more than a few hundred miles so they know only a limited reality and much of that is the propaganda they get from the news. Change will come from the rest of the world and will be forced upon the US but not the other way around because the people who control the US, own it for all intents and purposes do not want change.

Only in Canada , eh

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Let me guess, Upper Beaches? :D

So, my dumb ass was the reason we went the movies late (still so worth it).

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Perhaps you should try freebasing caffeine?

Phrases I hope to avoid in my obituary: "skeletal remains," "dumpster," "almost beyond recognition,"...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Only ashes and one charred sneaker recovered

Getting ready to put up three more lighted shelves in the BnB.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Is the shelf in the 2nd pic lighted?

Photos from my “watermelon patch” this morning 😋😋🍉🍉🍉

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

What a great idea, using containers for the mounds, you get to use wasted lawn space for something useful like delicious, ice cold, watermelon. YUM!

Hasn't it become clear yet that we really are not a world of nations any longer.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

I agree that the borders are imaginary lines but then god is an imaginary being, people seem quite willing to kill and die for imaginary things. Culturally we live in a country that is the most diverse in the world but underneath that culture our hearts all beat the same, there is only one race and it is the human race.

While touring the garden on a lecture with a garden club. Great little "teacher's pet"

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

It's nice to see people growing Milk Weed plants to help the Monarch Butterflies, every little bit helps.

Is this where we are heading?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Caught running while black.

Should we genetically modify our species?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

If humans don't do it voluntarily then I expect that AI will do it for us. Biological units are very useful but they would benefit in efficiencies if they were enhanced genetically and mechanically. Nanobots have already been used experimentally on human disease so it is only a matter of time before we see breakthroughs in this area.

Is this where we are heading?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

With American paranoia being what it is, she is lucky they didn't shoot or taser her. Americans think that the whole world wants to get into their country because it is so free, not a clue.

Not sure where else to post this but figured you guys would understand.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

Have you asked an arborist their opinion? They may be able to give you some advice that will save it.

Is that what it takes to be a Canadian

Surfpirate comments on Jun 27, 2018:

It takes a lot more than that to be a Real Canadian, this stuff is just your everyday, Eh.

Living while brown. [scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net]

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

I am so sorry to hear that you and your family are being put through this by these low life racists.

Why is being an "Agnostic atheist" hard for some people to understand?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

Some people tend to be anal about definitions, particularly when it comes to their Atheism. The very idea of Atheism is filled with misunderstanding, half truths and outright lies. It's possible that is why some people are sticklers when it comes to the idea of mixing Agnosticism and Atheism; personally I don't see a problem with it because it makes sense.

Burn Barrel and Molotov Cocktail I was weedwhacking the jungle that is on the north side of the ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

Best to mix in diesel with the gasoline, 50/50 tends to work well.

The start of lunch straight from the garden...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

You are doing so well, your season is at least a month ahead of mine.

This is good to know for the coming Zombie Apocalypse.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

A cordless drill with a long auger bit would be all you needed to drill those zombies in the head once they were frozen stiff.

Not sure where else to post this but figured you guys would understand.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

It can be done, even with larger trees. I used to have 30' tall palm trees trucked into a new hotel I was building and erected with a mobile crane so it is possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wb8XuxUaW4

Almost A Nazi Salute.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

She really is a despicable excuse for a leader, the Brits would be better off with Corbyn but that's unlikely to happen.

Canada Day is around the corner! [youtu.be]

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

LOL We have a 4th of July in Canada too! Being Canadian it's only logical that it is 3 days early because we are always a few steps ahead of the Americans. One of these days they are going to invent Universal Healthcare and try to sell it to us. ;)

Not sure where else to post this but figured you guys would understand.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

Is it possible to dig it back in? A backhoe perhaps or a couple of strong lads with shovels and some rope, then anchor it with stays. If it is still alive and healthy it may recover.

Death. Do you fear it?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

We are hardwired to survive, even when we don't want to continue the instincts inside us make us want to try to continue. The ego wants to live forever even though we know this to be an impossibility, still it wants what it wants. I don't fear death, I don't want to die but I don't fear it either. At the worst it is nothingness and at the best it is a recycling of my energy into something else. I feel a bit of pity for the religious, they fear punishment in death and that fear undermines their happiness, surely there is plenty of room in heaven and no space in hell if the religious are correct.

I was watching 'Kingsman the Golden Circle' yesterday and it was pretty hokey but then this song ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 26, 2018:

The original but we have to go way back to the 80's for this song by Cameo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZjAantupsA

This isn't a word, but I thought you folks might find it interesting since it's about the use of ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 25, 2018:

Words are verbalized thoughts and Native thinking is much more inclusive than Western thinking, similar but different. Thanks for sharing this post.

An urban gardeners particular struggle; I have load copious amounts of clippings, poison ivy!, etc...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 25, 2018:

The little guy must have wanted to warm up in your pocket, good thing you didn't have to stop and get gas, the cashier would have screamed when you reached in you pocket to pay them and that little wriggler came out. lol

Good morning Gardeners Day three of my morning trips the garden.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 25, 2018:

I enjoy my daily inspection of the garden with a cup of coffee in my hand and traces of cobwebs in my brain. It's a wonderful way to wake up so I can get about the business of weeding. :)

What’s for dinner

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Homemade Sushi and Sashimi, tuna and salmon. My stepmom is from Osaka, Japan and taught me Japanese cooking.

Geeze, she's got her fingers in all sorts of pies.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Vile people doing vile crimes. No surprise that she is related to arms traffickers.

Things like this bother me a bit.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

I remember reading a short story about a native father walking in the rain along the highway with his feverish baby in his arms and nobody would stop and give him a ride into town so he could take his baby to the white doctor. At the end of the story the baby is dead in the father's arms at the clinic which is now closed, the father is left sitting in the rain at the side of the road in the cold rain. It was tragic and it was a short story you didn't see very often in the 1970's, white people just didn't have a clue about our past as invaders and conquerors of the New World.

"whatever you are, be a good one" Abraham Lincoln

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Abraham Lincoln also says to not believe everything you read on the internet. William Makepeace Thackeray is the more likely source for this quote.

What's a nice way to tell my boss I hate him and would love to see him eaten by hyenas?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

You need a better boss.

Your favorite dog breed!

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Bouvier de Flandres, loyal, intelligent, protective and loving, all 100 wooly pounds of them. Are there other dogs?

The only things in life I will get dressed for is work and food.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Clothes are so overrated, I got dressed today but it's damp and cold out. Plus I might scare the shit out of the little children and creepy adults that walk past my house and stare in my windows like a bunch of voyeurs.

Who Will Do Something About the Looming Retirement Crisis?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

I'm 57 and my wife is 54, so we are both X'ers, we are doing quite well but I know that there is a large cohort coming behind us that have not fared so well. I have been warning my Boomer friends for decades now that there will be a reckoning because we are not taking care of each other as a society but are playing an every man for himself game. The Boomers grow older and they grow weaker, the X'ers and Millennials grow hungry, who will it end badly for? When we are selfish and greedy, when we have no concern for our fellow man, when sense of community is abandoned, then the strong will eat the weak.

If Humanity dies in a nuclear holocaust, does God get his money back from creation?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

The nasty old dude in the sky would never allow such a thing, if he existed. Mass genocide and the total extinction of the human species is his sole domain according to Revelations.

Another interesting tidbit from my recent trip.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

How many people did you meet in total? I am hoping that it was thousands but hundreds would still be good.

I had to block someone from the group.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Was it Me? Did I get blocked?? I don't like that orange primate in the White House either but I tend to keep my posts about him in the politics section. You can eat veggies but you can't eat politicians, they're toxic. ;)

://[www.facebook.com/retroscificinemaimage/videos/916263135143568/] they werent always our friends

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

I love the crunchy sound that they make as they get eaten.

POTUS will be starting a Trade War with Canada starting on July 1st which is Canada Day, when Canada...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

CANADA - not a good friend says Trump - such ignorance should not be sitting in the White House. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_Ey5ph4wW8

I went to a graduation this week at the girl's program where I used to teach.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

That's the beauty of belief in an imaginary friend, it works no matter what happens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN4ggCXwUsU

Trump Re-Affirms North Korean Nuclear Threat After Saying It Was Gone

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

That's the Trumpster for you. It could be bad or it could be good but it might be bad, you just never really know but it will definitely be Uuge!

Well, it IS the day of rest.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Might as well talk to a wall - oh wait, that's the Jews. ;)

A Sunday Morning thought...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

We special few that chose Reason over Superstition. :)

Happy St-Jean Baptiste day!! (I know, I know this is a lot of blue to handle in one pic).

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Je me Souvien. (y)

Has anyone run for election as an Atheist?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

I have been openly Atheist for a long time so there is no point in my trying to hide who I am but I agree there is little benefit to broadcasting it either. There is no requirement to list religious affiliation in our elections, a right protected under law in Canada. While Canadians can be more progressive in that area there is still the religious element to deal with and no doubt they will be sharpening their knives for the Atheist candidate at their church socials and bridge clubs. Good luck with that as I managed construction projects for 30 years and my hide is thicker than a rhinoceros hide. :D If asked about religion I will just state that I think it is a personal and private matter that is none of my business or theirs.

I grew some USDA Certified cotton and transplanted into the garden.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 24, 2018:

I've seen them with the cotton balls but never the bloom, it's quite pretty.

On being Canadian

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

Well then we better make Cuba the 11th province, eh?

Discrimination Against Atheists and Agnostics Is an Overlooked Issue Worldwide ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

A good article and it does make an Atheist wonder why there are still so many Apologist Atheists that wish to placate their religious persecutors, it hasn't seemed to work in the past 2,000 years. Maybe we need to try a less apologist approach to our nutty religious opponents.

My wife loves to research home improvement projects on Pinterest and she decided she wanted to make ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

I popped them out of the forms and this is what they look like, sort of a river bottom limestone look. The pebbles in the bottom of the form give the stepping stones that rippled look.

My pond, I'll get a better picture soon but I cropped tools and weed debris to make it more ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

I had a great blue heron punch a hole right through the thin pond liner I had on one of my first pond projects, I couldn't understand why I kept losing water until I was watching him early one morning, came out and checked after he flew off and sure enough there was a puncture hole where he had speared the fish. I found numerous holes when I drained the pond completely to patch the hole.

Should I travel and seek a different reality?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

It's funny how society often views travel as a negative when it is a total positive. I was discussing our travels with some people when we had returned home to Canada for a visit with family, we had been traveling for about 4 years at that point. Antarctica, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize, Mexico and almost all of the lower 48 states. So after a bit of chatting the woman screws up her face at me and says, 'So You're Homeless'. I was a bit taken aback, thought about it for a second and suddenly realized that she was right 'You know, you're absolutely right and it's Fantastic' I said. She didn't know what to think of that response and made some excuse to shuffle away and talk to someone else about her routine and boring life - to each their own.

Should I travel and seek a different reality?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

If you don't go then you will never know what you have missed out on. Just a whole other part of your life that is wonderful and fun and exciting and challenging. Travel cures so many ills in the world, don't wait, do it now. If you don't like it you can always come back home.

How is this actually a dating site?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

It would seem to be a good way to introduce yourself by sharing your thoughts publicly and if others like what they see then they can approach or not.

Trumpland - no, no, nothing like 1930s Germany. Well, just a bit... [theguardian.com]

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

I doubt that most Germans really took the Nazis seriously until they themselves were being stopped in the streets to have their papers checked, the rights and freedoms curtailed and their door kicked in by Brownshirts. When it's the other guy getting the short end of the stick it someone how seems less real but when it comes home to roost then it is usually far too late.

Respect... Earned, or the default?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

I think civility is often confused with respect. I am civil to all the people I meet until I get to know them a bit and then I start to develop either a respect for them or a lack of respect for them depending upon what they say and what they do. Civility is not respect but simply the social graces that hold society together and keep us from sinking back into barbarism.

I got a 15 gallon Pomegranate tree, when planting it I noticed it has ants that looks like are ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

Insect pests will come to them, but generally bugs show up when plants are under stress. If they get problems, it's usually aphids, red spider mites, mealy bugs, which can be taken care of soap and water (40 parts water, 1 part liquid soap) 20 ounce spray bottle (20 ounces water, 1/2 ounce OR 1 Tbsp of liquid soap). If you have mealy bug or scale (they have waxy coatings), then add 8 parts rubbing alcohol to the 40:1 mixture, which breaks down the waxy cover of the bugs.

Im on the phone with my friend who is on at-home dialysis.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

We often feel that our lives our difficult and then we read about people like your friend and realize how fortunate we truly are in our lives. I wish her the best and hope that a kidney becomes available for her soon.

What to do with an old canoe? This is an awesome use for it.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 23, 2018:

It's an interesting look and a great way to repurpose an old canoe, I'm guessing that the canoe has been patched up and that they wouldn't use a brand new canoe for a water feature.

Can we quite the “White Privilege” nonsense?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 22, 2018:

Nobody ever got pulled over and shot for driving a nice car while White. Just deal with it, you can't change it because it occurs at a subconscious level for the most part but what you can do is cut the other guy some slack instead of presuming that he is on an equal footing with you because he's not. Life's a bitch but we ourselves don't have to be one.

'The Trump administration has been castigated at the United Nations in Geneva for consciously ...

Surfpirate comments on Jun 22, 2018:

The rest of the world just shakes its head in disbelief. Still people cheer for El Cheeto and sing his praises, they must be mad.

Farmer in Iowa who voted for Trump is now on track to lose $250,000 this year.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 22, 2018:

I see info like this and I fact check it because there is so much false information out there masquerading as news. FOX News does not have an obligation to tell the truth on it's shows because the Supreme Court ruled that it is not a news station but an entertainment station. If in doubt about what you read it is good practice to check it out for yourself, don't count on someone else to do your fact checking for you.

Oh no, they are on to us!!! [narcity.com]

Surfpirate comments on Jun 22, 2018:

Reminds me of a trip I made to look at a golf course development in North Myrtle Beach back in the 1980's, the guy couldn't get financing so he came begging to Canada with his hat in hand, a nice project but the guy was an idiot so we didn't advance funds on the project but we did have a nice few days in Myrtle Beach. The first night out on the tow with Thadeus Williams (the prospect) we went to a bar and were having a good time Steve, Peter, myself and David the elder statesman of the Canadian party. The locals were warm and friendly and the drinks were going down really easy when 4 Texans in 10 gallon hats, cowboy boots and jeans with the huge belt buckles walked into the bar and started to give the locals shit. Texas had everything bigger than their state, Texas was the best, Texas wouldn't allow a dump like this in it's state - blah, blah, blah. I guess the booze got into David because suddenly he stood up on his chair and yelled over the din 'Texas Fuck!, I'm from Canada and we've got a lake bigger than your whole damned state!' Steve and I looked at each other with mouths agape as the Texans set their beers down on the bar and sauntered over to our table, fighting words had been thrown and they were looking for a fight. David would be no help as he was pushing 60 and had never pushed anything more than a pencil, Peter was about the same but in his 40's, Steve rolled with a biker gang and I ran construction sites so we could handle our own but these were 4 big Texans so it was going to be 2 on one for both of us as soon as the first punches were thrown. David sat back down in his chair and the biggest Texan said 'Stand Up' - well here we go I thought to myself. There was a sudden shift in the bar and a half dozen local boys moved in around us but not to watch us get the crap get beat out of us but to start pushing back on the Texans. 'You heard the man, your state isn't even as big a lake in Canada, why don't you go the hell back where you came from?' Yeah, go home! Get out of here!' and with that the 4 Texans were hazed out of the bar, plastic cups and food thrown after them in full retreat. David bought a round and praises of Canada were heard all around. I suppose if we have to we can always burn the White House down - Again. :D

Robinette update: All four have departed the nest.

Surfpirate comments on Jun 22, 2018:

Very nice to see, I like Robins even if they do bully some of the smaller birds. I saw the hatchling from the nest under my eaves had fallen out of the nest the other day, a larger garter snake was hauling it away into the bushes so I guess it survived the fall but not for long. Nature has no waste.

I live in a central uk but grow lots of tropical / subtropical plants, anyone else here doing this?

Surfpirate comments on Jun 22, 2018:

I have friends in Wales with similar plants but you are in a much colder zone I would think. You must really baby them to keep them so healthy.