I've been trying to stay away from the news again these past few days (it's been over a year since I turned my TV on), but still dreadful current events make their way through. There was another earthquake in the Turkey/Syria region the other day (those poor people), the devastating cyclone on New Zealand's North Island, and then the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where the powers that be decided to blow up the deadly chemical spill from about 50 carriages and then told the locals it was "safe to return to their homes and even drink the water" only three days later! Yeah, sure, if my neighbourhood looked liks this I'm sure I'd be dashing back!
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| East Palestine, Ohio |
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| This picture was taken by a passenger in a plane that happened to be flying overhead at that moment (can you even begin to imagine how scary that must have been)! |
Whenever I see a news event like this I google it to see where it is and realized that East Palestine is only 45 miles away from my MIL's home just outside Pittsburgh! So yeah, I don't care what the Governor is saying, I'm pretty sure I'd be drinking bottled water (at the very least) from now on!
In more upbeat news (for me, at least), yoga started back up on Monday and I learned that we would be doing exercises to "encourage spring's rising energy", including breathing exercises which would help anyone who suffers from allergies! The physical exercises were tough but good (I sense she's upping the ante a little), but those breathing exercises!!! Crikey! I've always been a bit of a sceptic but my bloody nose ran like a dripping tap all day after leaving class! I also managed to get in another walk down at the lake at Passy and while it was better than the last time, the far, shaded side of the lake was still icy and slushy so I came back feeling great but looking like I'd just done a tough mudder! And remember I mentioned previously that on a whim I'd bought Japanese foot patches that "detoxify the body", well since I'm still finding them absolutely great and really good for relieving aching feet, I gave some to my neighbour today when she was complaining about pains in her feet. I'll be curious to see if they work for her too, but either way, I'll definitely be buying more!
I also decided to bite the bullet and have booked a trip to Mallorca (Spain) for September - which will be the first time I've been away since my brother's death in January 2019. Well that's not strictly true as we're going to Holland in April, but I'm definitely looking forward to Mallorca! My friend and I are also off to pay for another day trip to Turin's market in June and I offered my (unhappy) neighbour to come with us as a way of getting away from her husband for a bit. I'm still working on that and trying to get her to join our Monday night sewing club as I know she would really enjoy it. I fear she'll be a hard nut to crack but I can but try!
In other news (and any gents out there you might want to skip this bit), I decided that it was about time I bought mself some new underwear (bras, specifically) but had no idea what my size is. So I went onto the Triumph site and was somewhat intrigued to see that using "artificial intelligence" you can scan their QR code, do something resembling the highland fling and in theory it will then tell you what your bra size is!!!!!! Soooooo, the site has you strip down to your bra, turn your camera on (sounds kinky doesn't it but it was definitely not a pretty sight) and then position your entire body between two specific lines - though why the AI needs to be able to also see your feet in order to estimate your boob size is beyond me. I mean, I've heard people claim that foot size can be an indicator of the size of another appendage (though not a female one), but boobs???? So I'm standing there (in my underwear and praying the neighbour wouldn't walk through my back garden right now) and the mechanical voice has you raise your arms and then turn slowly through 360° - looking something like this, only nowhere near as cute!
Then you have to wait while it whirrs and caclulates - and apparently I need to buy a size "xy16-41z"! Yeah, that sounds about right! Would you believe I did the highland fling five times and still didn't know what size to buy so ended up deciding the best thing would be to go into town and try a few on! Artificial intelligence - pfft!
Mind you, the other day I decided I needed to make up some home-made washing liquid and fabric softener, and while the fabric softener works wonderfully, every time I've tried making the washing liquid I end up with something akin to a solid brick of soap. I finally went through the instructions one last time and realized when I converted X cups through to X ounces and on to X grams I'd managed to quadruple the amount of savon de Marseille (soap flakes) so it's no wonder I couldn't pour the bloody stuff out of the bottle! So now I'm starting to rethink which is worse - artificial intelligence or mine!
Going off on another tangent, the past couple of weeks I've been watching Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime (see series 1 here), and tonight I finished series 2 (here) and have absolutely loved it. He's a straight-talking, no-nonsense, absolute non-farmer - sometimes controversial - but the show was a hoot and in a relatively short period of time he has been able to highlight some of the many difficulties facing British farmers (and also what a bunch of jobsworths East Oxfordshire District Council are)! There's apparently going to be a series 3 next year and I'll definitely be watching that!
Anyway, what with all the painting, decluttering, yoga-ing and walking, the other day I decided that I would give cooking a miss for a while and just buy a bunch of fairly (al)ready meals from a wonderful frozen food place near here. And of course I went slightly nuts because although what I bought is pretty good, I don't have space in the freezer for it!!!! Yeah, I know, it's like when you go to IKEA and buy an entire bedroom set expecting to get it in the back of your Mini Cooper! So add "empty freezers" to my task list, just ahead of finish painting the bathrooms before the plumbers get here and take a carload of stuff to the charity shop. Again, artificial intelligence or mine? The jury's out on that one!
And finally, talking of IKEA, I saw this the other day and somehow I just knew where they were coming from!
I had vaguely heard something about the train derailment but didn't know anything about it really. It sounds horrific. We do like to shit in our nest, don't we?
ReplyDeleteIt was one hell of an accident and I don't blame people for not wanting to move back but sometimes they don't have a choice, do they. People have found their pets and chickens etc. dead. And then just a couple of days ago there was another derailment (near Detroit). Not as big but also toxic chemicals. Makes you wonder what the hell is going into the drinking water and farmland doesn't it!
DeleteAnd now the lovely tRumpers are all upset because President Biden (on President's Day, no less, for a trip that was months in the making) went to visit Ukraine but hasn't yet been to Ohio. Personally, I wouldn't be visiting Ohio any time soon...
DeleteFrom some of the follow-up reports I've seen, many, many people are staying away, but unfortunately not everyone has that option!
DeleteSee the link to the official release by the Governor of Ohio. It was 38 train cars derailed. There was no chemical leak. 5 of the cars were carrying vinyl chloride, so 2 days after the derailment, Southern Atlantic, started a controlled blaze (the smoke in the picture). The accident did not happen in the town, but outside of the town and smoke moved away from the town. https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/east-palestine-update-evacuation-area-extended-controlled-release-of-rail-car-contents-planned-for-3-30-pm-02062023
ReplyDeleteWhile there are a lot of rumors of animals dying, no one has actually proven this to be true, making it hearsay. The Federal government was offering help from day one, but the Republican governor kept rejecting it.
I'm a little leery about the literary aspects of AI. I wonder what kind of documentation you'd need to guarantee books were actually written by a human being.
The report I saw said that they (Governor and EPA) back-tracked on the "water is safe to drink" about three days later, but yes it was apparently a controlled blaze - although that still doesn't look too controlled to me. One lady across the State line in PA showed a video of her chickens from her cctv from the day before and the day after the explosion - alive one day and all dead the next, but who knows! Either way, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it. And yes I've heard about AI "writing books" that are supposedly pretty good, although it's crap at measuring bra sizes!
DeleteI am going to ignore artificial intelligence as long as I can.
ReplyDeleteI am also avoiding the news as much as I can. As my friend Kathleen used to say, she not only stuck her head in the sand, she carried her own bucket of sand about for the purpose.
I think Kathleen was probably right. If you can't do anything about it, let it go, but I admit I do get sucked in too! As for AI, as Dave said above there have even been books written by AI and they are supposedly pretty good. I read somewhere that a woman with a scientific background commissioned a paper to be written by AI on her subject matter - and she was shocked at how darn good and accurate it was! Frightening stuff isn't it!
DeleteI try to avoid the news but it does creep in. I'm just shocked at everything going on right now. AI honestly scares me. I'm sure there are a lot of benefits to it but we all know there are people that will use things for evil and to their advantage.
ReplyDeleteI read once that one of the possible uses of AI would be, for example, if you have a chest ex-ray and it would be able to "diagnose" you! That being said, I still don't know my bra size, so yeah, it kinda scares me too!
DeleteWe are 3/4 of the way through series 2 of Clarkson's Farm. I always thought he was a bit of a twat but have to say I enjoy him on this show and the way he highlights the absolute nonsense of government policy. Kill the cows that catch the
ReplyDeleteTB but don't do anything about the source, the badgers. As for those planners, don't get me started. You see all the young struggling farmers trying to make a living and you have the rich old farts probably with their cushy pensions not wanting any change. The paperwork involved in getting anything done is totally insane.
I agree with you on Clarkson but even I got sucked into one or two episodes of Top Gear! But when you see that he had it all set up to form a cooperative to help struggling local farmers and the council stopped it it makes you wonder. I think their constant nit-picking was more of a personal vendetta against Clarkson than anything to do with "doing the right thing". Thankfully he has the money and the personality to take them on and he's certainly shown them for what they are, hasn't he. Especially the main "protagonist" who he named and shamed! More power to him. Mind you, he does have a wonderful series of local characters to work with too - and even I can't understand Gerald!
DeleteGerald is a right proper laugh. I can't understand probably more than 2/10 words he says but what a character. Love Kaleb and he's not afraid to tell Clarkson when he's being totally useless, he's so naive it's refreshing. I believe since the series ended the Planners have shut down the restaurant so that is in the hands of the legal bods. Much of the refusals seem to be out of pettiness and directed at only Clarkson ie the refusal of a farm track and why not allow him to do something about the car park? Surely he should be able to prove discrimination. My heart break for the members of the co-op as they so obviously need the outlet to sell their produce. It's utter madness considering the foot shortages I am reading about in the UK.
DeleteYou're right on every point and yes I heard they'd shut the restaurant down. I hope Clarkson wins! You may (or may not yet) have seen the last episodes where they were selling one brussels sprout for £5 (and then you got a free T-shirt with it)! I love their attitude!
DeleteI'm with you on the TV - I rarely watch unless it's comedy and yes I include Clarkson's Farm in that genre too; it's hilarious
ReplyDeleteI know I'm difficult to please so it hasn't been at all hard to turn the TV off for a year, but I have to admit I've really enjoyed Clarkson's Farm. You couldn't invent that list of characters could you!
DeleteWhen 9/11 happened, I warned my daughter in Brooklyn not to take her 3-month baby out for a walk because of the air quality. She said "they" say the air is fine. Well, I knew better, but there was no convincing her. We now know better.
ReplyDeleteI would not get naked in front of a camera for a bra fitting. Many better stores and shops have a person trained in measuring for a bra. In fact, you can find how to do it yourself on the internet. I would still have to try on a bra to get one that fit and was comfortable.
The broadcasts I'm seeing about East Palestine have nothing to do with what I believe are the sanitized statements being issued by the powers that be. You were right about 9/11 and sadly I believe the people in East Palestine are in for a rough ride. One broadcaster showed homes that had been up for sale for quite some time and that have been dropped 30% in price already. They'll never be able to sell will they! Oh and I wasn't naked in front of my camera but I thought I'd give AI a shot as I don't know anywhere round here that does measurings. I managed to get new bras anyway by trying them on so I'm good with that. Next time I go to England I'll probably get a fitting as a good fit makes all the difference doesn't it!
DeleteI feel so badly for the folks in Ohio! Lots of cuts to safety and they are suffering, ultimately. I cannot wait to hear all about your travels!!
ReplyDeleteYep, apparently $$$ come before safety - as long as it's in somebody else's back yard right!
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