mike carey

Thanks @bigjoey, you reminded me of Robeson's having sung for the workers on the site of the Sydney Opera House in 1960.

It only seems like yesterday I received the e-mail from InnDulge cancelling my booking for this year's meeting. Last week, the Australian government extended the emergency ruling to keep our borders closed up to 17 March 2021. It could change before then, but I'm not confident. With no cases here, except for returning travellers in hotel quarantine, there isn't the urgency there is in the US and UK for rolling out the vaccines, and that is only likely to start in March (they aren't looking at emergency authorisations). I haven't bothered to renew my passport yet.

'Is not rat, Mr Fawlty, is hampster.'

Yeltsin was president of the Russian SFSR, one of the 15 union republics, at the time and the attempted coup was against Gorbachev who was president of the USSR. I was in the middle of my RAAF Staff College year and this was of obvious interest to a bunch of military officers.

I didn't know for sure, but guessed that would be what it was.

Yes,, but before the decline of the USSR. I crossed the country on the Trans-Siberian Railway, stopped in Irkutsk and Moscow, then went to Leningrad. A fascinating country at the time. I'd love to go back, but with my government work history I'm not sure I'd feel safe in what can be something of a capricious legal system.

Not that I know of.

To my great regret, he retired three of four years ago. I understand he has moved on to a successful career. I'd love to see him again to chat about his new life.

In summary, invest in stocks, that market goes up over the longer term. Recognise the power of compound interest, but picking winning stocks is a mug's game. Also, buy a house when and where you can afford it even if you only half like the area. Above all, do what makes you happy, not what you think you should do, or worse what others think you should.

Depends which 'public' you're talking about.

It's a NW England term. Roguish young man. Derived from scallywag. OED definition: https://www.lexico.com/definition/scally

A typo makes for a rather alarming forecast published in the SMH. As the person who tweeted it noted, 'Maybe best we all stay home on Thursday.'

(And I thought русский , but it's been a while.)

Ha, of course!

In English or Russian?

It still has 'Ask for Tyler Dickson' if you go to his phone contact in RM.

There is interest, but few people will post anything about it giving the impression that it's of no interest. I must confess that in past years I have changed my profile picture to a red ribbon but this year I didn't. Part of the reason is that I have been less active here. Rightly or wrongly, this year we have been distracted from HIV/AIDS by CoviD-19.

I know I've had food items like spices too long if they are in cans or bottles labelled in ounces. It's quite some time since we went metric, or since I lived in the US. I've moved with spices and kept using them, but I make a conscious effort to use up the older ones. Often using twice as much as prescribed renders old spice effective in a recipe. I have furniture from my mother's house and that which I had when I was living between two houses in different cities, and I need to get rid of some of it. Inertia, inertia! This thread has been a wake-up call, whether I'll act on it is a separate question. One thought, if you're hiring a removalist, the cost may be the same whether you fill or half fill the truck or container, so if in doubt taking stuff with you and deciding to junk it later may not cost you more.

Lol. No, it was the Bundesmarine until 1995 but since then it's been the Deutsche Marine.

I didn't know that Nova Scotia sends a Christmas tree to Boston every year so obviously I didn't know why. It's a thank you note, and for those that don't know what for, check this out.

A gesture by the All Blacks before their Tri-Nations game against the Pumas last night in Newcastle.

And now as I read on, this: This is an earthshaking pun. Californians are taking shelter as we speak.

This is a little bit brilliant, the initial tweet (no puns included therein) and one particular response that I wish I had thought of. Tweet: Me in high school: WHY AM I SPENDING AN HOUR A DAY LEARNING ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT WON’T HELP ME IN REAL LIFE? Me now: Oh boy a new episode of my podcast about dolphin social hierarchies. Reply: THERE'S A NEW EPISODE OF THE POD CASTE PODCAST?

At least they didn't have a gun display there.

God, I'm glad that health coverage is just 'there'. I have insurance that will get me past waiting lists for some hospital procedures, but for the most part I won't need it.