The Coffee House-Come & Chat With Us! (June 2020)

[Val]

Yesterday's video of hail at the country. When downpour (and later hail) started, Liza and mom were in the big house, inside veranda (a.k.a. dining room and big kitchen). And Elijah, David and Gala got stuck under the roof of the small house and small kitchen.
Liza (commenting David's reaction): "Haha, how happy the kid is... Look, the lawn is already flooded, woooo..."
Elijah: "Shut the door!"
Liza: "Look, hail!" To Elijah: "Hail!"
Elijah: "I said, shut the door!"
Mom: "Shut the door..."
Liza: "How about them? Let them return to the house".
Mom: "Just shout out loud that if they feel cold, they have to get inside".
Liza: "Oooh, it [hail] is going to beat everything".
Mom: "Oooooooo... Gala forgot to close the greenhouse. It will get filled with water".
Liza (to Elijah and Gala): "Come on, get inside!"
Mom: "Tell them that the greenhouse is opened. Ice chunks will fly inside. Gala's courgettes are closer to the door. Hail, hail, hail... Big ice chunks." (hail stops).
(Hail restarts). Liza: "I haven't seen anything like this yet".
Mom: "I haven't either. Here is what 2 days of heat lead to, right? This is so loud..."

Rain and hail at the country.mp4

drive.google.com

 

[Chryssie]

I feel very accomplished this morning! I installed the new hard drive and the new operating system on the laptop. I am running updates now. I installed lubuntu linux because it was free and Windows costs at least $100. The laptop needs a new battery now to make it fully functional.

 

[KLS52]

Seven babies so far. Six were caught by the rehabber over the last two days. Today number 7 showed up and my daughter is transporting it to the rehabber now. She stopped here so I could see it first! It’s so cute! I want one!

 

[Urban Gardener]

Seven babies so far. Six were caught by the rehabber over the last two days. Today number 7 showed up and my daughter is transporting it to the rehabber now. She stopped here so I could see it first! It’s so cute! I want one!

There are some rescue groups for domestic skunks who need homes.

This is one of them:

Home | Florida Skunk Rescue

floridaskunkrescue.com

 

[Val]

Poor Chinese... This video was uploaded 15 hrs ago, but i just saw on our local news that it has got even worse, and that already 14 people have become victims of this massive deluge.

 

[Val]

Can someone tell me what's going on in California??? They say, forest fires again?
@Amy SF , is it far away from you? Are you safe?

 

[Lou]

Can someone tell me what's going on in California??? They say, forest fires again?
@Amy SF , is it far away from you? Are you safe?

presently there are about 6 fires in California. Most of them are already contained or close to contained. The ones I have info are not large fires. It has been hot and windy here but there aren't any large out of control fires. Also, there are no forest fires near me or Amy. I think there are other Californians here on VF but I don't remember who they are or where they live. There isn't even any smoke in the air here.

 

[Mikkel]

It's good that you are safe from the fire!

 

[Mikkel]

Planned to read a bit during lunch, but too tired. So looking forward to get home in bed now.

 

[Amy SF]

Yeah, what he said. A fire broke out in the Sepulveda Pass, but it’s mostly contained now and too far away from me to be a direct threat.

Thanks for your concern. Wildfire season is just getting started, and I’m nervous because the prospect of having to evacuate while the coronavirus is still floating around promises to be a nightmare.

 

[Amy SF]

@Val The Bing homepage has a different image every day. (Some of them are so interesting I save them in case I want to use them as wallpaper.) This is today’s image:

Into the thick of it

Fancy a walk through the Smokies in Tennessee, see

www.bing.com

Thought you’d like it.

 

[Val]

@Val The Bing homepage has a different image every day. (Some of them are so interesting I save them in case I want to use them as wallpaper.) This is today’s image:

Into the thick of it

Fancy a walk through the Smokies in Tennessee, see

www.bing.com

Thought you’d like it.

Hi Amy! Long time, no see!
Thank you for thinking of Unghshu! I like Bing too! It's my main browser, when i'm not on the forum. I've been using Bing for a few years now, and despite that it has certain minuses (e.g.compared to my preinstalled browser), it does quite decent search. I'd been using it occasionally within a few years, until, about a year ago, my preinstalled browser refused to work properly (it's better now though), so now Bing icon solemnly "stands" on my quick panel.
I also use Ecosia daily (mostly when i'm on the forum, because surprisingly, i don't know any available browsers for Android, which could allow me to upload my personal photos to the forum from mobile device). I know that Orbot does, and i had been using Orbot before Ecosia, but my mobile operator started blocking its work, and i'm not such a specialist to adjust VPN settings myself,- i think, Orbot is more for professionals, like, lets say, "Duck duck go". All my huge system of bookmarks is still in my preinstalled browser, because it's the best for making multiple stucturized bookmarks.
Once, i had a very rare and unpopular browser,- it was long ago, and i don't even remember its name (a very complicated and incomprehensible one), but i remember that it was created by chinese programmers. I would like to find that browser again, because with that browser, i could find awesome things, different from usual search results, given me by most browsers! In a nutshell, after having done a thorough "research", and having tried many, many browsers, i stopped on 4 of them, and i use them simultaneously. E.g. now i'm speaking with you from Ecosia, but if i find a "scary English word" (or expression), that i don't know, Ecosia redirects me to Bing.
I HAD to start using Yandex browser recently, though i didn't want to. But, first of all, it's the only browser which allows me to download magazines (in unlimited quantity) from that site with all magazines from English-speaking countries (it's more of my ad-blocker problem,- i've no idea how switch it off, and maybe i shouldn't...). Second: my "new" virtual helper Alice uses Yandex only. I have to say, it has become better, than e.g. 5 yrs ago. Moreover, there is no use of regrets: i've been using Yandex services for many years now (like, taxi service), and, of cource, Yandex maps+navigator, which is a LOT better than Google maps. I don't use full Yandex navigator for drivers, as i don't drive, but my navigator is very very good (it's very accurate, and it never let me down, even during our trips to Abkhazia and Scandinavia).

 

[Mikkel]

The guy attacking the mosque here in Norway has got 21 years custody now. It's the stricktest jailtime you can get in Norway, and only a few have got it. The 22nd July attacker and a serial rapist example. But it means you can stay in jail rest of your life, as there is a board that will decide if you can be set free or not. Hope both he and the two others stays behind bars. We don't need them out in the streets...

 

[Chryssie]

Morning/afternoon y'all! The sun is actually shining this morning! I don't know how long that will last but it is going to get hot and there is the normal chance of afternoon rain. I am working as a cashier 10-3 today. Tonight is Central 28 and Sweets-n-Eats so that is nice to look forward to.

 

[Raven]

I just did a load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom and made myself some oven potato wedges. My husband had to finish them as I made too much.

I spent all day yesterday reading about moving house. I did a calculator to see how much it should cost. Nearly £18,000!

This country is so expensive.

 

[Val]

I just did a load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom and made myself some oven potato wedges. My husband had to finish them as I made too much.

I spent all day yesterday reading about moving house. I did a calculator to see how much it should cost. Nearly £18,000!

This country is so expensive.

My sister and her husband want to move the house and they are looking for a new flat. They found a good one. It's not in the city,- it's in their village, in a big block house, so it's cheaper than if it was in the city. It costs 6600000 roubles (i converted currency units and it appeared to be that their new flat costs £75213!). So this country is expensive for living too...
P.S. that new flat (that they want to buy) consists of 2 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet and a coridor (+2 balconies).

 

[Raven]

My sister and her husband want to move the house and they are looking for a new flat. They found a good one. It's not in the city,- it's in their village, in a big block house, so it's cheaper than if it was in the city. It costs 6600000 roubles (i converted currency units and it appeared to be that their new flat costs £75213!). So this country is expensive for living too...
P.S. that new flat (that they want to buy) consists of 2 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet and a coridor (+2 balconies).

Val, that is just the cost of moving house, not the price of the house. The house we want will probably be about £350,000.

 

[Val]

Val, that is just the cost of moving house, not the price of the house. The house we want will probably be about £350,000.

Ugh... that cost of moving house is equal to a tiny 1-bedroom flat here. Aaand... £350000 is 30713000 roubles... Hmmm... it's like a good 2-floor house in a remote suburb of SPb ("cottage settlement") or a luxurious flat in a suburb (in the center, luxurious flats cost a lot more). ...And what is the cost of moving house here? I looked it up for SPb and Moscow: all transfer companies claim to have very cheap prices, but it turns out quite pricy at the end, because it depends on weight of your furniture and things, etc. So, maybe the cost will be the same as yours...

 

[shyvas]

I just did a load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom and made myself some oven potato wedges. My husband had to finish them as I made too much.

I spent all day yesterday reading about moving house. I did a calculator to see how much it should cost. Nearly £18,000!

This country is so expensive.

How did you get to that amount ?

 

[Urban Gardener]

Has anyone here had a positive experience with a car rental company in the US?

I want to rent a car for a day.

Reasons:

Take Pup for a good hike
Go to a garden store and get some plants (too big for the train)
Leave the city for the first time since February, explore Long Island
Catch up on random things that are easier by car

Ahh, but I look at the options and I've had bad experiences with most of the companies!

I've also looked into car sharing services like Zip Car and none of them seem worth it for me right now.

Ideas?