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Post by vanderdb9 on May 30, 2009 23:57:52 GMT
You like that Vauxhall? So I take it from that that you are a Holden girl? that I am! but I don't think badly of Jim Richards he won fair and square |
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Post by ulstermayniac on May 31, 2009 14:14:07 GMT
At least you are normal. I have to say I have had more experience with Fords than Vauxhalls in my life, I don't think anyone in my family has ever owned or driven a Vauxhall, just the way it worked out. I to like Vauxhalls very much, and I have seen the Holden Torano (?) and the 70s ones were fab looking, esp from the mid-late 70s, but I think I would naturally gravitate toward Ford.
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Post by vanderdb9 on Jun 1, 2009 12:31:47 GMT
the torana's when I was a teenager where always driven by the bad boys! So I have some memories of them LOL
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 1, 2009 13:46:55 GMT
Hell yeah!  |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 1, 2009 16:10:11 GMT
Yep. I mean, the dinosaurs died out for a reason that only nature knows, because, lets face it, and you can correct me if I am wrong, they didn't really have any natural predators did they?
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 1, 2009 16:40:05 GMT
Yeah, never thought of that.  |
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Post by Wyvern on Jun 2, 2009 16:41:13 GMT
Yep. I mean, the dinosaurs died out for a reason that only nature knows, because, lets face it, and you can correct me if I am wrong, they didn't really have any natural predators did they? You're right on the dinosaurs, but I'm not sure how this applies to beavers, given that they were hunted to extinction. Having said that, they were hunted to extinction a very long time (400 years +/-) ago, and the ecosystem has changed and adapted to their absence. Scotland now is not Scotland of 400 years ago and the wildlife has changed and evolved without beavers. Putting them back could be disastrous as well as a bit pointless; Scotland's wildlife has got on perfectly well for the last 400 years without them, and goodness knows what effect bringing them in now will have. There's also talk of reintroducing wild wolves, which will effectively be a new apex predator in the system, and I can't see that going well either. The thing is, I'm not against taking remedial action to repair the damage we as humans have done to wildlife in principle, but the question is one of timing. If we can see the numbers of something dwindling, it makes sense to try to protect the ones that are left (unless by some miracle things like mosquitos and wasps become endangered, in which case break out the Raid spray and finish the job). If we don't catch on in time, provided there's reasonable continuity, try reintroducing things, but after centuries, deliberately reintroducing things is just going to upset the balance that is there. What bothers me is the current trend for 'eco-guilt' (and historical guilt on the whole) which means that the powers that be have decided to make amends for things that we did several hundred years ago. They need to get over it and realise that the world moves on  |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 2, 2009 16:48:32 GMT
You are quite right, in the first paragraph, and 400 years is a hell of a long time too and as for your second paragraph, I couldn't agree more also. It isn't right to make us feel guilty now for something that we have no control over, have never had any control over and that happened centuries ago.
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Post by TheDaisy on Jun 2, 2009 16:55:08 GMT
I love that red kites have been reintroduced to the Chilterns. They're my favourite type of bird by miles, I love watching them fly over the house. And they don't make any dents in the environment, unlike the lovely beaver.
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Post by Wyvern on Jun 2, 2009 17:01:43 GMT
I love that red kites have been reintroduced to the Chilterns. They're my favourite type of bird by miles, I love watching them fly over the house. And they don't make any dents in the environment, unlike the lovely beaver. There has been a measurable impact on the other bird populations though. I suppose they have to weigh up the risks with these things, and I wonder whether the levels they've gone down to are what would have been expected if they'd never been away. They are beautiful birds though. Talking of introduced species (and I know this is a slightly different issue), I've just seen half a dozen green parrots fly over the house! |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 2, 2009 17:19:45 GMT
Where did they come from? Did someone's pets escape? Either that or you claim to live in England but you really live in Barbados!! |
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Post by Wyvern on Jun 2, 2009 17:27:11 GMT
There are loads of green parrots in and around London (actually red-ringed green parakeets). They've been fully established there for about 40 years. Urban legend has it that the first colony escaped from the set of The African Queen, and were joined by escaped pets, but what is more likely is that when birds are imported they escape from their containers and when the planes land at Heathrow they get out into the wild. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZLvav3xML4Parrots in the UK! |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 2, 2009 17:40:26 GMT
Wow! Cool! |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2009 11:21:33 GMT
It's strange seeing parrots in London
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Post by maureen on Jun 4, 2009 12:09:47 GMT
I haven't seen them there yet, but I'll have to take a closer look around next time I'm in London. I remember when I was in Sydney, there were cockatoos flying free all over the city, especially in the Hyde Park area, where our hotel was close to.
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 4, 2009 12:14:34 GMT
If there was anything like that flying loose around Ulster, it would be an escapee from somewhere.
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Post by Wyvern on Jun 4, 2009 13:22:22 GMT
I've not seen any reports of feral parrots in Ireland at all, but they are in several cities in the UK, so it's possible that some will eventually make their way over! I'm not surprised by them any more, but I do love seeing them. I remember the first time I saw one, in Holland Park. I thought I was going mad but my friend said she was used to them and they sometimes came into her garden (which has lots of big trees) in Kensington. They certainly make a change from pigeons!
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Post by Shortie on Jun 4, 2009 14:30:51 GMT
There were/are a lot around Brussels, too. The story was that they escaped from a broken container at the airport, but it was a long time ago that someone told me and I'm not sure that was it. Sounds feasible. They were seriously noisy though, and big enough to be very messy, so while it was nice to see a flock zoom overhead or roosting in a park, it was a serious pain if they decided to haunt your garden.
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Post by TheDaisy on Jun 4, 2009 15:02:16 GMT
I've seen green parrots as far upriver as Maidenhead. I was quite surprised to see them - but not as surprised as I was the next minute, when a grey squirrel ran up my leg, sat on my lap and pinched a particularly nice piece of scampi from the bag on my knee |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 4, 2009 15:23:43 GMT
OMG! If one of those had jumped on me I would have shat myself!
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Post by TheDaisy on Jun 4, 2009 16:50:57 GMT
The squidgels on Monkey Island are well known for their cheek. I just never met one before that was quite as cheeky as that little basket was  |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 4, 2009 17:05:55 GMT
Can I take it that you never want to meet one again?
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Post by TheDaisy on Jun 4, 2009 17:12:20 GMT
Can I take it that you never want to meet one again? I might refuse to meet them if I'm carrying my dinner with me. Empty handed is the best bet  |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 4, 2009 17:21:05 GMT
LOL! Or buy a bag of peanuts and pass those around to them, that way they won't steal your food.
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Post by vanderdb9 on Jun 6, 2009 22:39:41 GMT
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 6, 2009 22:43:53 GMT
Ta muchly! |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 6, 2009 23:21:13 GMT
I get what Jeremy says about the digital photos, but I made a comment on that column today, doubt it will get posted but I said that the trick is to not take too many that way the ones you do take will have some meaning and value to you.
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Post by Wyvern on Jun 6, 2009 23:55:22 GMT
I've just mentioned that the easiest way around it is to not have a camera, and to borrow one when you might have something to photograph, though on recent form this means historians will think I'm a Spitfire-flying gardener |
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Post by ulstermayniac on Jun 7, 2009 0:07:42 GMT
LOL! I couldn't be without a camera of some sort, I have always had/borrowed one and I love them. I don't take many photos, don't go anywhere to take any but when I get tue urge, the ones I take I keep because they mean something to me, reminders of a nice day, a day away from worrying about things or stresses or strains of everyday life. They always make me smile when I look at them again. A mate of mine, who I met on an MB and who I only met for the first time earlier this year came to Belfast for a visit. I didn't take many photos that day just about 12 or so but they all mean something because they remind me of a good day, meeting a new friend for the first time, when I was only able to chat to her online before. To this day I am still surprised and delighted that you can make a proper, genuine friend on the internet, but you can. I have made several friends that way. |
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Mystik
Filthy Mayhemer
55 MPGiesel
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Post by Mystik on Jun 7, 2009 1:01:55 GMT
Ooh that hit a nerve over here. I am currently shooting a series that's taken halfway through (got another year to go before it's finished) and frankly, I take a LOT of photos. I am a photographer - it's my job. However I also use film for special things (nice portraits, landscapes etc). I use my digital SLR more than the film one, which is a family heirloom and frankly with the amount of dents and scrapes the digital has taken, I'd be guttered if that happened to the film one, but I digress... Not much of what I shoot goes on my Facebook, I think I've posted 3 photos on my Twitter and the rest of my online images are on my website. That being said I have a LOT of images on my computer and frankly, I DO go through them - often! That being said, I can definitely see where he's coming from. My previous job was actually in camera retail so in terms of seeing how many small digital happy-snap cameras went out into the world, it's simple to see why he's be pissed off with photography becoming meaningless, effectively. Anyone can shoot a billion photos of anything - it's not such an exclusive "you need specific skills to know how to do this" club anymore. I admit, my current phone does have a good camera on it because sometimes having my SLR with me is a rather heavy pain in the arse. If my house was burning down, I'd grab my two portable hard drives off my computer, my camera bag and my good baritone ukulele (bloody thing cost me a few hundred $ - worth lugging it!).  /rant. |
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