21 minutes ago, ShadySands said:

Not sure about the batteries just yet because the performance doesn't seem like it's worth the cost

But now that my wife also wants to go electric with her next car and our energy company is raising prices and implementing a time of use system it's making me want to jump to solar before some rebates and credits expire

Over here if you want to connect your solar to the grid, you actually have to pay a monthly fee to the electrical company, which is owned by the state. Ass backwards.

37 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Over here if you want to connect your solar to the grid, you actually have to pay a monthly fee to the electrical company, which is owned by the state. Ass backwards.

1 hour ago, ShadySands said:

Not sure about the batteries just yet because the performance doesn't seem like it's worth the cost

But now that my wife also wants to go electric with her next car and our energy company is raising prices and implementing a time of use system it's making me want to jump to solar before some rebates and credits expire

doing similar, but am gonna wait a couple months 'cause o' silly tax considerations. spent a whole lot on repairs and improvements this year and 'tween costs and depreciation on rental property, am effective paying no tax on our properties. as such am crossing fingers 'cause costs is all over the place, but am not wanting to waste the tax advantages on a year where am already at 0. am already losing 4% on the solar credit by waiting 'til january.

so our tax and home improvement planning amounts to an episode o' press your luck?

 

do we end up as terrell or owen?

HA! Good Fun!

Edited November 11, 20223 yr by Gromnir

I went to a friends wedding last night and got to see a few new things! Hes an Italian guy who married a Native American (Ojibwe) woman and their ceremony was a blend of both cultures. The officiant was of the same tribe and he performed the ceremony in both languages, then they read their vows to each other while holding an eagle feather, then there was a blanket ceremony where they were draped in a blanket woven by her mother, then there was a tobacco ceremony where you could partake in "smudging" if you like (I did). Their language was hella complex and it seem like it took a lot of Ojibwe words to say just a few English words. It was honestly one of the best wedding Ive ever attended.

Just checked in on my friend in Melbourne. A bit wet but otherwise Ok... Phew 😌

Wasn't there a famous book somewhere that had a chapter featuring the world after 30 days of rain?

(No idea if this is region locked on Youtube)

 

On 11/12/2022 at 5:52 PM, Gfted1 said:

I went to a friends wedding last night and got to see a few new things! Hes an Italian guy who married a Native American (Ojibwe) woman and their ceremony was a blend of both cultures. The officiant was of the same tribe and he performed the ceremony in both languages, then they read their vows to each other while holding an eagle feather, then there was a blanket ceremony where they were draped in a blanket woven by her mother, then there was a tobacco ceremony where you could partake in "smudging" if you like (I did). Their language was hella complex and it seem like it took a lot of Ojibwe words to say just a few English words. It was honestly one of the best wedding Ive ever attended.

Sounds great, I love attending non-Western weddings. We call  traditional weddings " White Weddings " in SA

I have been to Hindu, traditional black weddings, Jewish and Polish weddings and they all very interesting and have unique parts to the ceremony 

What is "smudging " ?

 

 

9 hours ago, BruceVC said:

What is "smudging " ?

"Smudging" was part of the tobacco ceremony. First a woman went around the group with a satchel of ground tobacco and each person was to reach in with their left hand only and grab a pinch of tobacco. Then she came back around with a wad of smoldering tobacco and you were to "grab" some of the smoke in your hands and waft it onto your head/body. This is "smudging" and is used to "cleanse" and "bless" oneself. Then the chief(?) had an around two foot wooden pipe that he took a big rip on and then blew it into the air (Iirc, to signify blowing the blessing of the union up to the ancestors), then we had to walk to a grassy area (we were outside in the parking lot because of the smoke) and drop the pinch of tobacco onto the earth.

Even cooler was the eagle feather. From the way it was revered and handled it was obviously a Very Important Object. It was carried around in a special handmade leather sleeve that was tied around with leather strapping and opened/closed like a book. The sleeve was also decorated but I wasnt close enough to see the patterns.

Also, I know its probably a relic of the past and NA's probably dont do it anymore, but all of their surnames were very pedestrian like "Miller". There wasnt a single "old school" name to be heard, like Running Bull, for example.

17 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

"Smudging" was part of the tobacco ceremony. First a woman went around the group with a satchel of ground tobacco and each person was to reach in with their left hand only and grab a pinch of tobacco. Then she came back around with a wad of smoldering tobacco and you were to "grab" some of the smoke in your hands and waft it onto your head/body. This is "smudging" and is used to "cleanse" and "bless" oneself. Then the chief(?) had an around two foot wooden pipe that he took a big rip on and then blew it into the air (Iirc, to signify blowing the blessing of the union up to the ancestors), then we had to walk to a grassy area (we were outside in the parking lot because of the smoke) and drop the pinch of tobacco onto the earth.

Even cooler was the eagle feather. From the way it was revered and handled it was obviously a Very Important Object. It was carried around in a special handmade leather sleeve that was tied around with leather strapping and opened/closed like a book. The sleeve was also decorated but I wasnt close enough to see the patterns.

Also, I know its probably a relic of the past and NA's probably dont do it anymore, but all of their surnames were very pedestrian like "Miller". There wasnt a single "old school" name to be heard, like Running Bull, for example.

That is interesting and sounds very interactive

What food did you eat, anything unusual?

 

Unfortunately it was just the standard fare of steak, chicken or vegetarian. The steak was surprisingly good and cooked to the correct temperature. I even commented to my wife that I couldnt remember any previous wedding dinners that had really good food (its usually cooked until its hammered overdone because theyre trying to cook for 200+).

I wonder what the traditional NA food would have been. 🤔

When you went to the Hindu wedding was an elephant involved? When you say "traditional black wedding" are you referring to a "tribal" African wedding?

2 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

Unfortunately it was just the standard fare of steak, chicken or vegetarian. The steak was surprisingly good and cooked to the correct temperature. I even commented to my wife that I couldnt remember any previous wedding dinners that had really good food (its usually cooked until its hammered overdone because theyre trying to cook for 200+).

I wonder what the traditional NA food would have been. 🤔

When you went to the Hindu wedding was an elephant involved? When you say "traditional black wedding" are you referring to a "tribal" African wedding?

I have seen NA traditional food on US cooking shows like Bizarre Foods America, it varies from tribe to tribe 

https://littlethings.com/lifestyle/native-american-recipes/2918156-8

No there was no elephant  in SA  Maybe in India, the wedding lasts several days and its very detailed with lots of events and music. We just attended 5-7 hours 

And yes in SA a traditional wedding is a black wedding based on the tribal culture and customs but the reality is  many  black people just have the white wedding because 2 weddings is expensive but it depends on the couple and their cultural connection 

 

 

I think it would be really cool to attend a tribal wedding and observe the customs and traditions. Maybe let my groove thang out.

And the rain just keeps coming. When it rains on the east coast, it pours 😝

This is a bit south of where I live, so it didn't affect me personally. Still, a lot of peoples lives destroyed 😢

 

Edit: Ironically, this one  just popped up in my messages a short while ago... we could use a bit of all that wet stuff they're hoarding south of here

Fire Weather Warning - Extreme

from Tue, 15 Nov, 5:32 PM GMT+10 to Thu, 17 Nov, 12:00 AM GMT+10
Fire Weather Warning The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advises you to: Refer to your Bushfire Survival Plan now.

Monitor the fire and weather situation through your local radio station, www.qfes.qld.gov.au/current-incidents and www.bom.gov.au.

Call 000 (Triple Zero) in an emergency.

The next warning will be issued by 5:00 am EST Wednesday.

Well, Australia's genius loci has been trying to kill you guys off through dangerous wildlife for a while now. Call that an adaptation of means, if you will. You better get out of that alien hellscape while you can.

I didn't realize "bone chapels" (aka charnel houses) like this actually existed:

I honestly thought this was just made up for that one Planescape: Torment bones guy.

Edited November 15, 20223 yr by Bartimaeus

8 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

I didn't realize "bone chapels" (aka charnel houses) like this actually existed:

How did you figure it out?

13 minutes ago, Sarex said:

How did you figure it out?

Some lady I came across recently on YouTube recently who does long-ish form content on all matters related to death ("Let's Visit the Churches Made of Human Skulls"). She calls her subscribers "deathlings": I guess I'm now a deathling. She mixes humor and interesting information in a way that reminds me a lot of Lindsay Ellis, who is now retired from the YouTube game on account of social media being cancer.

Edited November 15, 20223 yr by Bartimaeus

Yeah in czech I think its called 'Kostnice' - ossuary. We have quite big one

 

https://www.visitczechrepublic.com/en-US/29565d85-b0e5-4e95-a8e0-145c3d973284/place/c-brno-st-james-ossuary

also this weird one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

4 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Some lady I came across recently on YouTube recently who does long-ish form content on all matters related to death ("Let's Visit the Churches Made of Human Skulls"). She calls her subscribers "deathlings": I guess I'm now a deathling. She mixes humor and interesting information in a way that reminds me a lot of Lindsay Ellis, who is now retired from the YouTube game on account of social media being cancer.

She's amazing ❤️

14 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

She's amazing ❤️

Were you already a fan, or did you just become one?

4 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Were you already a fan, or did you just become one?

I am a long time fan I dare say, I've been subscribed for something like 8 years I think? 🤔

A couple of months after my grandmother passed away in any case, I was looking stuff up and getting angry as usual and found her video about aquamation.

18 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

I am a long time fan I dare say, I've been subscribed for something like 8 years I think? 🤔

A couple of months after my grandmother passed away in any case, I was looking stuff up and getting angry as usual and found her video about aquamation.

Ah, . I...genuinely can't remember the context of how I found her. It was only a few weeks ago, but I got covid maybe a few days later and had about four or five days of fevers between 101 and 103 so that kind of knocked the crap outta me and made the surrounding time period a bit of a blur. I'm really trying to remember, but I honestly don't have a clue. Nothing as sad as your grandma passing away, that's for sure, .

8 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Ah, . I...genuinely can't remember the context of how I found her. It was only a few weeks ago, but I got covid maybe a few days later and had about four or five days of fevers between 101 and 103 so that kind of knocked the crap outta me and made the surrounding time period a bit of a blur. I'm really trying to remember, but I honestly don't have a clue. Nothing as sad as your grandma passing away, that's for sure, .

I'm pretty sure I got the coof myself right now, my nose is doing it's best impression of the Niagara falls

My grandma was really environmentally concious and I did the mistake of asking for details about how the cremation works and being told how much of, well, everything is used to take care of the dead. I began asking if there was any greener alternatives and since they blanked on me I started looking into stuff myself. Turns out there are only two legal alternatives here, traditional cremation and regular burials. Neither of which are good for the environment in any way, especially not since you can't opt out of embalming either.

I'd have wanted my grandmother to be just buried in a simple wood box in the woods if possible. Same with me unless science/medicine wants the corpse or whatever is left if they find any spare parts that are working. 😄 

7 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

I'm pretty sure I got the coof myself right now, my nose is doing it's best impression of the Niagara falls

My grandma was really environmentally concious and I did the mistake of asking for details about how the cremation works and being told how much of, well, everything is used to take care of the dead. I began asking if there was any greener alternatives and since they blanked on me I started looking into stuff myself. Turns out there are only two legal alternatives here, traditional cremation and regular burials. Neither of which are good for the environment in any way, especially not since you can't opt out of embalming either.

I'd have wanted my grandmother to be just buried in a simple wood box in the woods if possible. Same with me unless science/medicine wants the corpse or whatever is left if they find any spare parts that are working. 😄 

Oh, that's so apropos what with her having released "How One Man Kept Water Cremation Illegal" just a few days ago and going into the silliness of the political process of legalizing it in just one U.S. state. My condolences: even in death, we can't escape this kind of ridiculous racket.

Recover well and speedily from whatever's ailing you, .

Edited November 15, 20223 yr by Bartimaeus

13 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Oh, that's so apropos what with her having released "How One Man Kept Water Cremation Illegal" just a few days ago and going into the silliness of the political process of legalizing it in just one U.S. state. My condolences: even in death, we can't escape this kind of ridiculous racket.

Recover well and speedily from whatever's ailing you, .

Yeah, the **** Hamm story! 😄

Yeah, it's pretty sad deal, but aslong as people are making a buck...

Thank you!

My neighbour's Ukrainian flag is down, sadly was not replaced by a Russian, just some generic WASP yuppie.