The MSFN café - A Penny for Your Thoughts

[XPerceniol]

Honestly, hate to say it, forum drama gets old tbh. Otherwise, I started out not taking it too well, but I decided to get outside and I feel better for having done so and steeping away from the PC.

Glad you are doing well.

Edited January 5, 2023 by XPerceniol

[legacyfan]

11 minutes ago, XPerceniol said:

Honestly, hate to say it, forum drama gets old tbh. Otherwise, I started out not taking it too well, but I decided to get outside and I feel better for having done so and steeping away from the PC.

Glad you are doing well.

I'm do good as well decided to post some in the other detox post and it felt better to get away from msfn for a little bit

[UCyborg]

On 1/4/2023 at 12:11 AM, XPerceniol said:

So glad you are on leave this week and I (truly) hope you will find something to enjoy. Yes, I'm one to talk as I struggle to leave the house.

I don't do anything special on these occasions TBH. It passes so fast and I believe we all deserve to be a bit lazy from time to time. And no company IRL to do fun stuff with either. While I don't have any apprehensions about leaving the house, at least not for going for a walk, I do gravitate towards staying home in general.

On 1/4/2023 at 1:19 AM, mina7601 said:

That's good for you. Like XPerceniol, I also struggle to leave my house.

I'm not sure what I'd say to someone who struggles to leave the house, honestly. Did read a lot of other people's venting in the past, some struggle to even leave the bed.

On 1/4/2023 at 12:17 AM, XPerceniol said:

He was right and hard to accept that but its about the 'here and now' - today and tomorrow (or in this case this week on leave for you - not even yesterday [its gone and over])  and it is quite understandable that you don't remember much ... I've been in therapy most all of my life and sometime I remember or recall little from sessions, but I try to be kind to myself and understand myself as I give understanding to other but save little for myself.

On 1/4/2023 at 1:22 AM, mina7601 said:

Ha, lol, what a nice answer from the psychiatrist to your question.

Yeah, but I mean, what if you don't feel like participating in this freakshow?

On 1/4/2023 at 12:25 AM, XPerceniol said:

Right ... they numb us and rob us of emotions and deaden us. Some might disagree, but pills were only supposed to be *as needed* but became the "fix" and the brain adapts to the med and you just need to change meds or increase and this roller-coaster is bad. Your essence is not the depression which is why you said it "drained" you ... because the depressions is lingering and fooling you (tricking you) into believing you are weak; and you are not. You were right to stop them and that was not a good combination - I am medicated but have been for a while and still I have bad days, but you see, today it not one of them.  

Heh, those pills had the warning that they may cause suicidal thoughts, which did cross my mind then. "Deaden", right, that was the word I was looking for. Felt nothing and that was more messed up for me than feeling something. When you think about, pharmacy is just another business. And psychiatrist are in place to put you back on the predetermined track if you wander off to keep this system going.

Some say pills helped them, but really, they aren't for me. This quote is fitting:

On 1/4/2023 at 12:31 AM, XPerceniol said:

Ahhhh ... yes, society what is that? I'm far removed from it but I do get it. Haha ....

I hear ya. But unless we live off-grid in the woods, we're still bound to it one way or another.

On 1/4/2023 at 12:31 AM, XPerceniol said:

You are sailing on rough waters and the tide is changing - go with the flow even if feels repetitive but make sure its exciting and fun and go with the current even when the waves are going against you.

Going with the flow indeed, it's the only certain thing for me. Ugh, wanted to add something here, but can't figure out how to put it together.

On 1/4/2023 at 12:31 AM, XPerceniol said:

You sound healthy and strong to me

Thanks, not sure about strong, but at least health is holding up...for now.

On 1/4/2023 at 12:31 AM, XPerceniol said:

but a bit jaded much like our beloved George Denis Patrick Carlin. Wasn't he great but oh so bitter and very loved. He always said he was a misfit, and honestly nothing wrong so long as not hurting yourself.

Plus George had charisma.

On 1/4/2023 at 12:31 AM, XPerceniol said:

Never give up and keep sailing though and accept the mindless guidance. 

I'll try.

On 1/4/2023 at 9:14 AM, D.Draker said:

Nah, you'd do just fine, I have trust in you. On the contrary, it's the modern times that "gifted" you with depression in the first place.

Well who knows how things would have turned out then.

On 1/4/2023 at 9:14 AM, D.Draker said:

And why do you call depression "she" ? Is it a female ? I understand English is not your mother tongue. In English it would be "it", not "she".

But I guess there are underlying objects in your case, not the grammar per se.

Just a way of expressing myself, personifying depression to make situation sound less gloomy. It's a "she" in Slovenian.

[XPerceniol]

@UCyborg just wanted to also in addition to the reaction like, Just thank you for being so open and we do care about you here.

[XPerceniol]

3 hours ago, legacyfan said:

I'm do good as well decided to post some in the other detox post and it felt better to get away from msfn for a little bit

Yeah, breaks are awesome sometimes, clear the cobwebs.

[XPerceniol]

6 hours ago, D.Draker said:

Lookie here, I found some widely available literature on what happens when/if someone blocks D.Draker.

Names and my short resumes below. The modern ones are too plain, on the other hand - straight to the ponit.

"A day without D.Draker - pain with pleasure, or just pain ?" 2016

Intriguing, with a soft touch of mystery.

"D.D. haunts me wherever I go, will magic help ?" 1991

Over saturated with dark rituals. So-so.

"Will blocking D.Draker bring me satisfaction ?" 2018

This one's a waste of money, in my opinion.

Could give you a spoiler - no.

"The 101 best pieces of advice on how to kill time between D.Draker's posts." 2020

A good one, recommend.

Mwa..hahahaha ... haaaaaaaaaaa!! I needed to good laugh and thanks for the support. 

[msfntor]

Were there three or 12 Wise Men? Their origin and the unanswered questions about them
By Angela Reyes Haczek

09:05 ET(14:05 GMT) January 5, 2023

(CNN Spanish) -- "They went into the house, saw the child with his mother Mary and worshiped him prostrate on the ground. They opened their coffers and offered him as a gift gold, frankincense and myrrh."

It is enough to read these few words of the Gospel of Matthew to identify immediately, and without any doubt, who the text is talking about: they are Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar, the Magi, who according to the biblical account went in search of the 'king of the Jews' and, guided by a star and after an encounter with the cruel Herod, they came to him to worship him.

However, nowhere in the brief narration that the Gospel of Matthew gives of this episode - it is, by the way, the only one of the four Gospels where this visit is recorded - is it said that they are kings. Nor that they are magi as we conceive the concept. Nor that there are three of them. Nor that they are called Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar.

Even among those who believe that this episode in the life of Jesus really happened, there are multiple questions that have found answers in art and tradition, but not in historical facts.

Three, 12... and even 60!
In our tradition, the Magi are three. However, in the Eastern tradition the number rises to 12. In different accounts the number ranges from two to 60. What is certain is that the brief passage in Matthew's Gospel does not establish a number. The three, which has been mentioned by some of the so-called 'fathers of the Church', seems to be linked to the gifts that the biblical text does mention: gold, frankincense and myrrh. "In the third century the theologian Origen indicated that the Magi were three, a number that ended up being imposed for biblical, liturgical and symbolic reasons, and that was confirmed by the Church in the fifth century," explains Dr. in History of the University of Navarra José Javier Azanza López.

Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar?
The names are not in the biblical account either. According to Azanza, in the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, an apocryphal Gospel dating from the 4th century, they were already identified as Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar. By the 7th century, says the Catholic Encyclopedia, slight variants of these names appear in Latin writings. The spread of these names, according to the Catholic Church, began in the ninth century. In that century, explains the Navarrese historian, the names were included in the text Liber Pontificalis of Ravenna.

This does not detract from the existence of other names by which the Magi are known, such as Larvandad, Hormisdas and Gushnasaph, among others, in the Syrian tradition, and those of Kagba and Badadilma, among others, for the Armenians.

Depiction of the Magi following the star by Edmund Dulac (1882 - 1953). (Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Magoi, the precise word
Crowns abound in present-day representations of the Magi and yet there is nothing to indicate that the wise men from the East who paid homage to the messiah of the Christians were kings.

The word used in the Gospel of Matthew -these texts, which for the Christians record the life and message of Jesus, were written primarily in Greek- is magoi, which, according to the historian Herodotus, would refer to priests of Persia from the sacred caste of the Medes, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

"Most likely they were priests and astrologers from Babylon or Persia, since both were great astrological centers where the magi were a priestly caste with a lot of influence," Azanza explains.

But then why kings? The qualifier was added by a reference to an Old Testament Psalm that states: "The kings of the West and the islands will pay tribute to him. The kings of Arabia and Ethiopia will offer him gifts. Before him shall all kings prostrate themselves, and all nations shall serve him," says the Catholic news agency Aciprensa. The use of the word, according to Azanza, dates back to the third century and we owe it to Tertullian, a writer and one of those considered the father of the Church.

The story of the black magician king
In the early days of Christianity, Azanza recalls, the three magi were depicted as belonging to the same race. "They had the same type and were dressed in the characteristic Persian costume: Phrygian hood and narrow pants with a skirt," he explains.

The individualizations arrived only in the 12th century, with the aim of "symbolizing the universality of Christianity," for which the sages were endowed with differentiated features associated with Europe, Asia and Africa. In Christian art, although there are some isolated antecedents, the representation of a black king became "habitual" by the end of the Middle Ages and was imposed, says the historian, in the 15th century.

A star... or a conjunction of planets, perhaps.
Another of the most beloved elements of tradition is the star that, according to the biblical account, guides the steps of the wise men from the East to Jesus after his encounter with King Herod. According to Aciprensa, it was previously believed that it was actually a comet, although astronomical studies "indicate that it was apparently due to the conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces".

In ancient astrology, says the agency, Jupiter was considered the star of the "Prince of the world", the constellation of Pisces the sign of the "end of times" and Saturn, in the East, the star of Palestine, references that could have guided these magoi.

Why are the Magi celebrated on January 6?
The Bible, of course, does not mention a specific date, nor does it do so for Christmas, Easter and other major Christian holidays.

January 6 was determined by Augustine of Hippo, popularly known as St. Augustine, who in his Epiphany sermons said that the wise men arrived 13 days after the birth of Jesus, which places the celebration on the sixth day of the year.

On the same day, the birth of the god Aion, patron of Alexandria, was celebrated, the Catholic news agency recalls. In turn, "since ancient times on this same date the winter solstice was celebrated in Egypt," it says.

Here: https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/01/05/reyes-magos-origen-historia-leyenda-orix/

Edited January 6, 2023 by msfntor

[msfntor]

Okay, I'm thinking it's time to invest in one of these hands-free smart strollers

Cardinal Pritchard

··Jan 6, 2023 · NottheBee.com

 

Okay, you guys can ridicule me all day over this one, I really don't care. But when my next child enters this wonderful world we inhabit, I'm going straight to the Target and picking up one of these bad boys.

An amazing leap forward for man!

I can't tell you how many times I've stopped the stroller, or made a solid attempt at controlling it with one hand, in an effort to accomplish this, that, or the other 298 things a parent might need to do while pushing the stroller.

It's annoying.

But with this smart stroller I'll never again struggle in this way.

Call it what you want, but this is the future.

Fight me!

Here: https://notthebee.com/article/okay-im-thinking-its-time-to-invest-in-one-of-these-hands-free-smart-strollers

[legacyfan]

3 minutes ago, msfntor said:

Okay, I'm thinking it's time to invest in one of these hands-free smart strollers

Cardinal Pritchard

··Jan 6, 2023 · NottheBee.com

 

Okay, you guys can ridicule me all day over this one, I really don't care. But when my next child enters this wonderful world we inhabit, I'm going straight to the Target and picking up one of these bad boys.

An amazing leap forward for man!

I can't tell you how many times I've stopped the stroller, or made a solid attempt at controlling it with one hand, in an effort to accomplish this, that, or the other 298 things a parent might need to do while pushing the stroller.

It's annoying.

But with this smart stroller I'll never again struggle in this way.

Call it what you want, but this is the future.

Fight me!

Here: https://notthebee.com/article/okay-im-thinking-its-time-to-invest-in-one-of-these-hands-free-smart-strollers

I think this is a good idea! you don't even have to push it

[mina7601]

23 hours ago, UCyborg said:

some struggle to even leave the bed.

Wait a minute, really? I only know that there are some people struggle to leave the house, but not the bed. Some people struggling to leave the bed seems a bit much.

[mina7601]

23 hours ago, UCyborg said:

Yeah, but I mean, what if you don't feel like participating in this freakshow?

Yes, I know this feeling very well.

[msfntor]

Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island erupted again on Jan. 5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey…

 

[msfntor]

Gigantic storm waves like a tsunami hit and damage Santa Cruz coast in California

Jan 6, 2023

The coastal town of Capitola has suffered extensive damage as a result of flooding from Wednesday’s bomb cyclone storm, as impacts from heavy rains continue to batter Santa Cruz County.

Photos posted to Santa Cruz County’s Twitter account show Capitola Wharf essentially split in half, with the beach completely overtaken by floodwaters. The streets of Capitola Village, the town’s main tourist attraction, were completely ravaged by ocean swells and water that was pushed over the banks of Soquel Creek in photos and videos posted by locals.

Many transformers also exploded in San Rapfael, CA

Giant ocean swells pushed debris through the front wall and a window, filling the interior with several inches of seawater. Damaging hurricane-force winds, surging surf and heavy rains from a powerful “atmospheric river” pounded California on Thursday, knocking out power to tens of thousands, causing flooding, and contributing to the deaths of at least two people.

Crazy…

Low-lying coastal areas in Santa Cruz County are now under threat of a tidal surge, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release Thursday morning. “Due to large waves and high tides along the coastline, there is a threat to the safety of those residents,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the press release. “If you can evacuate safely, please do so immediately.”

Happy this isn’t my home…

Residents who are unable to evacuate are advised to shelter in place and move away from open-facing windows. A coastal flood warning is in effect until 4 p.m. Thursday and a high surf advisory is in effect until 3 a.m. Friday. Waves of up to 22 feet are in the forecast, as well as the potential for more flooding.

Cut in two pieces…

“Low lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure will be inundated,” the National Weather Service says. “Some shoreline erosion will occur.”

This comes two days after the county declared a local disaster due to damages from the storm, including “significant debris in the waterways, mudslides and debris flows, road washouts and road collapses, and power outages throughout the county.” At the time of the declaration, damages from the storm were estimated to be at least $10 million. [SF]

Here: https://strangesounds.org/2023/01/terrifying-videos-gigantic-storm-waves-like-a-tsunami-hit-and-damage-santa-cruz-coast-in-california.html

[legacyfan]

5 minutes ago, msfntor said:

Gigantic storm waves like a tsunami hit and damage Santa Cruz coast in California

Jan 6, 2023

The coastal town of Capitola has suffered extensive damage as a result of flooding from Wednesday’s bomb cyclone storm, as impacts from heavy rains continue to batter Santa Cruz County.

Photos posted to Santa Cruz County’s Twitter account show Capitola Wharf essentially split in half, with the beach completely overtaken by floodwaters. The streets of Capitola Village, the town’s main tourist attraction, were completely ravaged by ocean swells and water that was pushed over the banks of Soquel Creek in photos and videos posted by locals.

Many transformers also exploded in San Rapfael, CA

Giant ocean swells pushed debris through the front wall and a window, filling the interior with several inches of seawater. Damaging hurricane-force winds, surging surf and heavy rains from a powerful “atmospheric river” pounded California on Thursday, knocking out power to tens of thousands, causing flooding, and contributing to the deaths of at least two people.

Crazy…

Low-lying coastal areas in Santa Cruz County are now under threat of a tidal surge, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release Thursday morning. “Due to large waves and high tides along the coastline, there is a threat to the safety of those residents,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the press release. “If you can evacuate safely, please do so immediately.”

Happy this isn’t my home…

Residents who are unable to evacuate are advised to shelter in place and move away from open-facing windows. A coastal flood warning is in effect until 4 p.m. Thursday and a high surf advisory is in effect until 3 a.m. Friday. Waves of up to 22 feet are in the forecast, as well as the potential for more flooding.

Cut in two pieces…

“Low lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure will be inundated,” the National Weather Service says. “Some shoreline erosion will occur.”

This comes two days after the county declared a local disaster due to damages from the storm, including “significant debris in the waterways, mudslides and debris flows, road washouts and road collapses, and power outages throughout the county.” At the time of the declaration, damages from the storm were estimated to be at least $10 million. [SF]

Here: https://strangesounds.org/2023/01/terrifying-videos-gigantic-storm-waves-like-a-tsunami-hit-and-damage-santa-cruz-coast-in-california.html

wow! that was some powerfully storms 😳

[UCyborg]

4 hours ago, mina7601 said:

Wait a minute, really? I only know that there are some people struggle to leave the house, but not the bed. Some people struggling to leave the bed seems a bit much.

Yup, search for "struggle to leave bed" (or in own words).