Glenarvon
Executioner
I love Callas but I can't imagine her as a slave... maybe as a fighting adversary/victim, who resists until the very end...
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Odds And Ends And Anything You Fancy
- Thread starter Eulalia
- Start date
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
"Until recently, our splendid view on the sea was blocked by the houses across the street!"
These houses look rather recent of age.
Everybody should be aware about the risks, of building at such a location. Looks like a problem with good spatial planning policy. A building permit should never have been allowed for these houses.
Places along the east coast of England - parts of East Anglia and Yorkshire especially - are crumbling away like that. And in fairness the properties affected were built in what seemed safe situations only a few decades ago. Rising sea levels and increasingly frequent storms are threats no human engineering can compete with, at least no for long.
Mind, as I've mentioned before, where I am, the land is still rising, bouncing back after the last ice age.
But even so, high spring tides with a strong gale behind them can sweep the sea back to where it was centuries ago.
When I have seen the hungry ocean gain
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,
And the firm soil win of the wat'ry main,
Increasing store with loss and loss with store,
Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate ...
Naraku
Draconarius
The same thing happens along the Gulf and Atlantic coast. People pay big money for houses on or near the beach; usually on barrier islands. Every few years, a hurricane comes along and levels everything. and then, people come back and pay big money to build houses on or near the beach.
Some call this perseverance. I think that's a fancy word for stupid.
Some call this perseverance. I think that's a fancy word for stupid.
The same thing happens along the Gulf and Atlantic coast. People pay big money for houses on or near the beach; usually on barrier islands. Every few years, a hurricane comes along and levels everything. and then, people come back and pay big money to build houses on or near the beach.
Some call this perseverance. I think that's a fancy word for stupid.
More pics, you can see from the first one that they are built on a strip of land between the ocean and a lagoon, it's basically sand dunes. Like building on flood plains, zoning land as fit for housing does not magically make it fit for housing. And of course, it has happened in that spot before, about 30 years ago houses were lost.
Naraku
Draconarius
And just because the view is spectacular, doesn't mean you should build a house there.
Gibbs505
SERVORUM DOMITOR
I see that all the big rocks that someone put along the seashore did the job - NOT!!
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
The aerial pic shows it even better, how narrow the strip is.Well, as did happen in Norway, a few weeks ago. Fortunately, these were leasure homes, mostly deserted during the week, so there were no casualties. An underlying unstable clay layer caused the landslide. There goes your house for a walk (but don't worry, they all return to their Original spot at the end).
That's sad, the owners very probably built those houses themselves, it's part of the Nordic lifestyle, and while the geology proved unstable it was less obviously an unsafe location than a sand-bar. But Norwegians, like Icelanders, have stoical attitude when it comes to the forces of nature, whether their houses are well north of the Arctic Circle, or on top of a crack in a continental plate, the possibility that they might translocate into the sea or tumble into a hot hole is something they shrug off and go on enjoying the (spectacular) scenery.
Well, as did happen in Norway, a few weeks ago. Fortunately, these were leasure homes, mostly deserted during the week, so there were no casualties. An underlying unstable clay layer caused the landslide. There goes your house for a walk (but don't worry, they all return to their Original spot at the end).
Praefectus Praetorio
R.I.P. Brother of the Quill
Trivia question. What does the following illustrate?
"I have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife."
Eulalia, who will certainly know the answer, is forbidden to respond.
"I have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife."
Eulalia, who will certainly know the answer, is forbidden to respond.
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
One donut for squirrel, and bad monday is already forgotten!
Praefectus Praetorio
R.I.P. Brother of the Quill
The ultimate come-to-you service call
And it took a woman mechanic!
View attachment VID-20200707-WA0026.mp4
And it took a woman mechanic!
View attachment VID-20200707-WA0026.mp4
Praefectus Praetorio
R.I.P. Brother of the Quill
Sadly there are few Grammar nerds here. (We always have @Eulalia )
Here is the story. The sentence illustrated a little known, but mostly followed, rule in English that multiple adjectives must be listed in a particular order. Many don't catch the errors, but alternative orders often read as 'strange.'
The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth:
“Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun. So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac. It’s an odd thing that every English speaker uses that list, but almost none of us could write it out.”
Try an alternative "I have a lovely green old rectangular little silver French whittling knife." It doesn't sound right.
Now you might argue that this rule is broken by one half of a famous fictional Duo. Little Red Riding Hood follows perfectly, but Big Bad Wolf doesn't? How come?
Because of another rule concerning a language structure whose name we are all very familiar with, “ablaut reduplication” OK, perhaps you're not. But you instantly recognize examples. Reduplication is when a word is repeated, "bye-bye", "choo-choo", etc. However more common in English is the ablaut which means the interior vowels are replaced to make a more interesting sound. As in “ding, dang, dong.” When this occurs there is another hidden rule: “If there are three words then the order has to go I, A, O. If there are two words then the first is I and the second is either A or O.”
So Big Bad Wolf follows this rule.
Happy Writing
