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silverbutterfly's latest comments
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22nd Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Is modern technology really anti-social? Does it get in the way of real, old-fashioned conversation? What do you think and are your experiences.Hi Jeanmark, this has been the best conversation I've had on line and it appears that others have joined in. This is good for people to exchange opinions. Chatting with my son I now see that the old type mobiles where it is just a phone does have a place with keeping people in touch and for access to emergency services. I have personally stayed away from learning about aps etc... can't tolerate talking to a machine. Many life times ago I started a degree course in Computer Studies at a time when computers filled a temperature control room and programs were put in using punched cards. Being a social animal it just completely bored me. Life directed me onto my true course after that year into teaching -maths. Well it's been a pleasure exchanging opinions. In the end we have no power to bring about change so we bystanders watching life as it changes play out. I will leave you with the results of a survey that was carried out a few years ago. When asked the majority of women said they would prefer to give up sex before they gave up their mobile phone. My first reaction was - well that's a condemnation of the ability of British men. my next was- these poor women, what they have missed out on. maybe the addiction of mobile phones numbs the senses. Take care BarbaraViewDate:
21st Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Is modern technology really anti-social? Does it get in the way of real, old-fashioned conversation? What do you think and are your experiences.Hi Jean Mark I think I might be out of sync here. Anyway, what a beautiful written response to your last comment. Unfortunately it is true we can not un-do what has happened that is why I describe the effect of IT, the internet and mobile phones as a wave that has over taken us. I should have used the word Tsunami. We've been swept away. There's already been inquires into the working of the huge Internet Companies. Whistle blowers exposing their work ethics. As I said I'm all for it in the work arena but it is time to put in more controls to protect people young and old. Push back the tsunami. I think there is actual evidence that mobile phones kill. Legislation had to be put in place to prevent people from driving and using their mobile phones. I taught for many years in what is nicely called 'difficult' schools you presume too much on the responsibility of parents. It's not there. The young people often know more than their parents. I have sat in waiting rooms and watched mum's on mobile phones ignoring their young children or they've given their child their own mobile to keep them quiet. That happens a lot these days mum's more interested in their mobile than interacting with their children. I see it all the time. As I said to someone I grew up post war. There was a stronger sense of community and when we went out to meet others it was face to face. To me that is how it should be. That is what makes sense to me. My dog is nagging me for attention so I have to go.ViewDate:
21st Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
MPs - Can you be too rich to be a serving Member of Parliament?Hi what a lovely use of the English language you have. Absolutely agree with you. I compare to my youth which was in recovery from WW 2 there seemed to be better values. A better sense of community. Perhaps poverty does that to a population. I was one of the upwardly mobile children from those days and the grammar school system. From a council house, with one 'best dress' to a middle class teacher. Life seems to have become more complicated with the rise of IT and the internet and expectations have increased. Marketing and the media have afar greater influence on people now some thing I was never exposed to. I think my generation were more grounded. Boris hasn't done this country much good so hopefully when he goes we'll have some who behaves like a grown up.ViewDate:
19th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Is modern technology really anti-social? Does it get in the way of real, old-fashioned conversation? What do you think and are your experiences.Hi Jeanmark, well that's telling me. Luckily I am not a 'sheep' and think for myself. I see a place for technology in the work place. Analysing mass data ,sharing of scientific findings and modelling and all the wonderful 3D designing. Technology in medical situations clearly is of benefit to people. I even appreciate it gives opportunities for businesses to expand their advertising etc...... I have no problem with that.. Space travel would not be where it is without technology. It's work related. I don't know if mobile phones 'save lives' you'd have to find some statistics to prove that. It's an assumption. My concern is the effect on the younger generation. Terrorist-ISIS- were very good at using the internet for organising destruction. and grooming young people etc.... The negative side is enormous for young people. Young women are putting botox in their faces because they view themselves by how many 'likes' they get. It is damaging the self worth of young people .Pedophiles are getting access to young children. What more needs to be said. ? Teenagers don't have a sense of community because they invest their time with virtual friends, who aren't really friends. I wonder how many rapes and assaults have happened due to the easy access to hard porn. It is our duty to protect the younger generation as best we can. The young need to be protected. They are the future.ViewDate:
19th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
New Member saying hello - [DELETED_MEMBER]Hi Sue going into retirement seems grim when you are on your own but it takes a while to adjust. I was in the same situation as you. I've been divorced for 20yrs so as an adult I am on my own, even though I gave birth to 2 children' and they are adults now. I am still the parent. I think it's important that you work out what it is that makes YOU happy. Now we are coming out of Covid there will be clubs available for the over 55's. Look in your library for notices. Evening classes should be back to normal come this September so learn something new. Craft work or another language ? I have been retired for 12yrs and taking meds. I bought some dogs and they made a big difference to my life. I already had one dog, Sadie and puppy Jack came. This little puppy brought me back to life again. A Jack Russell so mischievous and non -stop. He brought so much joy into my life. Jade came 3mths later as a companion for Jack then 2 years on Samuel. 2 more Jack Russells. Over time you meet other dog lovers when you go out walking. I'm lucky here because I have woods and fields around where I live. When you re on your own you have to become more independant at DIY and gardening. I'm happy with that because I'm creating positive things. So what makes you feel good about yourself ? work that out and go for it, even if its sky diving. BarbaraViewDate:
18th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
MPs - Can you be too rich to be a serving Member of Parliament?when I was in my twenties I had great dreams of wanting to make the world a fairer place for everyone. As I got older I realise there is always a tier structure regardless of what society you belong to ,communist, socialist, capitalism there is always, sadly, corruption. There are flaws in human nature and in some people power, greed rule their mentality. I think that corruption in society is a great sin and I'm normally a very tolerant person. I tell my son all societies have corruption and that is why it is paramount to have good journalists to expose them. I would rather live in my society where there is free speech than china where you daren't say the wrong thing and get a knock at the door to take you away. I tend to think let the rich be rich I don't envy them and their worries about loosing what they have. mind I wouldn't mind a bit extra on my pensions. Just give me a 'stable' society. To me that's more important for me. It's the time for the young people to try and change things.ViewDate:
18th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Hello from an old young guy!Hi, I totally agree with you - work till you drop ! I'm a retired maths teacher some 12yrs now but I have always taken a few teenagers every year to their Gcse exams. I still like working with teenagers. You start to live into their future because at 70 the future is not so cheerful. The work keeps my mind sharp and up to date with the changes that are happening in education in the U.K. I live between Leeds and Bradford in England, with an adult son and dogs. 2 minutes and I'm on the tow path to the Leeds - Liverpool canal so there are woods and fields a plenty for me to walk my dogs and chat with other dog walkers. Absolutely dote on my dogs. They have been my constant companions for nearly 11 yrs. When I first retired I had 4 dogs and each loss has been a 'heart break'. Sadie the first to go was nearly 15yrs so she had a good long life. Jack went 3yrs ago. He was taken -unjustly -with lung cancer. Its taken until this year to recover because he was only 9yrs. A Jack Russell, I have Samuel and Jade now also Jack Russells.. So my time is a small amount of teaching ,lots of walking, presently getting my large garden ready to grow veg. and there's always the odd bit of DIY. I like to be independant if I can do things. Covid has brought me back to reading so I generally have a book on the go most nights. I'm in between books tonight hence here I am. Happy to have in depth conversations on many things. Science, politics news of the day. Though your news my not be the same as yours. Keep cheerful.ViewDate:
11th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Speakers Corner Commentssunbird73 You have taken me back to a memory of when my son was a toddler. We had a gas fire and he was going to put his finger in it so I told him not to, but he began to realise that he could tease me with this action. There was this mischievous sparkle in his eyes as he started to put his finger towards the fire so doing the not smacking I picked him up and put him in the front room and told him he can stay in there for a while so when I went to get him he had up turned my pot with the rubber plant and the dirt was everywhere. So maybe I would have been better off with giving a quick smack but would that be the start of him being frightened of me.ViewDate:
11th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
New userHi Jbel. I'm divorced for 20yrs, 71yrs old, a retired teacher. It takes time but you have to start finding out what makes YOU happy and then find a way of bringing that into your life. I still enjoy teaching Maths to teenagers so for the last 10yrs after retirement I have been doing home teaching for just a few teenagers a week. It's helpful to me because it maintains the respect I had as a teacher from the parents of the teenagers. I make it light hearted and generally have a laugh with the kids and their families. So there's the social aspect to it and the little money i get adds to my pensions. I love to walk outdoors and I live in an area of England where there are woods and fields close by. I have 2 Jack Russell dogs who I unashamedly love and spoil. They have been my constant companions for the last 11yrs. I lost one 3yrs ago who I still love. We change walks from one place to the next but over time you get to meet other dog lovers to have casual chats with and get to know. I have got used to doing the gardening so I started growing my own veg a couple of years ago and its rewarding. I have put in fruit trees so its nice to be able to pick them off the tree. I do as much DIY as I can and I like doing that because its a positive result. I hate house work its repetative. I don't have a partner so I have to get on with it. So my advice to you is to start thinking indepandantly' What can you do as in an activity , that will make you feel good about yourself. What can you get involved with locally that will bring you into contact with other like minded people. ? Look in your library clubs are often advertised there. Don't wait for others to make you happy because it sounds as though that's not going to happen. You just have to find the energy to get up and get on with it.ViewDate:
11th Apr 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Is modern technology really anti-social? Does it get in the way of real, old-fashioned conversation? What do you think and are your experiences.My opinion is that there should be rules and limitations put on the internet. It has the potential to bring out the worse in people because they can say what they like without taking responsibility for it. Young people are exposed to damaging views that affect them psychologically, It opens the doors to scammers and the nastier elements of life. As a retired teacher the first rule is that no child under the age of 14yrs should be allowed to use computers unless there are parameters logged in to keep them safe. So looking up information for work is fine but I still recall the days when it was an encyclopiedia that provided the best information on topics and they still do. There needs to be constant monitoring of material on the internet. I have an active dislike for mobile phones. They create 'bad manners'.. I grew up without a mobile phone and I survived ! and so did everyone else. Technology has hit the human race like a big wave and everyone has been swept along with it. No one stopped to think about how it would affect community life or how people relate to each other. We didn't stop and think we have a choice here, instead the young were swept along with the marketing of these items and the older generation went along with it. Hopefully in time the novelty will wear off and the world will not feel so crazy.ViewDate:
15th Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Global crisisI do think that the world seems to have got crazy from when i was younger.. Did we have more morality or was it that we just didn't hear about the bad things. I grew up in a small town in Wales. It was a simple upbringing with little money but always someone to play with and create outdoor games. We made friends locally through school or youth clubs and life seemed more straight forward .Our world was small with few problems because many of the adults grew up there they knew each others kids so word got around if any one was behaving badly. Now the world is ruled by technology and every thing has gone to pot. Children believe they have friends when they re only virtual. the Internet allows some people to become preditors and bullies. Girls become ruled by how many likes they get. It's a crazy un-real world that children grow up in. As a society we have become more demanding for material thing and less community spirited because they don't belong to a real community. Since I was young expectations have got higher. Every house has 2 or more cars. If you look at the number of cars on the roads all over the world then there are billions. Billions pumping out CO2. I would love to be able to afford an electric car but it is beyond my means. I think it's a duty that the population of the world should aim to' no petrol' cars as soon as possible. What a difference that would make. This is the slow fall of the oil countries. Unforunately atomic power stations will be built because reusable energy will not be sufficient for the needs of the populations of the world. How long do they take to build ? Sadly the war in Ukraine is the cost of prompting Governments to accelerate the process of finding alternatives to oil and gas. Europe plus the UK will certainly be looking at that problem now. Things will change for the better for the planet but I think it may be too late. You can't put back the glaciers that have already melted or the polar ice caps. Somethings are not reversable. Time will tell if the paces of change are quick enough. I'm 71yrs so I'm not sure if i'll be around to see that.ViewDate:
12th Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Do you believe the Assisted Dying Bill should be passed?I most certainly believe in this bill. Our bodies belong to us to do with as we wish. Some people choose donations after death others don't. When my first dog went down hill after she was 14yrs it became an agonizing time to decide when to put her to sleep. She'd stopped eating, gone deaf and had a lot of pain in her joins when walking. She was put to sleep on her cushion infront of the fire in her home. I said to my son it's a pity people can't do that. Chose when they've just had enough instead of being filled with numbing medication so they don't know what's going on until the heart stops. It's so much better for the individual to be in control of his /hers end'ViewDate:
12th Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Speakers Corner Commentsi hope you are not right Jayge. because that would go against the idea of 'market' forces and i would think that governmemts would step in.ViewDate:
12th Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Speakers Corner CommentsI was under the impression that natural gas stored as liquid is bided for on the open market. It is loaded on huge tanker ships and then all countries can bid for them so they are going at higher prices hence making everything more expensive. Most of these tanker ships come from Russia that has an enormous amount of natural gas and oil. I thought that market forces were the cause for the rise in gas and oil but then the oil companies revealed these huge profits. So in honesty i don't know who to blame for this. But yes energy prices are going up. They've told us that. I'm a pensioner so I receive 'winter allowance' of £200 and that help's a lot with my energy bills. I have not notice any rise in my energy bills this year. Make sure you have insulation. I have it in my walls and roof.ViewDate:
4th Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Just wonderingYou have to start the conversation to get people interested to reply. What do you want to chat about?ViewDate:
3rd Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
How to support people in Ukraine right nowI have been in a state of shock for the last week. It was beyond my comprehension that there would ever be war in Europe. I've watched T.V non stop from all the UN meetings to the bombs in the streets. It's taken all that time for me to start absorbing the reality of the situation. A real dictator has emerged. He doesn't care about the Russian people because they are clearly upset by his actions and they will suffer. This is just about Putin and his ambitions encouraged by the Chinese looking for a new world order. As always it's the common people who pay the price for such people. Lets hope that this will lead to the downfall of Putin.ViewDate:
3rd Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Do you eat less meat than you used to?I got used to eating less red meat when I retired mainly because it became too expensive to be part of my budget. I used to love a medium rare steak but if I have one now it just feels 'to heavy' in my stomach so the lack of money proved to be beneficial for my health it seems and the environment.ViewDate:
3rd Mar 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Speakers Corner CommentsI'm happy to have Brexit. When the union started there were 9 members all countries with similar values and standard of life style. The common market benefited all. Gradually it expanded to include other countries to become not just an open market but started to form political union. It always intended after the war you unify Europe politically. The problem unlike in the US each country has it's own history and language. English is the most common second language so with the mobility of people within the Union many came to the U.K. In fact too many came to us and this put pressure on our services and competition for work and the British people became resentful. In my area between Leeds and Bradford it was very common to go walking locally and hear the Polish Language. It is not a dislike for the Poles, they are all nice people but it is not good to feel over whelmed in your own country. I spoke to one lady and I asked one lady why they had left their country. She said because the British Government were far more supportive of people with children i.e. child allowance ,nursey schools, another man said he had the opportunity to carry on learning with evening schools. So it's about what they can get out off British society. Personally I don't like someone in another country telling me what to do. Especially when I don't know their names and in some cases can't say their names. Whether We'll survive on our own is purely up to the British people. It seems to me that people have become lazy in their life and they expect too much to be done for them. When I was young and even now my philosophy is if you want something you work for it.ViewDate:
26th Feb 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Do you feel ready for the last remaining Covid restrictions to end?I've discovered there another mutation on the go. Stealth omigron. So no I am absolutely against the removal of masks in shops, on transport and other social areas. Going to buy food is not a luxury so that enviroment should be made as safe as possible for others. The only way to get rid of Covid is to wear masks. Wouldn't it be worth it, to do it, just for one year ? You can get and pass on Covid with vaccinations BUT not if you wear a mask. Must have a 3 layered mask that needs to be changed regularly. It just would be worth itViewDate:
26th Feb 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Are we alone in the universe?Also recent research dictates that no humans at this point should try to live on mars. The cosmic rays will make them very ill and eventually kill them. So travelling between galaxies is a no no!! It'll be interesting to see how the Russian /chinese astronauts survive on the Moon.ViewDate:
26th Feb 2022silverbutterfly commented on:
Are we alone in the universe?Hi Armensmith, I think we should consider ourselves to be on our own on in the Universe. Mainly because should there be other life out there, we can't communicate so they do not exist. Remember when you look up at the stars at night you will not know how many exist in real time. It takes so long for the light to travel to us ,that star may infact not exist anymore. When you look at the stars you are looking into the past. Steven Hawkins said that looking up to the skies gives people something to dream about. I tend to think there's no point looking up when the ground beneath your feet is crumbling. Climate change