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I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

theguardian.com

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Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#591

Post by bryanrasmussen »

graderjs wrote: post #466
kebman wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it matter? This is an old belief told from one generation to another. And in the instance of my family, it certainly turned out to be true. Later that summer, during an especially hot and bright night (it's midnight sun where I come from because it's above the Arctic Circle) I saw that grouse on the tractor road further down the fields of the farm. It silhouetted in the midnight sun. It surprised me to see it st…

No need to surrender your beliefs to some egghead who's not imaginative enough to see the world with wonder. Who cares about someone else's logic that is too narrow to contain the wonder of the universe. No need to pander to their inability to believe. They sit on their high horse telling other people they are crazy, then the grouse sits above them and they drop dead. Good story. The end.

well, maybe so but they say a stray dog come howling around Johnny Miller's house, 'bout midnight, as much as two weeks ago; and a whippoorwill come in and lit on the banisters and sung, the very same evening; and there ain't anybody dead there yet.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#592

Post by jonnycomputer »

alisonatwork wrote: post #159
FractalParadigm wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came to this realization in university - I love software, I love writing programs and solving problems, but I really don't love office work or the idea of sitting at a desk all day. I dropped out of a software engineering program to work on a factory floor, a decision I haven't regret once in five years (even if my parents would consider me a failure). The hours are good, the wage is good, benefits are good, I get…

I wish I had made that decision when I could. I'm over 20 years into software development and every few years I try to get out of it, but most places won't hire someone with professional experience because they're scared you'll quit, and that problem just compounds itself over time. Instead I now work software for a few years on, then take a year off. During the working years life is a real stress, constantly thinkin…

Look for work in an industry with demand. In US that would be electricians and plumbers. If you take the time to get certified, no one will doubt your sincere interest. I don't think anyway.

You could always start your own business too.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#593

Post by [deleted] »

mrphoebs wrote: post #357
usgroup wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate the romance, but those of us who have children leave behind much more than stone walls we built in our 20s. He’s a 72 year old Batchelor who’s once stepped foot outside a Welsh valley. If happiness is a lobotomy then credit to us who don’t choose it.

Children as your legacy are no less consequential or meaningful than this man's stone walls. In the end you are grasping for empty meaning and purpose in the same way the farmer is, your children will perish, their children will perish, you will be forgotten and so will they like the rest of human existence. Our lives have no larger purpose or meaning beyond what ever we pretend gives meaning to your life, like child…

[deleted]

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#594

Post by jonnycomputer »

diehunde wrote: post #180

Trying to eat something different everyday is an American obsession that I'll never understand. It's just so stressful and inconvenient. I grew up in a small town where eating the same for dinner everyday was extremely common. Tea or coffee and bread. The only variable would be what you put in your bread. Some days it would be butter, some days it would jam. Some days it would be honey, some days it would be avocado.

An American obsession? I think that is a gross over-generalization. I am American, by birth, and am happy eating mostly the same thing day after day. My spouse is from Poland, and she is not satisfied by that approach to food. Not by a long shot.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#595

Post by sidlls »

TheRealDunkirk wrote: post #589
telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

A successful businessman on vacation was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman proudly replied, “Every morning, I go out in my boat for 30 minutes to fish. I’m the best fisherman in the…

That's a cute story. However there are vast differences in reality. The fisherman is likely an uncultured bigot and xenophobe with life experiences that reinforce this condition, and who will suffer terribly from the ailments of aging that the businessman's wealth can afford respite from. For example.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#596

Post by jonnycomputer »

chubbyish wrote: post #297
brokencode wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think eating the same thing every day is fine, though you need to make sure to have a balanced diet with good nutrition. The author mentioned his uncle who just ate bread, butter, and cheese for every meal, and I’m not sure how you can even survive off of that. Surely it’s lacking something important with no fruit or vegetables. I’ve heard that humans had a long period of time after we became sedentary and started…

How is the author overweight eating what he eats, and walking around outside. That makes no sense.

Is the author overweight? Over weight for what? For living a life of hard manual labor? Well in his 70s and still mobile and able to run a farm seems like he's doing fine. Besides ... he may have gained weight after his stroke; used to eating a farmer's meal but not moving about much.

Besides ... you've heard of studies that have shown that the calorie expenditure of hunter-gatherers, walking around all day, is about the same as couch potato Americans sitting around all day... here's the link: https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/06/13/191036200/what-...

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#597

Post by schuke »

pjbk wrote: post #548
thisCtx wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up rural. I buy into a lot of the “bird” wisdom. Science is discovering dogs can smell disease. Our modern world isn’t more complex, just more distracting with asinine theory chasing. It’s always been ridiculously complex in ways we can’t imagine, we’ve just started realizing it in detail. Turns out animals with their “lesser” cognitive powers are tuned into the hidden complexity in ways we barely understand.…

That's trial and error knowledge gathered through billions of years and quintillions of individuals from multitude species. Hard to compete with that.

And to think that science has enabled us to do vastly more in a few hundred years.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#598

Post by adverbly »

pjbk wrote: post #548
thisCtx wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up rural. I buy into a lot of the “bird” wisdom. Science is discovering dogs can smell disease. Our modern world isn’t more complex, just more distracting with asinine theory chasing. It’s always been ridiculously complex in ways we can’t imagine, we’ve just started realizing it in detail. Turns out animals with their “lesser” cognitive powers are tuned into the hidden complexity in ways we barely understand.…

That's trial and error knowledge gathered through billions of years and quintillions of individuals from multitude species. Hard to compete with that.

I didn't believe you at first with quintillions... but my back of the envelope came out as sextillion lol...

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#599

Post by jollybean »

"Feeding the sheep and seeing how happy they are makes me happy, too."

That is some heavy Zen right there.

Also: "two pieces of fish, one big onion, an egg, baked beans and a few biscuits at the end"

Is probably very healthy. Minimal sugar, high protein. Would be nice to have a bit of veg and that would be it.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#600

Post by asiachick »

graderjs wrote: post #466
kebman wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it matter? This is an old belief told from one generation to another. And in the instance of my family, it certainly turned out to be true. Later that summer, during an especially hot and bright night (it's midnight sun where I come from because it's above the Arctic Circle) I saw that grouse on the tractor road further down the fields of the farm. It silhouetted in the midnight sun. It surprised me to see it st…

No need to surrender your beliefs to some egghead who's not imaginative enough to see the world with wonder. Who cares about someone else's logic that is too narrow to contain the wonder of the universe. No need to pander to their inability to believe. They sit on their high horse telling other people they are crazy, then the grouse sits above them and they drop dead. Good story. The end.

Those kinds of beliefs are what lead to anti-vaxers, belief in homeopathy, astrology, etc... It has nothing to do with good or bad imagination. An egghead can imagine Star Wars or Lord of the Rings but that doesn't mean they aren't imaginative when someone tells them a grouse predicted a death as though they actually believed it.
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