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Post by 3piggles on Jun 19, 2017 20:18:48 GMT
Interesting about the country being more expensive than the city. Just the opposite, here. The further from the city, the less expensive it gets. That doesn't include resort towns, waterfront property, and other speciality properties, but in general, all the costs decrease(taxes and property costs). The down side is that nothing is really close by. We don't mind driving 20 minutes to get to the store, but as we get older, we might not be able to do that.
I am checking for restaurants in the area that deliver, as we have quite a few pizza places, a Chinese restaurant and an American restaurant. That would at least give us options other than having to drive someplace.
Obviously, a medical emergency is farther from being treated out here, than closer to the hospital.
It's getting very dark outside, being only 4:15 p.m. We have severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings over most of the state. I doubt it's going to be too bad here, but do wish hubby would get home and off the roads before the worst of the rain starts. The severe weather advisory is until 8 p.m., and daughter will be driving home about 7 p.m., so also hoping it's not too wild when she's on the highway. This is a cold front moving in to push out the soupy heat of the last two days, so bring it on!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jun 20, 2017 8:05:11 GMT
It is very expensive in the country Piggles love, these lovely quaint villages with lovely properties are very expensive. If yu want something overlooking the sea for instance, as you say waterfront properties, then the prices are ridiculous. It is the hottest day of the year here today love, in the thirties and I am just looking forward to tomorrow when it is supposed to break.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by Bean on Jun 20, 2017 9:30:11 GMT
Tourist areas by the sea are notorious for their high prices, aren't they - some of it is compensating for the quieter non-holiday periods, but there's a fair amount of greed too. And when you think people who live there have to pay the prices all year round, it certainly gets pricey!
We watched the episode of Life Swap where the woman from Alaska (she and her husband ran a B&B in a close-knit community - she thought she had itchy feet) and the UK nurse/ military wife (they'd moved every two years for all their married life so had never put down roots, but were approaching retirement) swapped places. It was quite a fun episode and the American woman went back really appreciating what she had, and the UK woman just loved experiencing that feeling of community and kinship and ended up really looking forward to what she and her husband could do next, together.
The gun thing was interesting too. Obviously the military family were familiar with guns and weapons in terms of them being something used in conflict and something which had injured or killed many of their friends. They're not something used for fun and they didn't enjoy being around them because of what they represented. The Americans loved hunting and thought guns were great fun - the excitement of picking off a deer as it walked along was the biggest high for them.
The American woman over here took the UK woman's daughter to a shooting range because she wanted to show her what a great thing guns and shooting were. The daughter was clearly uncomfortable with it all but gave it a go. She ended up in tears, asking if she could stop. It just wasn't something to get enjoyment from in her mind.
Meanwhile, over in Alaska, the husband of the American woman took the UK woman on a hunt, something he and his wife love to do. She was really uncomfortable too, and the happiest woman alive when the only deer that appeared were female (the hunting rules were that you can only shoot adult males) so they went home empty handed.
What I really struggle to get my head around with US gun culture is the complacent approach to a machine that can so easily kill without much effort or even contact - that people routinely carry them in their bags, about their body or their glove compartments and leave them lying around for kids, strangers or unbalanced people to potentially get hold of as easily as your mobile phone.
I read yet another news story this morning about how many kids are killed each year in the US by guns (around 1,300) - some total accidents, some a kid getting hold of one when they're in a bad mood, or some with mental health issues taking their own lives in a moment of despair. It's a worrying statistic.
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 20, 2017 20:23:30 GMT
I carried a gun in my purse for years, but never in the glove compartment, or under the seat. I think all women should be armed, but that doesn't mean with a lethal weapon. A travel sized can of hair spray sprayed in the face of an attacker will give a woman more than enough time to get away. There is a revolutionary spirit in the US, which comes from no one but the 1% peerage having any rights at all in the UK or Europe. Kill the king's deer, and die in a dungeon. I think the freedom from the Monarchies, something most Americans cannot justify, went a bit overboard in some cases. We've had two major wars fought on our soil, the revolutionary war and the civil war. Both required people to provide their own weapons, as the country was too new to have a real military. Few people were trained, except those who attended military schools, and they were an extremely small percentage of those fighting. Also, the first settlers in any part of the US fought Indians, and needed to be heavily armed for their protection. They also hunted, as that was the main source of food in the US until farms took root, and hunting has never stopped. Personally, I hate hunting and fishing, since most of those who do the hunting and fishing can afford to shop in supermarkets, and buy food that has already given its life for us. No need to toss that and go kill something else. How the idea of taking a life ever became a sport, I don't know. Perhaps it comes from the torturers of monarchies, who took joy in physically destroying people. With our equality laws now, the peerage can't have the rest of us killed or tortured to death at a whim, so that desire is taking out on animals Then WWII became a symbol for personal gun ownership, when the Nazi's marched into all of Austria, taking only the bergermeister's office, where all the guns were kept. If those guns had been in each person's home, the Nazis would have had a fight on their hands, but they weren't. So the right to own guns to protect ourselves in any event became a battle cry after WWII. A gun is a precision instrument that can do a lot of good, in the right hands. Few are in the right hands, and that's where the problem lies. I was a competition shooter, 6" round paper bullseye targets shot for points. The person with the most points won. No living things were harmed or killed in the process. However, the one time when it might have been legal to defend myself with the gun, I didn't because I wasn't sure it was legal. I stopped carrying the gun in my purse, and started carrying pepper spray, instead. Any nonlethal weapon that gives us a chance to escape is all we need. Now if the cops would just realize not every attacker has to be subdued to death. The murder by cops, which they are getting away with committing, has a lot of people literally up in arms, and ready to protect themselves from the cops. That's another thing that has to stop. I think that show proved how different cultures can be, and how differently people within similar cultures can approach different aspects of those cultures. I know there are Brits who shoot and hunt, and always have been. Obviously they weren't on that show. I know a Belgian competition shooter. She goes to a place that has the guns and the team for the competition, and she's quite good. Not going hunting anytime soon, though guns are allowed for hunting in Belgium. Different countries, different ideas, but with all that's happening right now, I think gun violence will increase in the US Any part of a living area that has conveniences is more expensive than those without, so living in the village center, near public transportation, near highway access, on a waterfront, etc. are always more expensive than living right outside of the village. Places with a lot of tourists and tourist revenue seem to have higher property taxes than places that simply aren't anywhere in particular. We live in one of those out of the way rural places, like the town where we lived before we moved to Nashua. Nashua is a city, so we were close to all of the ammenities, but also to all of the traffic and all of the noise. We were in a community that was separated from it all with lots of green spaces, but the noise was still just at the bottom of the hill. Here, there's hardly anyone on the roads after 8 p.m., and hardly any noise unless one of the morons is setting off fireworks. The joy of living in a quiet, rural community that allows fireworks. I used to live on the seacoast, and it wasn't more expensive than anywhere else, unless we lived on the beach. There are always mansions that command a much higher price than any other houses, but we weren't in one of those, so we just has a house, and it wasn't priced any higher than it would have been further inland. So it really does depend on the convenience. Walking distance to the water is extremely expensive. Have to drive and sit in traffic, not as expensive.
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Post by Bean on Jun 21, 2017 8:27:43 GMT
I carried a personal alarm when I was a student/ young adult and out and about at night. But I've never carried a weapon. For me, I'd feel that if I felt it was routinely necessary, then I was putting myself in a situation I felt was unsafe. So I'd look at changing that (by getting a taxi instead of walking for example) instead of having a weapon.
I always remember my friend telling me the story of how she carried pepper spray (this is 20 years ago) and while walking home from a club, she became worried that a man was following her. So she sprayed a bit of pepper spray into the air behind her to sort of slow him down while she ran ahead. But there was a bit of a wind, so it blew round and went straight into her face. She had to stop to wait for her eyes to clear, meanwhile the man walked past and after checking she was okay and didn't need help (he thought she was crying), walked on minding his own business!
We do have some gun ownership and sport over here - nowhere near as popular as something like archery, and the only people I know who have spoken about having guns are either Americans or farmers.
The programme isn't trying to make generalisations about any country - in each one there's been someone from the UK, but it's been a mix of people living a simple life in the countryside, people working mental hours to get material possessions, people close to their families and those who have allowed modern life to estrange them. Of course the history and culture of each country comes into play too, but it's done in an interesting way rather than saying anything is right or wrong (although as I said before, it does keep concluding that people are generally happier when they put people above money).
As you say, when those in authority are misusing their weapons, it's a totally unsettling situation, and one that's really difficult to get out of once that trust is lost.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jun 21, 2017 8:39:19 GMT
I think we are really stung here with property prices Piggles love suddenly in the 1970's the prices went mad and there was no going back. I am sorry to hear abut the poor little girl Bean hunni, she should not have been made to do it. I would rather like to learn to shoot.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by Bean on Jun 21, 2017 8:54:16 GMT
I think my friend was probably just tipsy and not using good judgement, Jo (either in walking home alone or spraying pepper spray willy nilly) - she was a bit of a terror for that (I had to rescue her from silly, drunk choices a couple of time) but thankfully she made it through to being an unscathed, sensible adult!
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 21, 2017 16:32:36 GMT
I'm not saying the show is trying to make statements about it, just that there is definitely a different mentallity toward gun ownership in the US than anywhere else. It's not always exercised well, or by the right people, which is the problem. We can all pass laws regulating what one can do and when, but all those laws really do is allow people to be prosecuted for breaking the law. It only stops the people who think first, and don't want to be prosecuted. I carried pepper spray for a long time, and would do it again, but it loses its potency after a while. It does come in a nice, slim container, which makes it perfect for a purse or pocket, so I might get another cannister. I think your friend needed to think that whole process through a bit better. I think she did the right thing. She just did it without thinking it through. Jo, I have some great news for you! I had totally forgotten, but studies have been done proving that opening car windows causes drag on the engine, and uses as much extra gas as air conditioning does. Depending on the size of the engine(the smaller the engine, the harder it has to work), the amount of heat to counter, and the terrain you're driving (uphill costs more than downhill), a car loses 1-4 mpg running the a/c. However, open the windows, and the car acts like a sail, since we can't open the rear window to let the air pass through the car. The result is the faster the car moves, the more air it takes in, the more air can't get out, and the more it forces the engine to work harder to do the same mpg. So basically, if you drive slowly on flat or downhill surfaces, at best you lose 1 mpg running the a/c. Pretty much the same for having the windows open. The faster you go, the more having the windows open hurts your gas mileage, and running the a/c doesn't. www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2009/08/natures_air_conditioner.htmlFor driving around town, open the windows. For traveling distances, run the a/c. Had a great 3 mile bike ride with hubby last night. When I posted about it on Facebook, I said 3 mike bike ride. The comments are still coming in, lol! Daughter took that typo and ran with it, and hubby joined in, so everyone else just had to participate. It's probably one of the most fun posts I've done in a long time
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Post by bazookagoof on Jun 22, 2017 2:05:18 GMT
I carried pepper spray for a long time, and would do it again, but it loses its potency after a while. It does come in a nice, slim container, which makes it perfect for a purse or pocket, so I might get another cannister. I think your friend needed to think that whole process through a bit better. I think she did the right thing. She just did it without thinking it through. When I worked as a grocery bagger in my early 20's, my commute was a one minute and 50 second walk to the store down the block. One day while going to work I got bitten by a dog and my mom gave me a tiny pepper spray dispenser. My mindset was that if I needed it again, it needed to be in my hand, safety off and ready to go. So, I carried it that way to and from work for about a year. Occasionally I would take it with me at college for the walk to the train station at night. What ended up happening is that constantly flicking the safety on and off every day weakened the whole top and it came off one day when I was at home. I quickly dumped it into the trash and wiped my forehead in relief... ...big mistake. Suddenly it felt like my face was on fire! I crumpled up in a ball, and managed to drag myself down a flight of stairs where I rolled around in the back yard hissing in pain and gritting my teeth. It wasn't funny back then, but now it's hilarious.
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Post by Bean on Jun 22, 2017 8:12:15 GMT
Haha! Oh you poor sod! I once got a lungful of the stuff when someone (related to two rival local groups) set some off in a pub I was working in (as a student). It's vicious stuff.
It's interesting the different mindsets about carrying something to protect yourself. If I felt I needed to be armed (with a gun or pepper spray etc) that would make me feel anxious about the fact I wasn't safe, not secure in the idea that I'd be better able to counter an attack. It depends entirely on the situation of course, and not all situations are easily avoidable.
Glad you had a fun mike ride, 3piggles - I can imagine the comments!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jun 22, 2017 9:41:21 GMT
Thank goodness you were there to keep her safe Bean love, what she was doing was quite dangerous. Thank you Piggles hunni, I will tell Paul that next time he says we cannot have the air con on. Oh dear Baz sweetie, I always wondered how strong they actually were so would be great if you were really being attacked. I used to love bike rides but it is ages since I have been on one. Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 22, 2017 20:23:28 GMT
Women don't get attacked in the UK? They certainly do in the US. They get attacked in parking lots, on jogging paths, on sidewalks, at train stations, pretty much any place someone can lay in wait for a single woman to come along. It's on the news nightly, as are the public service announcements about checking the back seat of the car before getting inside the car, checking around the car to make sure no one is hiding and ready to jump on us, etc.
Police advice women to put the keys on their key ring through their fingers to use as weapons, when walking alone. Self-defense classes for women teach them the soft points to help overpower a man who's trying to overpower them, ways to get out of the different holds a man might use, and a whole lot of general self-defense ideas from stomping on his toe with the heal of your shoe, to kneeing him where it hurts, to poking at his eyes. The US is a scary place for women, especially since the lastest presidential election elected a man who said it was okay to sexually assault women, that women are only useful to please and wait on men.
Could it be that such news isn't broadcast on your news stations? Not only is it broadcast on our news stations, but it's in all the newspapers, too.
I think most women don't want to be victims, but they also don't want to disfigure or disable someone, so something like pepper spray or hair spray is a good way to gain an advantage, without having to worry about committing a crime or getting sued. I don't walk through parking lots alone at night, any more, but when I did, I always walked with my keys between my fingers, and really hoped no one would force me to use it. I knew those jagged key ends would do some real damage. Once I started carrying the little thing of pepper spray, I could keep that in my hand, and know I wasn't going to permanently disfigure anyone.
Sorry about your run in with the pepper spray, Baz. I'm sure that was not at all fun! Still, if you were doing something a woman took as threatening, would you rather be pepper sprayed, gouged with the keys, or shot?
There is enough violence against women in the US, that women tend to feel threatened even when they aren't. Hubby said when he waited outside public ladies rooms for our daughter, the women going in and out of the ladies room gave him scathing looks. He said he wasn't at all comfortable being there, but he couldn't take his little girl in to the mens room. Probably the only thing considered worse than him "lurking" outside the ladies room.
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Post by bazookagoof on Jun 23, 2017 2:07:18 GMT
Sorry about your run in with the pepper spray, Baz. I'm sure that was not at all fun! Still, if you were doing something a woman took as threatening, would you rather be pepper sprayed, gouged with the keys, or shot? There is enough violence against women in the US, that women tend to feel threatened even when they aren't. Hubby said when he waited outside public ladies rooms for our daughter, the women going in and out of the ladies room gave him scathing looks. He said he wasn't at all comfortable being there, but he couldn't take his little girl in to the mens room. Probably the only thing considered worse than him "lurking" outside the ladies room. Don't forget the Taser option. (I'll pick the pepper spray again, if given the chance. Or if they'd let me run, I'd certainly do that!) I wanted to write a little about my experience helping with a rape prevention seminar, but I'm pressed for time tonight. Maybe in a day or two.
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Post by Bean on Jun 23, 2017 12:26:59 GMT
Does the story involve you being flipped and putting your back out?!
Like anywhere, we have attacks on women here - I have no idea on comparable statistics. I don't think our news is anywhere near as sensationalist as yours though, and that makes a difference to your mindset of whether you feel increasingly fearful or concerned that something happened but reassured in how events are handled.
I'm all for being safe and sensible, but try to make balanced decisions for whatever situation I am (or someone else is) in and then put the negative thoughts aside so I can enjoy things properly, instead of constantly being prepared to be jumped/ bombed/ run over/ burgled etc. I just wouldn't enjoy living that way.
Oh sausages, I've been watching the rain for the last half an hour, and have suddenly remembered I have washing out!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jun 23, 2017 13:00:34 GMT
Yes, of course, they do Piggles love, I was just wondering how strong the spray was that's all. I am looking forward to hearing that Baz hunni. I consider myself lucky that I rarely go out or have to put myself in these situations but I am all for keeping women as safe as possible at all times Bean sweetie.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 23, 2017 16:36:55 GMT
I don't think our news sensationalized rapes, abductions and murders. It just reports them. The sensationalism is in the sheer number of news reports. We even have a national organization named Take Back the Night, which is about empowering women to feel safe going out and about at night. That's about not becoming a victim, and that's a major issue in the US. No feeling safe may be all that keeps some women safe. If women continue to think that will never happen to them, or to ignore the threats, they will become victims. Having a way to neutralize the threat is what allowed my to enjoy my outings. I totally agree with the taser, Baz, but they can kill people with heart conditions and some other health problems. I don't want to kill or permanently disable anyone, just be able to stop them from hurting me. That's why I wish travel sized hair spray came in smaller cans. Perfect for the job. Pepper spray can be really harsh, Jo, sort of like getting onion juice in your eyes. It won't blind you, but it will stop you. Oh, Baz, I hope your time with the rape group didn't cause any injuries to you or others I'd love to hear the story
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Post by bazookagoof on Jun 24, 2017 3:08:18 GMT
It's not much of a story, more of a commentary on the fragile male ego. I used to assist with my martial arts instructor's rape prevention seminars; in addition to being trained to take a fall I also had a background in stage combat, so I could look like I was taking hits realistically. It was a fulfilling experience helping to give women some confidence in these situations. Sometimes these seminars were held for a few weeks, and the end of an initial session the women would go home and want to show off what they learned. Sometimes they would come back and remark that the techniques didn't work, as they would try it on their skeptical boyfriend/husband who would brag that it was useless on them. The issue here is that if done properly, yes the techniques work- but it involves seriously injuring the attacker- something I'm sure these women aren't going to do to their significant other just to prove a point. I'm just grumbling that these lesser halves should have been more supportive of their women instead of trying to belittle them to salve their own bruised egos.
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Post by Bean on Jun 24, 2017 8:49:55 GMT
Ha! Very true. And it's amazing what strength you can discover in a fight or flight situation. I was with a friend when she was attacked by some bloke - it was daylight, but he was definitely under the influence of something. He was a really stocky guy so weight-wise we couldn't easily shift him. I don't even really remember it, but I jumped on his back and threw a series of punches onto his head until he staggered away a bit dazed and we ran off (and spent the next hour or so driving round in a police car looking for him). My hand hurt so much the next day. It's the only time I've ever punched someone properly in my life. I think even when having play fights with my brother, when I'd think I was punching as hard as I could (it never bothered him, so I really tried!), I definitely wasn't.
I've watched a few films and documentaries on why the US has such a problem with gun crime (especially compared to countries like Canada, where gun ownership is roughly equivalent, but gun-related crime is massively lower). It's obviously not as simple as there being one thing that explains it, but the media always gets a heavy mention and they've shown equivalent footage of how something has been reported in the US compared to Canada or the UK. Of course they will have picked those clips because they made the right point, but there was something about the way events were sometimes reported which was more emotional and panicky. I'm sure it's not true for all news stations, but think it's worth taking into account.
I think each individual will find their own ways of feeling safe, but I definitely think it's possible to be aware of risks and take precautions without constantly holding in your mind that you may be attacked or needing to arm yourself. Whatever makes you feel safe and happy is good, provided it doesn't put others at risk.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jun 24, 2017 13:25:44 GMT
Thanks for that Baz love, it is both interesting and true. If I were out on my own I would feel particularly vulnerable which is one of the reasons I don't go out alone. I think gun crime is on the increase here Bean hunni and there seem to be more and more incidents where the police are armed.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 24, 2017 23:59:11 GMT
I definitely think different countries report the news differently. I'm used to the US way of reporting it, but I do find it sensationalized a lot in the US, when it's dealt with more logically on BBC. Baz has a point, that those men should have been more supportive of the women. At the same time, I think learning those techniques is like firing a gun. If someone only does it when they feel threatened, it's not going to go well for them. If that person practices all the time, so the moves or the weapon feel natural to them, it will go much better. I also think knowing those rape prevention moves is a lot better than carrying a gun. Once that gun is fired, there's no taking it back. I think there are a lot of options, depending on a womans temperment and upbringing. What I think it wrong, is taking no action at all. A woman leaving a gym at 10 p.m. the other night was punched 37 times by a man, in the parking lot. The news footage showed her walking toward her car, and him walking away from hers, with only one car separating them. She never looked in his direction, never checked what he was doing, so was caught totally off guard. There's really no point in having a weapon or skills, if no attempt is made to be aware of the surroundings. Luckily, she's bruised and battered, but nothing broken. Still, it never should have happened We got mile and speed measurers for our bicycles, and found two trips around our neighborhood is 2.60 miles. We're going to hold off on biking to the cemetery, as while it's a really pretty ride, we need to build up our biking muscles before we make a habit of biking that far. Hubby got flashing head and tail lights for both bikes, as well, and we got custom handlebar grips. With my arthritic hands, the regular grips weren't thick enough. The new ones are twice as thick, and feel great. He also ordered some flags from Amazon. We're going to be the most decked out adult trikes that never leave the neighborhood, lol
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