The Blue Whale

[DavidM]

http://www.aad.gov.au/asset/images/632_ul-Blue_feed.jpg


Last sunday I saw one of these! They are feeding off Dana Point. (Usually they are a few hundred miles up North.) Seeing one up close is quite an experience. It is 300 feet! Like a dinosaur! It is soooo big you have to wonder, Does it even know people exist?

[moonflower2]

Hi Dave,

Your topics are interesting and are generating replies, but I'd like to suggest that you might find a way to add them to topics already here. There are already so many topics here and it makes it difficult to follow conversations already in progress when new threads are added continually.

For example, The Blue Whale, which must have been an awesome sight, could be added to "Pets" or "A Very Long Thread", to add a little humor here, or even under "Current Events", under which there is already a reference to fish.

I'm not saying that you are not welcome here, but just try to attach some of your new threads to those already here.

Moonflower2

[DavidM]

"There are already so many topics here and it makes it difficult to follow conversations already in progress when new threads are added continually."  quote from Moon,

    You have got to be kidding! (This BB is basically a conversation between three people!) I post quite regularly on another board that has multiple times as many people. Quite often I post a thread in the morning and when I get home from work it is already 5 threads down the line! If the moderator feels like "Oh this should be moved to the "pets" thread then I guess he can do it!  (Been a while since I've had a Blue Whale for a pet!)


  (Why don't you jump in and make it four? I'm willing to just forgive and forget! How bout you?)

   

[trac4yt]

I vaguely and foggily remember a childhood visit to a great aunt who only had one eye.  I recall being awe struck at the talking parrot she owned that would fly out of the cage door left purposely open and land contentedly on her shoulder.  It would then toss out sporadic squawks during the visit.

My jaw slammed shut in the car about halfway home after finishing the recollection of the preceding events.

..Not sure whether this belongs in this thread.

[moonflower2]

"There are already so many topics here and it makes it difficult to follow conversations already in progress when new threads are added continually."  quote from Moon,

    You have got to be kidding!

No I'm not kidding. It's not the first time this suggestion has been made to you

(This BB is basically a conversation between three people!) I post quite regularly on another board that has multiple times as many people. Quite often I post a thread in the morning and when I get home from work it is already 5 threads down the line! If the moderator feels like "Oh this should be moved to the "pets" thread then I guess he can do it!  (Been a while since I've had a Blue Whale for a pet!)
  (Why don't you jump in and make it four? I'm willing to just forgive and forget! How bout you?)

Sometimes it seems like this is your diary, ie, what's DaveM thinking about today?

Moonflower

[Jem]

Trac4yt,

That obviously goes in the one-eyed-aunt-with-parrot thread. But that one is rather full. Maybe it should be a split topic for the squawking part.

Moonflower,

If it weren't for DaveM (and the occasional DaveS) there would be no traffic on this blog. Most people blog where there can be real conversations. Dave is right, there are only a few who respond on here and their responses are quite predictable (read the Dylan thread). Most FAM's I still talk to only check this board once a month or so. One FAM said, "I just check to see if George has died yet." That's a bit morose, but understandable. Personally, I'm waiting for Joe Sperling's parody of The Smith Family Cont'd.

[GDG]

Well, I can't say that I've seen a Blue Whale or ever heard fowl language  :rofl: in the home of a mono optic relative, but I did see a cougar once, just standing by the highway near Wentzville, MO.  At the time, I babysat the children of a local park ranger, and I told him about it.  I could tell he thought I was, hmmmm, let's say "mistaken", but sure 'nuff, I saw it (my hubby saw it too)

[moonflower2]

I've seen a coyote (live) by the side of the road, a parrot in a kitchen, a snake in my garage, a robin eat my blueberries before I could get to them, a live seal on a rock at Point Dume, lots of roadkill, lots of live animals at the zoo, dead squirrels in my pool, and a housecat attack my child.

Oh, and I've dug up live sanddollars in the ocean. I checked them to make sure that the initials "GG" weren't on the backs of them.

[Joe Sperling]

I've seen coyotes right in the middle of the city very early in the morning. When I used
to go sailing a lot I would see gray whales---never seen a live blue one,saw a whale shark once,
sunfish (these are huge lazy fish that lay on their sides on the surface of the ocean), and lots and
lots of flying fish. I also live with a couple of wise-asses--but that's another story. 

[moonflower2]

Seen Scyphozoa and men-o'-war. Sea urchins and carp. My! Life is good!!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:JellyfishMeal.JPG

[Mark C.]

Re. what is considered "good conversation."

  In order to keep on topic I will mention that I been SCUBA diving in the Coral Sea and saw many interesting fish, corals, etc.  "Joy to the fishes in the big blue sea, joy to you and me" ("Jeremiah was a bullfrog", by Three Dog Night).

 Jem mentioned that this site is a "blog"-- it is not, it is a Bulletin Board and doesn't serve the same purpose.  A blog is controlled by one person who writes about what interests him/her and usually allows for others to comment.

  A BB is an open forum that allows for many to comment and normally follows a theme interest such as "cults" or can be more specific like this one.  Without a watchful mediator a BB can become like a CB radio where the "conversation" just degenerates into personal insults flying back and forth.

  Just because a BB has a lot of quantity (like the CB example) doesn't mean it has quality. 

  I have noticed over the years (and having been on a number of these BB's) that there are some who seem to be always disappointed over the activity on a BB they are reading.  It's like when they read the BB they think they are viewing some kind of entertainment and they are the professional critic.

  Some say the conversation lacks this or that as if their BB "program" is not living up to their expectations.  Seldom do they actually suggest what would make it better or try to make a positive contribution themselves.  No, they are not a real member of the BB, they are on the outside looking in.

  If you don't like what "the 3 to 4 posters posting who control the BB" present for your critique let's see what you can do!  The fact is nobody "controls the BB" as all members are free to present their opinions. 

  All kinds of people read, and for many different reasons.  All kinds of people post, and for many different reasons as well.  Some look for entertainment in a BB not unlike those slowing down to look at a traffic accident (this can draw a huge crowd).  Others are trying give help or find help re. a specific need. (In this case former Assm. members).

  I think critics are necessary on a BB if they point their criticism toward what a person writes or maybe how they present it.  Personal attacks that just attempt to ridicule another's views/style without any meaningful constructive dialogue are not helpful.

  Jem, you seem to think my Wounded Pilgrim posts are worthy of parody, and I realize that there are those who see little value in them and who might even disagree with the whole concept of recovery.  And while I know this, I wouldn't make the effort of continuing the thread if I didn't sincerely think there are some being helped by reading it.  There are always many more readers than posters on any such forum.

  The best stories are the real ones, but many are reluctant to share because they know there is a possibility they will be opened to derision for doing it. This is why I make these composite stories up so that these "wounded" souls can see themselves in them and maybe find hope for recovery of their life in God.  Any constructive advice toward my goal that you can offer would be greatly appreciated, but below the belt criticism only creates bad feeling.

    I thank Brian for providing this opportunity and for putting up with all the ups and downs here as I think this BB has provided a wonderful resource for former members, and also for those from other similar groups who read here.

                                                        God Bless,  Mark C.

[Jem]

Mark,

I am sorry to have hurt your feelings. I was wrong when I said some responses on this BB are predictable since I totally expected you to say something like, "Forget Sperling, when I'm done with the Smiths I'm coming out with my own Adams Family version." I misread you, please forgive me.

In that moment of levity I did not mean to suggest that the story on Wounded Pilgrim had no place or value. I am very sorry if anyone read my sarcasm that way.

But Mark, you did totally lose me on the blog/bb differences. None of the blogs I read regularly are written by only one person, though, like you said, many are "themed." All have a moderator and the form looks almost identical to this one. Now I'm not being snarky here, can you explain the difference a bit more; I sincerely don't see the difference.

[DavidM]

  Moon, In the past you have personally attacked me! Why? Do you own a Kinkaid? What did I do to merit such attention? I don't remember personally attacking you? My thread, "The Bule Whale" is just friendly conversation. Yes! I am posting numerous threads! (It's obvious I don't have a life right now-I am on vacation and but getting ready to head out on a camping trip.)  I do this in hopes of coaxing others out of the woodwork! I agree with Marc, What can you do to make this BB better?

[moonflower2]

  Moon, In the past you have personally attacked me! Why? Do you own a Kinkaid? What did I do to merit such attention? I don't remember personally attacking you? My thread, "The Bule Whale" is just friendly conversation. Yes! I am posting numerous threads! (It's obvious I don't have a life right now-I am on vacation and but getting ready to head out on a camping trip.)  I do this in hopes of coaxing others out of the woodwork! I agree with Marc, What can you do to make this BB better?

I didn't attack you. You took whatever I must have said too personally. I don't own a Kinkaid, but since I'm a practical person, I own a Chevy Prism.

You ask what you did to merit "such attention"? You continually begin new posts and thereby creating attention by yourself, (not that you are seeking it, but just creating it).

I'm also not suggesting that you don't have a life, because BB's are just plain simply fun and interesting.

May I remind you that others first made the comment to you about refraining from beginning so many new threads and you took it as a suggestion to permanently leave this BB.

I applaud you trying to get others involved.

What can I do to make it better here? Refrain from continuously beginning new threads. If I'm interested in a thread, I will comment as I have done since I first logged in here. If you like, though, I can begin a daily diary of all my thoughts.

Moonflower2

[Joe Sperling]

What is a Kinkaid? A hearing device for Ray Davies?  (to understand this stupid pun you would have to know that Ray Davies was the front man for "The Kinks"  )

I understand Moonflower's point though. If you follow this very thread you will see several different directions the conversation has gone. The author of the thread started with Blue Whales and now is asking about Kinkaids (whatever those are). This clearly shows there is no need to create a separate thread every time you have a different thought and deviate a bit from the thread title. Every conversation about a topic has a tendency to stray back and forth a little---it's human nature to do so. I must say to get back on the original subject though---I have never had a blue whale attack me personally about anything (except for the one who called me "humpback"), but I am still very interested in what a Kinkaid is----does it have something to do with whaling?