nomadpete

I would add one significant thing that is grossly lacking - specialist support for those suffering from psychological abuse. It is sadly lacking but is more effective than punisment.

In most reports of partner physical violence, there is a common theme. Prior ongoing psychological manipulation by one person AND ongoing denial of that by the other person. Normalised deviance by BOTH parties is what facilitates the progressive worsening of violence.

Laws and threats of jail or death penalty will do no good at all.

As I have said before, in my opinion, nobody in their right mind will harm the one they love.

The problem is mental health.

No amount of law threats will change the actions of a person who is having a mental health rage problem.

Twice in my life I have had my life physically threatened by partners who were undergoing irrational rage episodes. On one occasion our teenage kids helped wrestle a knife out of my wife's hand. Later professional diagnosis showed it was all due to psychological problems. At the time of these events, no amount of rational discussion was possible. I can assure you, once a person is undergoing a psychotic episode, they are capable of dreadful stuff that none of their friends will believe.

12 hours ago, red750 said:

like pouring paint over Capt Cook statues

Peter, I  do agree with that.

I don't  agree with making a fuss about it because these folk are not desecrating anybody else's statuew - only their own. Besides that aspect, my only judgement of the pics you posted, is that some folk do stuff purely to draw attention, and to me, thats a waste of time.

Spacey, it was just an example to illustrate that gender change is only one of many things thata person might strongly wish ti change. . A person's desire to surgically modify their body is in my opinion frequently socially motivated, to the point of obsessing. Also, making the desired change does not necessarily  suddenly  bring happiness to the person.

However, as Octave points out, that is none of my concern as long as it doesn't  affect me.

This thread was originally about whether a service provider has a right to exclude a person from their service, based on the client's  body modification.

5 minutes ago, Marty_d said:

Elon Musk has plans for Mars.  We can only hope that he and his best mates are booked on the first ship there.

I think if we pass the hat around, we would raise the world's biggest donation to somebody's election fund as long as it got him a seat on that spaceship.

There is another psychological aspect to the broader gender change question.

I happen to be tall. It is a result of the genetic combination that made me. Sometimes it is downright inconvenient to be tall. I kepp hitting my head on things that don't bother 'noemal' people. When I was a kid, my peers called me names.

Over the years I grew strong enough to mostly ignore the discrimination.

I  came to accept the body that I inherited.

That was not a conscious decision. But somehow I avoided going to a doctor to ask for surgical remedy to my unwanted physical attribute. What I am trying to get at, is that I  struggle to see why it has to be a psychological imperative to surgically change any physical attribute that bothers a person .

I apply this reason to all kinds of body modification.

It all seems to be motivated by social expectations. And that seems a weak reason to take surgical action.

All the molecules in me, have ever been and will ever be in me, have been here at least ever since the big bang. Even though, like my passage through a birth canal 72 years ago,  I can't remember any of it.

After my 'demise' My molecules will continue on in many different arrangements until the next big bang.

Life is the greatest adventure in consiousness, regardless of whatever one's  spiritual beliefs are.

All I can say is....

Awesome!

22 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Have a look at a starry sky and try to imagine how big the universe is,

To me, that's proof enough that 'life, as we know it....' is a rare molecular progression.

As such, I don't feel a need to justify it. So, I think we should try not to mess up the conditions that make life possible on this third rock from the sun.(and I try hard to behave accordingly). I care about life of future generations, too, which might be related to climate awareness and avoiding soiling our own earthly nest.

7 hours ago, Marty_d said:

giving the honoured few 72 virgins.

Marty might get a different deal (since he seems to have an aversion to 72 or even 71 nonspecific virgins).

I do see a possible negative  with that... who could stand an eternity filled with constant moaning, weeping and wailing?

Marty and Jerry might get their own heavenly reward - a fully refurbished, central heated hangar filled with fully maintained eternally fuelled and serviced aircraft. And clear skies (except for isolated cumulus populated by unhappy muslim blokes and moaning virgins)

3 hours ago, Marty_d said:

The muslims make it slightly more interesting by giving the honoured few 72 virgins. (Is it heaven for the virgins, or hell?) 

They are only there if they tread on a duck.

They were very close. So close somebody once said they were joined at the hip...pocket.

What? Not bloody mouse again! Haven't you got something better for us?

What? Not without a lock washer?

We paused at a little town called Avoca on our way home today. We had burgers for lunch. They took a while to make them. When the waitress brought them out to us (yes they were served on proper plates), she offered us knives and forks (not those useless plastic things) - we couldn't  get our hands around them!

Real burgers - nice big mince pattie, topped with sauteed onion, a rasher of smoked bacon, an egg, crisp lettuce, freshly sliced tomato, beetroot, a slice of tasty cheese. All between big, toasted bun.

A real meal.

When we got home we still didn't have room for dinner.

You can keep Macca's and Kentukky fried kitten. I don't touch it.

University of YouTube  has plans for a similar thing using a bit of broomstick as a 'logroller' trap.

15 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Update on the mouse traps:

 

The morning after the first time I used the trapos, I threw the carcases out into the paddock. I just saw a crow take a good look at them and then grab one and fly off. Now its mate is choosing its breakfast serving.

That's recycling at its best!

On the Darling Downs mice are a seasonal reality.

Numbers are so high that individual traps are a waste of time. I bought a couple of 'mouse bucket' traps. These are a modern variation on the old greased bottle resting over the lip of a bucket of water. The hardware store sells the lid and you supply your own bucket.

The flat lid has a carefully balanced see-saw embedded on it. If you lean a stick against the side of the contraption, mice will run up and when they explore the see-saw, it drops them into the bucket for a swimming lesson. Then it 'resets' back to level. It does work and can catch hundreds of mice.

C'mon.

Discipline please.

Show me a Positive to Celebrate.

Oh dear. I guess that all those years ago (when your darling offspring were but a gleam in your eye) you never dreamed that raising a family could ever be so challenging.

I think Spacey is referring to the reduced demand for diesel/petrol/ fuel oils, will   result in rising prices there,  and consequently will flow on to any industry that still uses these legacy fuels.

The transition period will result in financial stresses whilst industries rearrange their businesses. Yes, somd prices will fluctuate, some businesses will go to the wall. Eventually it will settle down.

You young things!

Some of the most satisfying jobs are done by hand.

Well, we don't exceed speed limits but do get held up behind convoys of wheeled Taj Mahals trundling along the highways.

I don't buy chinese screwdrivers - they are poor quality in every regard and either strip out the screw head of a fastening, or strip the end off the driver.

Whether straight or cross head, just like other situations in life, success depends upon getting a tight fit.

Slotted head screws are good when you grind the screwdriver to fit the slot perfectly.

Cross head relies on the driver being ground to fit the screw. So you have to know which standard the screw head was made to, and buy the right driver to fit the screw head.

Phillips was one of the first. But the Philips screws are hardly ever seen these days. More common is Japan Industry Standard (JIS). Maybe the Japanese didn't wish to pay royalties to the Phillips patent owner? These have a sharper 'cross" shape. Using a genuine Phillips driver with JIS will probably strip the head. A quick test is to pick up the screw on the end of the screwdriver. If the screw falls off, the driver is not ground to match the screw. 

Of course, USA has it's own (incomatible) standard cross head spec, too.

Which brings me to Bunnings Aerospace Standard. Seems the Chinese haven't heard of any of these standards. So their screws fail in many ways.

Happy Days.

We don't have complex needs and this (to us) is luxury. Surrounded by state of the art, heavy modern caravans we still have a warm dry bed at night, and a lightweight box to tow around, without the hassles the other's seem to have. Staying in a lovely quiet park near the seaside at Scamander. The bicycle cost a tenner at the tip shop and after using it for my daily exercise all week, it goes back there. Keep life simple - it's more fun.