All Activity

the original word for, dang...

NASA figures are in and it is Warmest month on record for the second consecutive month in a row. Now the race between 2026 vs 2024 for the warmest is on and you can see from the chart below 2026 is picking up speed. August 2026 Global Temperature Update, Warmest August on Record +1.66°C Temperature Mean August (1880-1920)NASA Current Record (2026) (+1.66C) Second (2024) (+1.56C) Third (2023) (+1.45C) +1.51°C👆 For the Year Hottest year (2024) 1.56c Second hottest year (2025) 1.46c Third hottest year (2023) 1.45c +1.49°C👆 Last 12 Months

EL NIÑO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION (ENSO) DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION issued by CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER/NCEP/NWS 10 September 2026 ENSO Alert System Status: El Niño Advisory Synopsis: El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27. El Niño strengthened further over the past month, with sea surface temperature anomalies exceeding +3.0°C in the eastern equatorial Pacific [Fig. 1]. Except for the Niño-4 index, which decreased to +0.1°C in August, values in the other Niño indices increased, reaching +1.8°C in Niño-3.4, +2.5°C in Niño-3, and +3.4°C in Niño-1+2 [Fig. 2]. The equatorial subsurface temperature index (average from 180°-100°W) remained steady during August [Fig. 3], reflecting a deeper-than-average thermocline [Fig. 4]. Subsurface temperatures continued to be significantly above average, with widespread anomalies in excess of +10.0°C at depth. Low-level westerly wind anomalies and upper-level easterly wind anomalies extended from the western to the east-central equatorial Pacific. Enhanced convection and rainfall persisted from the central to the eastern Pacific, while anomalies remained suppressed over Indonesia [Fig. 5]. The traditional and equatorial Southern Oscillation indices remained negative. Collectively, the coupled ocean-atmosphere system reflected a strengthening El Niño. The CPC Official ENSO outlook, which synthesizes multiple models from North America and abroad, indicates El Niño will continue to strengthen through the end of the year [Figs. 6-7-8]. During the October-December 2026 season, there is a 75% chance of a historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950 (+2.5°C or more for a 3-month RONI value). With an event of this magnitude, the chances of experiencing impacts consistent with El Niño are larger, though not guaranteed (see CPC outlooks for probabilities of seasonal anomalies). In summary, El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27. This discussion is a consolidated effort of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NOAA's National Weather Service, and their funded institutions. Oceanic and atmospheric conditions are updated weekly on the Climate Prediction Center web site (El Niño/La Niña Current Conditions and Expert Discussions). A probabilistic strength forecast is available here. The next ENSO Diagnostics Discussion is scheduled for 8 October 2026.

I dont know the "d" word either but the vulgar "c" word is what a trecherous man would call a woman. In the UK its used as a light hearted slang insult to a friend. Here its unacceptable! A visiting Brit used it here and by the way the store responded he thought he was going to be tarred and feathered! He felt so bad.

I agree with you on reading labels, they add in so much garbage like high fructose corn syrup. Its in everything now, no wonder we have an over weight issue. I prefer to make my food from ingredients. Funny- my daughter used to look for something to snack on and complained all we had was ingredients!! Ha! Good mom. Plus I like our home cooked food and trying other cultures food. Ive never had gnocchi, I'll try it one day when I can buy Kamut flour, I switched to Kamut to see if it helps my gut. Mediterranean chicken sounds good. I have a roasted chicken to debone and a marinating pork loin to cook up tomorrow. Maybe some day we can visit and cook for each other 🩷

It's generally 10 days before a 15 minutes local need talk

Dang, me too! 🤣

Wow...

Our brother Aaron McLamb was just 20 and volunteering at Brooklyn Bethel when he captured what became one of the most remembered photographs of September 11, 2001—Ladder 118 crossing the Brooklyn Bridge toward the burning towers. All six firefighters aboard lost their lives while helping others escape. This moving article shares how Aaron took the photograph and how his desire to help others led him to share it with the firefighters’ coworkers and families. Read the full article here.

Just a little more: AI helped me find where the "Camp City" was: montreal-1978-trailer-city-share.html

Now I'm going to spend the day wondering what the "d word" is 😄

Friday, September 11 For a fact the Lord was raised up.—Luke 24:34. Jesus’ disciples needed encouragement. Why? Some had left homes, families, and businesses to follow Jesus full-time. (Matt. 19:27) Others were treated as social outcasts because they had become his disciples. (John 9:22) They made these sacrifices because they believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. (Matt. 16:16) But when Jesus was executed, their hopes were dashed and they became downhearted. No doubt Jesus saw his disciples’ grief, not as a sign of spiritual weakness, but as an understandable response to a terrible loss. So on the very day that he was resurrected, he began encouraging his friends. For instance, he appeared to Mary Magdalene while she wept at his tomb. (John 20:11, 16) He also appeared to the two disciples who had left for the village of Emmaus. And he appeared to the apostle Peter. w24.10 13 ¶5-6

September 25th or October 2nd?

Tomorrow will be six weeks since the last one. So maybe!

Here downunder we have recently had a couple of documentaries on ultra processed foods and the effects on our health. I have for many years endeavoured to cook most things from scratch. Though now I’m discovering a few things I often thought didn’t contain too many additives now does. I’ve been following a few on Insta that tell of good supermarket swaps so the food we buy contains little if any additives. So why am I writing this on this thread? Because I wonder how many of our “whats for dinner” posts contain ultra processed foods, whether none, a couple, a few or all. Last nights dinner was leftovers. I’m at my sisters place and I brought things from my freezer for our dinner. We had Mediterranean Chicken and Ricotta Gnocchi in tomato and veg sauce. The chicken was basically free of ultra processed foods and the gnocchi sauce base was canned tomatoes and passata. which when I read the can had tomatoes salt and water. How about a challenge!🍕🍔🌮🌭🍜🥗🍝

I want to get some lanyards with the theme. Anyone have ideas where? If you are an overseas delegate you are given one. At this stage we are not.

Ancient Egypt and Assyria: Bas-reliefs and artifacts found in ancient tombs (including King Tutankhamun’s) confirm that wealthy men and rulers wore heavy, ornate earrings. In these civilizations, earrings served as a distinct marker of wealth, nobility, and high social status. Ancient Greece and Rome: In these societies, the meaning was often inverted. For a long time in the Roman Empire, a ring in a man's ear was a sign of slavery (used to mark bondservants) or an indicator of a foreign "barbarian." While the fashion fluctuated during the late Empire, traditional Romans generally looked down on this custom. Cossacks (Eastern Europe): This is a well-documented military tradition. Earrings functioned as a practical visual marker for commanders. During troop formations, a commander could easily see a soldier's family status: an earring in the left ear meant he was his single mother's only son; in the right ear, he was the last surviving male of his lineage; earrings in both ears signified an only child. Such men were spared from the most perilous front-line missions to prevent their family lines from becoming extinct. Sailors and Pirates: This is a confirmed maritime custom. A gold or silver earring served as a "burial insurance policy." Since sailors frequently lost their lives in foreign ports or were washed ashore, anyone who found the body could keep the precious metal as payment for providing a proper, decent burial. Additionally, in some maritime traditions, earning the right to wear an earring required accomplishing a major seafaring feat, such as sailing around Cape Horn or crossing the equator.

I keep thinking about whether it would be useful to be able to create a playlist with publication articles. With this feature, imagine a brother wanting to research a quality, like patience. He would put both videos on the subject and specific publication articles about the quality he’s researching into his playlist.

The question then becomes "is Jack Sparrow a role model? Or a radical/non-conformer?" I think that's a tough one...🤣🤣🤣

Is it too late to move to Arizona? 🤣

California isn't invited but allowed to join a group with a code who is invited. And my wife and I just got passports last month for this. I watched last nights pre-recorded steam and it doesn't look like New York is either. Oh well, next time.

Our congregation in Southern New England, was invited to an international convention in 1978. I was 11. We had to drive 6 hours to reach the convention, in another country (Canada). I remember so much of the entire experience. Including that was when the release of My Book of BIble Stories was released. We stayed in our camper in what was was referred to as 'tent city.' We were packed so tight, that if the brother and sister next door, opened the door to their camper as the same time as us, the doors would hit. The ingenious way of providing sanitation and showers was a cool thing to see in action. When you used the restroom in the camp, all the waste would fall in a trough. and roughly every 5 minutes the trough would flush with a 5 gallons of water, taking all the waste to the sewer system. Our 'hot' water consisted of a swimming pool full of water exposed to the sun. No one really got hot water from it. But it was better than straight cold tap water. We did not swim in the pool. that was the water pumped to the showers. The night before the convention there was an event I believe it was a soccer game at the stadium. So at 10 or 11 o'clock at night, we walked from where the camper was set up approximately only a mile from the stadium. and there were thousands of us walking to the stadium to clean it. So it will be ready for the convention the next morning. I don't know what time it was when we got home. Or back to the camper rather. If you walked around the outer concourse all the way it was exactly one mile. My only experience attending an international convention.

Could it happen tomorrow too?