Author Topic: Seasons Greetings  (Read 3567 times)

Offline Bryanpoprobson

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Seasons Greetings
« on: December 25, 2016, 05:53:50 AM »
I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues, but it is difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on advice I wish to say the following :
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress , non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer solstice holiday practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious / secular persuasions and / or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all .
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2017, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great ( not to imply that the UK is necessarily greater than any other country ) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee .
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms :
This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her / him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher .
Best Regards ( without prejudice )
Name withheld ( Privacy Act ).
"Wise men speak because they have something to say!" "Fools speak, because they have to say something!" (Plato)

Offline bknight

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2016, 06:59:55 AM »
We live in za world of too many lawyers that your wishes have to be cloaked in "without offending someone", just say your wishes and be done with it.  Happy holidays to one and all this Cristmas.
Truth needs no defense.  Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Eugene Cernan

Offline ka9q

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2016, 07:38:54 AM »
Um, I think it was a joke.

But it probably would offend Donald Trump, who was so offended that so many people were trying to avoid giving offense that he decided to run for president. Or at least that's how it kinda looked here.

Offline Bryanpoprobson

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2016, 08:02:13 AM »
 
We live in za world of too many lawyers that your wishes have to be cloaked in "without offending someone", just say your wishes and be done with it.  Happy holidays to one and all this Cristmas.

 :D It was tongue in cheek.
"Wise men speak because they have something to say!" "Fools speak, because they have to say something!" (Plato)

Offline Glom

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2016, 12:20:37 PM »
48 years ago, three men were on their way home.

Offline gillianren

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2016, 12:27:37 PM »
My holiday was Wednesday and went very well.  Simon loved his presents.  He ate about half the candy in his stocking and spent a pleasant sugar coma watching Daniel Tiger on the renewed Amazon Prime subscription a friend bought me.  I got some last minute Christmas sewing done--we go to Graham's family's this afternoon for their family celebration, and I made doll clothes for the cousin who's six months older than Simon.  After I finish my morning internet, I will go make a batch or two of rolls, since Graham's sister-in-law seems to have finally processed that the meal goes easier if people bring things and she isn't horribly stressed from making a meal for at least eleven by herself, admittedly also with her husband's help.  (He's making prime rib, which is frankly the main reason I'm going; I was planning to plead being too pregnant for the whole thing, but the man has a knack with cooking beef.)  Last night, I completed my annual Christmas viewing of The Ref, and this morning, I'm planning to introduce Simon to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  Every child should discover Boris Karloff, right?
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Offline Bryanpoprobson

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #6 on: December 25, 2016, 02:28:21 PM »
I'm in a bit of a sugar coma; for Boxing Day dinner I am going fairly simple, Chateaubriand (sounds elegant but a really simple meal when you're cooking for twelve). Anyway I always buy bulk at a Wholesale Cash & Carry and saw some 2Kg boxes of various sweets, the type that are normally sold singularly as pick & mix. Well I opened a couple of the boxes and am now suffering. :(
"Wise men speak because they have something to say!" "Fools speak, because they have to say something!" (Plato)

Offline Peter B

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2016, 07:11:51 AM »
Kids and presents on Christmas Day. Then we had my brothers and their kids around on Boxing Day.

It was hot and humid both days (32C/90F) but the kids were pretty well behaved, all things considered.

Christmas lunch was a buffet - sandwiches, mini quiches and mini sausage rolls; followed by chocolate.

Boxing Day brunch was rather more involved: toast, bread rolls, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages, grilled tomatoes and fried mushrooms; followed by fresh fruit; followed by chocolate. (No surprise to me that I fell asleep during Dr Who Christmas special!)

Plus, on Christmas night I cooked a batch of Anzac biscuits which I was able to hand out to family as a sort of present - they always seem to go down well.

But golly, am I glad we have a dishwasher...!

= = = =

My attitude to presents isn't particularly helpful (see Minchin, Tim: White wine...). But I recognise the excitement the kids have when they get presents they really enjoy, and it's fun to watch/help them enjoy the presents: 6YOS was pretty pleased with himself to successfully complete a fairly complex Lego truck, and 3YOD loves her "Frozen" plush dolls.

Offline gillianren

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2016, 12:44:46 PM »
Simon got Duplo from my mother, and that made him extraordinarily happy.  The giant military play set from Graham's brother . . . less so.  While last year's easel from them is still a wild success and gets used almost daily, this is one that I wish they'd asked us about first.
"This sounds like a job for Bipolar Bear . . . but I just can't seem to get out of bed!"

"Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labour-saving device in the face of complexity."  --Henry Louis Gates

Offline gwiz

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2016, 04:33:00 AM »
The giant military play set from Graham's brother . . .
Ah, the "buy the child the toy I want to play with" tactic.
Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind - Terry Pratchett
...the ascent module ... took off like a rocket - Moon Man

Offline bknight

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #10 on: December 27, 2016, 07:34:22 AM »
We sweated through Christmas with a broken AC and record temperatures.  Fixed yesterday and back to normal.  We were filled with clothes gifts  :)
Truth needs no defense.  Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Eugene Cernan

Offline gillianren

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #11 on: December 27, 2016, 12:21:49 PM »
The giant military play set from Graham's brother . . .
Ah, the "buy the child the toy I want to play with" tactic.

Quite possibly.  I've long said that shopping for him is not unlike shopping for a twelve-year-old.  He and his wife decided a few years ago that we were no longer going to exchange presents, except for the kids; this does save him from having to learn enough about me to pick out a gift.
"This sounds like a job for Bipolar Bear . . . but I just can't seem to get out of bed!"

"Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labour-saving device in the face of complexity."  --Henry Louis Gates

Offline Bryanpoprobson

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #12 on: December 27, 2016, 01:52:48 PM »
The wife and I, set limits on the amount we spend on each other. Then we always bust the budget, I normally overdo it the most, but she has surpassed me this year.. In the order of opening..
DVD David Brent on the Road.
A drone with camera.
Tickets to the London Arena for a talk by Professor Brian Cox
and a brand new (i7) high spec laptop.

I was in a really poor second place this year.

PS Not a single pair of socks this year, not even the obligatory Granddad ones.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2016, 01:54:22 PM by Bryanpoprobson »
"Wise men speak because they have something to say!" "Fools speak, because they have to say something!" (Plato)

Offline Kiwi

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Re: Seasons Greetings
« Reply #13 on: December 28, 2016, 09:41:34 PM »
...celebration of the summer solstice holiday...

Bah, humbug! What about all those poor sods in the northern hemisphere? :)

"December solstice holiday" might be more inclusive.

But in the meantime, greetings to all members and lurkers, and a big "thank you" to Lunar Orbit for the great little forum he has allowed us to enjoy for another year.

Thanks to the summer solstice and the right timing and location, some of us here in New Zealand have been able to view the International Space Station on five successive orbits on each of the nights 23-24 to 27-28 December. On 26-27 December it reached 82° and 79° altitude on the first and fifth orbits from my location, but unfortunately the sky was too cloudy to see it.

Up until 13 January the ISS will make visible passes on one to four orbits per night.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2016, 11:05:11 PM by Kiwi »
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