Plum from SW Michigan, USA

Hi Plum,I don,t know if you play chess, but in chess one is always on the lookout for "forcing" moves, such as captures or checks.The consequences are easier to calculate.In soduko, I look for possibilities where there is only one answer each time.It doesn't always apply, but here ,following the 3 chain led to a contradiction.

Hi Plum. I wouldn't get hung up about posting or not posting times. I have played this game for over two years and I have never posted my time. The only person I'm interested in bettering is myself, and as long as I can complete the puzzle (eventually) that is all I care about. Just have fun. This isn't a competitive site, just a fun site. Cheers!

Wondering how could a person named "Plum" ever offend any one??? Impossible!

Oh! Plum! I never thought of that!

The Lunar New Year is determined by cycles of the moon and therefore the dates are movable, each new year commencing on the new moon which occurred in the late January or February of the Western Calendar. It is not the “Chinese New Year” but the “Lunar New Year” as the date is celebrated by many others besides the Chinese.

The first day of the lunar year is the "Lunar New Year." There are 12 lunar months in the year and by definition the evening of the first day of the month is the darkest night of the month. As the nights progress, the moon becomes fuller and fuller until the fifteenth of the month when there is a “full moon,” the brightest evening of the month.

To determine the Lunar New Year of another year, for example 1991, refer to a calendar. Counting the number (24) of “new moons” from the 1998 Lunar New Year will give the start of that Lunar Year.
Certainly make a chore out of it, don't they?

Hi Plum, thanks for sharing your 2 comments on my page:)

I think we all go through moments of wanting to point things out, or stand up for ourselves or those like us... i think there's nothing wrong with saying what you said- it's good to have discussion, debate, healthy conversation, ect. and that's all it was.

also thanks for the PM, i replied to it today-
talk to you soon :)

Hi Plum, thank you for your birthday greetings yesterday. By all means give the photos a go, there are some hints on 'Forum' and Angie has always been helpful. Good luck.

Hi Plum! I believe the reason the Chinese New Year is in late January or February is because it is the second new moon after the winter solstice. As for the uneven number of lunar cycles..an extra month is added during leap year. My husband and I visited China several years ago, so I learned quite a bit then and I took COPIOUS notes during a lecture.
I must admit, I looked up some of the information to refresh my memory

Thought I would drop by with a Strawberry Pie for you to enjoy as you celebrate America's Birthday.

I also thought I'd drop in to view your video.I have yet to master that one.Lovely.

Plum: I'm a Leo

The recipe for the "Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie" is in the recipe fourm. I've had this recipe for over 50 years - it was in a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe folder.

One of the reasons I chose Ray Charles version is that it led off with the third verse of the song. Most videos only use the first verse and repeat it, John Denver has the fourth verse. there are 8 verses to "America the Beautiful":
http://www.fuzzylu.com/falmouth/bates/america.html

Definetly worth the read. I thought that there were only 3 or 4 verses - I was surprised to see that there are 8 verses.

If you liked "A Fish Called Wanda", you'll LOVE it's companion movie "Fierce Creatures". And if you really like Cleese, one of the silliest movies I've ever seen is "The Strange Case Of The End Of The World As We Know It". Cleese plays the grandson of Sherlock Holmes, but Dr. Watson steals the movie! I first saw it in college, with friends, and we were all laughing so hard we were crying.

I agree that Fierce Creatures does not have the manic quality that Wanda has..... I just love anything with a good animal story (opposed to the fish being eaten in Wanda).
Try checking out Movies Unlimited on the internet. They have everything old and new..... even some VERY early movies by Thomas Edison, when he invented the genre. If they DON'T have it, they can find it for you. I have seen "What Did You Do In The War, Daddy", and agree that it is hysterical.

Plum... I just checked... Movies Unlimited HAS "What Did You Do In The War, Daddy? on DVD, and IT'S ON SALE!!!

Please extend my congrats to your little one on her great victory --- I can ride and I can swim -- but it would have to be walking instead of running for me --- Great Job !!!!

A message for little Plum......
I think it is super that you went out and gave your best at the Try-athon! Isn't it fun to try to do something and do the best that you can? Keep doing that and your life will be filled with fun and adventure!

Plum, that's one little girl headed for success! That attitude is going to take her to all sorts of fun places and make life the greatest! I wish I could see her twenty years from now. Maybe I should get her autograph now!

Congrats to Little Plum.
If we had a medal smilie, I would put it right here. Because we dont though, I will have to make do.

HI Plum, Congratulations to the little one she did very well indeed, and thank you for visiting my page. Pleasse call any time and have a cup of tea.

Plum, I just read Little Plum's post about doing the easy and wanting M&M's. My son is 11 and enjoys doing the puzzles also. We use this site as a geography lesson. We look on the globe and find the places from the people we post. Him and I had a nice conversation, in the chatroom, with a woman in Australia. She told him about a famous landmark and we then looked it up online together. How old is Little Plum? Maybe she and my son can be puzzle buddies?

Hi there Plum,

Thanks for your comment.

I understand those early morning blues and beauties. I was up at 5.10am to take a friend to the airport and need to collect my brother at 4 am tomorrow.

May God truely bless Australia and the rest of the world too :) It's our only hope.

Plum... I got that one already (Fiona revealed the answer)... it WAS number 7 from todays that had me stumped. And Rayray helped me out on that.

#7, just like Rayray.

Plum... don't worry. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. Or, in the words of my favorite quote, the last line of act 1, scene 2 in "Inherit The Wind"...
"The man who knows everything is probably a fool College examinations notwithstanding, it takes a pretty smart fella to say 'I don't know the answer'".

Plum - what an ordeal! My prayers are with you for a speedy recovery - so sorry you had to go through all that. Hope you are back on your feet soon!

Hello Plum - I am so sorry to see you have been "under the weather." I hope you are feeling like new again soon!

Hi Plum! I haven't been by for a visit in awhile so thought I should stop over today with a get well wish Sorry, the mini bouquet standard smilie will have to do. I don't have time to hunt up all the special ones some folks find! You must have been in pretty bad shape if they kept you in the hosp. for 3 days! Thank goodness for antibiotics. Hope you're feeling much better soon.

Plum: Sorry to hear that you have been so ill - may you get well quickly. Brought some and a pie to cheer you up. A good spirit is a pre-requisite to good health, hope we all can help on providing you that good spirit. GET WELL QUICK!

Plum, have been away all weekend so I have only just read your bad news.
Take care and hope those meds make you feel on top of the world in no time.
All the best wishes,
Gail

Glad to hear you are home - hopefully on the mend now. Take at easy, don't push too hard on all those things that will wait. Good to see you posting again. (House/Yard work can wait....)

glad you are feeling better, cont. to heal and mend. wishes to you, Mary

Plum, It's good to see you back...I'm so sorry to hear of your medical condition...and all the bills. i take it you've already told the docs about your insurance....sometimes they'll help out if they know. Most docs, at least here, have 2 different charges. What they charge insuruance and what they would charge a patient. I'll keep you in my prayers!

Plum - I really enjoyed your youtube selection - Ray Charles great.
I hope you get better very soon, and my thoughts and prayers are with you as you recover AND worry about the bills.

Plum, good to hear that you're up and about again. Those bacterial infections can be really nasty. We don't have medical insurance either, but if I had to add up what we would have spent on it over the years, compared to what medical costs we've paid, we're still ahead. Here though we have free public hospitals and doctors, and for those who pass the means test, free dental and optical too. Sometimes the waiting time for appointments is very lengthy though.

Thinking of you Plum

GET WELL SOON

Plum, thank you for your enquiry. It is only 7.00 am here and my brain is not yet in gear. However, I can give you a 'preliminary' answer to your query.
I tend to 'shoot from the hip' with my photography, in other words, I pick a subject that looks interesting and take a photo. Back home I do as little processing as is necessary to give it an appealing look - adjust exposure, crop, sharpen a little and that's about it. I am not into 'Photoshopping', in fact I don't use Photoshop at all. I don't use bracketing, just trust the camera and tweak the result.
The key, in my view, is the first step - pick an interesting subject.
I'm off now to finish my breakfast - I'll be back with more later, but what I have given you so far are the essentials of my photography.

Hi Plum, I notice that you have been unwell - I hope things are improving and that you are feeling better.
Back to your query. I have checked the original photo and it would appear that I have done nothing to the original except crop it square and reduce the size in preparation for submitting it to the Sudoku site..
I know it might be a little disappointing to hear that, but the camera did all the work. I really didn't have a choice of lighting, it was already an overcast day and this was the only opportunity for the photo. I did, however have a choice of background and took one other photo with just the grey sky in the background, but it wasn't very interesting.
So that's it - two photos of opportunity, no processing apart from cropping, and then submit it for posterity.
I am not into 'artistic' photography and don't enjoy it greatly.
I hope that has answered your question satisfactorily. Cheers, Ian

Hi Plum, let me say at the outset that I am not offended by any of your comments. I do what I can with my photos and select the ones that please me. If they also please my friends then I am happy. If they don't, then it doesn't matter.
I admire your ambition to improve your photography. It sounds as though you already have a good grasp of the technical essentials. May I make a few suggestions, and I hope you don't find them offensive. Firstly, if I were you I would concentrate on using your digital camera. I don't know what you use but generally digital photos are easier to manipulate. Secondly, may i suggest you buy a few good books and magazines on digital photography - many of them have useful hints and suggestions on techniques you can use to create good photos. Finally, can i suggest you study the works of some good photographers Nal/Miami is a very good photographer and her Flickr photos are just wonderful
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nal_miami/
Also, click on one or two of her photos and then click on the pages of the people who comment on her photos - there are some wonderfully talented photographers in her group of admirers. Nal, of course, has the benefit of a great camera and she lives in an area with an abundance of interesting subjects. But don't let that put you off, often your best photos are the ones you take instinctively.

Plum, I dropped by to introduce myself -- Linda from Pioneer -- and I found all kinds of interesting things on your pages. I enjoyed Ray Charles' rendition of America the Beautiful. I, too, think it is a beautiful song. It gives me goosebumps. I also enjoyed reading Ian's photography comments. I'm taking photography classes and am always looking for ways to improve my efforts! Hope all is well with you. Cheers.