Rhubarb

*Please note: Contains adult themes and material that some people may find offensive*.

Date: Wednesday 29th April 2020

Quarantine: Day 38

Location:

Specifically:

Real World: Trying to motivate myself to upload several posts to a new blog website - Paretheon. Wandering through the woods in the rain sliding around on muddy paths in inappropriate footwear. Getting sloshed in the face by branches of trees heavy with the rain as I unavoidably walk into them and pouring water down my back as I walk underneath.

Virtual World: More tripping out with ‘TRIPP’ 360 degree psychedelics, mind bending scenery, dazzling visuals. Relaxing on a hammock overlooking a shady lagoon of sun dappled water, large butterflys, exotic birds with magnificent plumage and an abundance of rich and exotic plant life.

MOTIVATio............

Did you do a double take at the phrase "Trying to motivate myself to upload several posts to a new blog website - Paretheon" I don't know - maybe you did or maybe you just hammered the delete key or skipped past. I did a double take myself when I read it back. How could I write that about something I am so passionate and enthusiastic about? It comes down to finance. If I'm going to run my blog as a business I need to earn a few extra pounds. I have enough money to live on and would probably live well enough even if I decided never to work again, which is just as well given that I've taken early retirement. But it's a security that has a little niggly question mark over it. I want greater security.

Paretheon is a platform that allows you to publish your blog (and other types of media) and get paid. The problem is I need to copy all the material that is currently on Wix across to the Paretheon (or at least that's the only way I can see of doing it at the moment). In order to get paid Paretheon asks readers for a monthly subscription fee. I think the starting price is £3 per month. It's not a massive sum of money but I for one am getting thoroughly sick to death of seeing software companies, organisations, businesses and so on asking people to set up direct debits.

It wouldn't be quite so bad if these companies were up front about their charges but many (or even most of them for all I know) simply aren't. What they do as I'm sure you're familiar with is imply that the app, service or whatever is free, free for a certain period (usually 1-2 weeks or has a free option which can then be 'upgraded. That is until you start using it and inevitably arrive at a point of no return where you feel obliged to pay up or lose all your data. I recently agreed to pay someone to do my accounts. after a inputting several pieces of date n teh abelief that this was free I was then asked to pay £125 sooner or later (usually the latter when hyouve got to teh point of no return youve got so invlved with it you firgreu whell I may as well buy the damn thing now.

...and in the morning I wake up to this Facebook post

Posted to Facebook Tuesday 28th April 2020 18.49 p.m

Lockdown began on March 25th

And now extended till 3rd may.

It's exactly 40 days from 25th March to 3rd May..

QUARANTINE

The Latin root of the word "quarantine" is "forty".

So what does the Bible say about 40?

The flood lasted 40 days.

40 years Moses fled Egypt.

40 days Moses stayed on Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments.

Exodus lasted 40 years.

Jesus fasted for 40 days.

Lent is 40 days.

Also:

A pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks.

40 days for a woman to rest after giving birth.

A group of theologians thinks the number 40 represents "change”.

It is the time of preparing a person, or people, to make a difference.

Did you know that during this "quarantine" rivers are cleaning up, vegetation is growing, the air is becoming cleaner because of less pollution.

The Earth is at rest for the first time in many years and hearts are truly transforming.

Remember we are in the year 2020, and 20 + 20 = 40. BLEW.MY.MIND!!!!!

Author unknown

....... and this was my response..

Posted 04.33 a.m Wednesday 29th April 2020.

This is nothing more than cherry picking i.e selecting terms/facts or data which suit your purpose, but might not reflect the whole picture. For example lockdown began on 23rd March, pregnancy lasts between 37 & 42 weeks, what a group of theologians ‘think’ is not fact, also during quarantine the rate of domestic violence has risen sharply anti-social behaviour has worsened.

Have you looked at the significance of other numbers? or the infinite number of other factors like names, dates, places, events, tides, phases of the moon etc etc etc?

Also much of this ‘evidence’ is biblical which is about as reliable as the outcome of a round of Chinese whispers.

At best these are amusing coincidences at worst - the kind of biased thinking that leads to people making rash decisions before being in full possession of the facts.

At best these are amusing coincidences at worst - the kind of dangerous thinking that COULD lead to scapegoating, extreme prejudice, hatred and witch hunts.

FACEBOOK HUMOUR

Posted to Facebook Wednesday 29th April 2020

A lumberjack went into a magic forest to cut down a tree... Upon arrival he started to swing at a tree... It suddenly shouted "Wait, I'm a talking tree!"... The lumberjack smiled and replied "and you'll dialogue"...