"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it"

mizmir

Well done KC - and you will be able to rib me when I am desperately trying to do mine on the 30th January! :eek:

Karmacat

:D:D my mum didn't describe me as a "soldier" for nothing!

I've been awake for aaaaaaaaaaaagggeessss .... maybe its something to do with women's midlife issues? I read a really interesting article somewhere online yesterday about middle age having an evolutionary use, because humans are born so helpless and have so much culture to pass on ... maybe early waking is part of that, when a baby wakes early in the morning, the parents don't have to get up because the grandmother (who would have been younger than me, in all probability) was already up and could look after the little whinging one :question:

Anyway, because today *isn't* a day of accounts, I can do other things

**jaw drops**

- like, start to prepare the paperwork for the French accounts (the tax year is the calendar year, but they're pushy about declaring really soon).
- some work on the computer following up the seminar last week.
- scanning ebay pix - I *will* do ebay this weekend, I've been putting it off for weeks.
- cut more grass - I did do a bit yesterday, which happily went into the compost bin, but I need to do more. Whoda thunk, as Maty said (I'm paraphrasing again ).
- oh, and I have some paid work late morning, so can justify hopping into town to go to the bank after that. That place they put money.

:wave:

taxi73

sounds like a nice kind of day

ZTD

Karmacat wrote: »

:D:D my mum didn't describe me as a "soldier" for nothing!

I thought that was to do with egg...

Karmacat wrote: »

I've been awake for aaaaaaaaaaaagggeessss .... maybe its something to do with women's midlife issues? I read a really interesting article somewhere online yesterday about middle age having an evolutionary use, because humans are born so helpless and have so much culture to pass on ... maybe early waking is part of that, when a baby wakes early in the morning, the parents don't have to get up because the grandmother (who would have been younger than me, in all probability) was already up and could look after the little whinging one :question:

Hmm, I think whoever wrote that was reaching a bit. In subsistence societies (which let's face it, without fossil fuels is what we'd be right now), people wake at dawnm work (farm or hunt) while they can still see, and then go to bed when they can't. "The Change" has a use in that a woman isn't bringing children into existence when they're probably just about to peg it.

I don't see how evolution would see to it to ensure "culture" was passed on.

1. Culture is a recent (in geographical time) thing
2. It's not that important
3. There would be an endless supply of people aged from 32 downwards to pass on tales
4. There is a backwards projection of modern times by people who come up with these things into imagining a 2 adult, 2 children + granny family. In reality, it's a homeworking (food preparation) mother, 1 child (possibly alive) every 2 years of mother's fertility, and a "gathering" father.

Karmacat wrote: »

- cut more grass - I did do a bit yesterday, which happily went into the compost bin, but I need to do more. Whoda thunk, as Maty said (I'm paraphrasing again ).

Be careful of composting grass - it produces a lot of ammonia and gets very hot when it rots. A little bit is good, lots is not.

Karmacat

ZTD wrote: »

I thought that was to do with egg...

:D:D

Hmm, I think whoever wrote that was reaching a bit. In subsistence societies (which let's face it, without fossil fuels is what we'd be right now), people wake at dawnm work (farm or hunt) while they can still see, and then go to bed when they can't. "The Change" has a use in that a woman isn't bringing children into existence when they're probably just about to peg it.

I don't see how evolution would see to it to ensure "culture" was passed on.

1. Culture is a recent (in geographical time) thing
2. It's not that important
3. There would be an endless supply of people aged from 32 downwards to pass on tales
4. There is a backwards projection of modern times by people who come up with these things into imagining a 2 adult, 2 children + granny family. In reality, it's a homeworking (food preparation) mother, 1 child (possibly alive) every 2 years of mother's fertility, and a "gathering" father.

There's new research being done on age-at-death thats fascinating, Z, and you can see it in family trees actually - lots of babies and kids die, quite a few adults die, but there are always people around who live till their 80s.

"Culture" - I'm meaning culture in the anthropological sense - H. Neanderthalensis used one type of handaxe, H. Sapiens used another. Not the logical but ridiculous endless types of people either - accidents and illness and getting eaten by something or other would take its toll, just as it does now. Culture was crucial to survival - this berry will kill you, that rat is full of bones its good to make needles with but don't bother otherwise, hunt those things like this, hunt those other ones using this. That sort, not our sort

Be careful of composting grass - it produces a lot of ammonia and gets very hot when it rots. A little bit is good, lots is not.

Now that I *didn't* know! I heard it went slimy, so I don't put much in - thanks for the tip!

Lula-Hula

Hello KC,

nice to see you getting on & doing so much stuff

Surely the same necessity to pass on important information, is still relevant today ?

Humans occupy a different framework of existence where the tools & skills required to survive & procreate are certainly not so primal, but the methods we now use to communicate are so complex & update so regularly, that learning how to keep on communicating has almost become a survival skill in itself !

ZTD

Karmacat wrote: »

There's new research being done on age-at-death thats fascinating, Z, and you can see it in family trees actually - lots of babies and kids die, quite a few adults die, but there are always people around who live till their 80s.

Yes, most of this "we're living longer" thing is due to babies not dying, rather than people living longer. Obviously when 1 child dies at birth, some else needs to live to 140 to bring the average back up to 70. I aim to be that person...

Of course if you believe the bible, people habitually lived several hundred years. There has been some talk that since some disaster or other (I think the Indonesian caldera - but that seems a long time ago) when the human population dropped to about 10,000 - inbreeding may have started limiting our lifespan.

Karmacat wrote: »

"Culture" - I'm meaning culture in the anthropological sense - H. Neanderthalensis used one type of handaxe, H. Sapiens used another. Not the logical but ridiculous endless types of people either - accidents and illness and getting eaten by something or other would take its toll, just as it does now. Culture was crucial to survival - this berry will kill you, that rat is full of bones its good to make needles with but don't bother otherwise, hunt those things like this, hunt those other ones using this. That sort, not our sort

Now I would have called that "work experience", and would have sent the kids out with the people doing it, rather than leaving them with Granny. I certainly don't see Granny constructing axes which she won't use, and so won't see if they're any good or not. There's nothing like feedback, like seeing people climbing trees (or failing to) to escape bears to focus minds onto doing it a better way...

I'm thinking more from the logistical point of view. Granny (though not yet) has 12 children (this is more than reasonable - 15-18 is probably an upper limit) a third die (333 in 1000 mortality rate) so has 8 children left. Those 8 children do the same. Granny now has 64 grandchildren. Spending a couple of hours in the morning with grandchild only happens once every 2 months. Not really enough for any practical effect to drop out.

However Granny staying with her 8 children to assist with childbirth would have an effect on that 333 per 1000 mortality. It's amazing how much easier things are when you've done them before...

Incidently, "Granny" would probably be mid to late 20's when she starts being "Granny". Plenty of time to learn on the job...

Karmacat

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Hello KC,

nice to see you getting on & doing so much stuff

:wave: Thanks Lula!

Surely the same necessity to pass on important information, is still relevant today ? [/quote]

Absolutely - its just that if I hadn't started nattering about handaxes, all the X Factor "culture" jokes would have started pouring out

Humans occupy a different framework of existence where the tools & skills required to survive & procreate are certainly not so primal, but the methods we now use to communicate are so complex & update so regularly, that learning how to keep on communicating has almost become a survival skill in itself !

Thats true, really true - my antipathy to using my mobile regularly is starting to cost me socially, I know.

ZTD wrote: »

Yes, most of this "we're living longer" thing is due to babies not dying, rather than people living longer. Obviously when 1 child dies at birth, some else needs to live to 140 to bring the average back up to 70. I aim to be that person...

Me too :j

Of course if you believe the bible, people habitually lived several hundred years. There has been some talk that since some disaster or other (I think the Indonesian caldera - but that seems a long time ago) when the human population dropped to about 10,000 - inbreeding may have started limiting our lifespan.



Now I would have called that "work experience", and would have sent the kids out with the people doing it, rather than leaving them with Granny. I certainly don't see Granny constructing axes which she won't use, and so won't see if they're any good or not. There's nothing like feedback, like seeing people climbing trees (or failing to) to escape bears to focus minds onto doing it a better way...

I'm thinking more from the logistical point of view. Granny (though not yet) has 12 children (this is more than reasonable - 15-18 is probably an upper limit) a third die (333 in 1000 mortality rate) so has 8 children left. Those 8 children do the same. Granny now has 64 grandchildren. Spending a couple of hours in the morning with grandchild only happens once every 2 months. Not really enough for any practical effect to drop out.

However Granny staying with her 8 children to assist with childbirth would have an effect on that 333 per 1000 mortality. It's amazing how much easier things are when you've done them before...

Incidently, "Granny" would probably be mid to late 20's when she starts being "Granny". Plenty of time to learn on the job...

Logistics are dead on there, Z, I'm sure

Karmacat

Nothing mse-ish going on here. Nothing to see. Move along there. Oh rats, I just remembered, I really want to use the ebay free listing weekend. Okay, list consists of one item - use ebay free listing weekend :D:D

taxi73

I'll join your club of nothing MSE going on