# Biring



## robin416

We haven't seen him in a couple of days. Does anyone think the big day has arrived?

@Biring we're missing you.


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## Poultry Judge

Yes, I bet his life is changing significantly! Hope to hear from him soon!


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## Overmountain1

Oooohhh yeah- maybe there's another Biring to welcome to the world.... if there's ever a time for a human to crow, now's your chance, Biring!!  Hope all is well.


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## Poultry Judge

Yes, hope all is well.


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## robin416

It's starting to make me a little anxious the longer he's incommunicado.


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## Poultry Judge

Yes, me too.


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## robin416

Maybe it's time for some PM's.


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## Biring

Baby Biring arrived on Sunday morning. Been a bit busy, as you might imagine.


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## robin416

Congratulations to Mom and Dad. So happy to know there is a new Biring in the world to keep you on your toes.

BTW, was she right?


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## Biring

The Indonesian word for hospital is rumah sakit, literally pain house. Unlike mum and baby, I was able to sneak out a few times to check out the surrounding streets. A couple of times I thought I was in Malaysia- lots of Chinese, Malay and Indian restaurants and food stalls. Then back to the pain house to try to sleep on the floor in a closed room with no ac, next to a stinking toilet with a broken door. A slightly undignified place for baby Biring to spend his first few days, but nonetheless we’re grateful for the care mum and baby received. Back at home now. This morning baby seemed fascinated by the sounds of our chickens and the neighbour’s ducks.


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## Biring

robin416 said:


> Congratulations to Mom and Dad. So happy to know there is a new Biring in the world to keep you on your toes.
> 
> BTW, was she right?


Of course!


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## Poultry Judge

Biring said:


> Of course!


Glad to hear your family is back home and safe!


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## robin416

Dang, she's good. 

How long did it take to get to the hospital or pain house?


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## Biring

The hospital is about 2 hours away from here. We hired a car and driver so it was door to door, no waiting. The baby was delivered within 45 minutes of our arrival. It all happened rather fast.


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## robin416

Two hours. That had to be a harrowing drive. 

Do they do all the things Westerners do after a baby is born, weight and length type things? 

BTW, we've congratulated you on your new baby. You should tell her for us we're pleased and happy she and the little one are doing well. And congratulations to her too.


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## Biring

Yes, 7lbs 1oz, 1’ 8.5”. Message passed on.


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## robin416

Are you spending every spare moment just looking at him?


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## Biring

I’m ashamed to say I’m not - Granny Biring (my wife’s mum) is doing all the hard work. Today I made some progress with weeding one of our gardens, tidying up some trees and managing the water channels (to ensure the neighbours don’t flood us by mistake (or deliberately)). Of course, I spent a bit of time with him but my job is to help my wife get comfortable at night. Caesarean is major surgery and it will take her weeks to recover. In the meantime I get woken up every half hour at night to help her change position. Tomorrow I get to go to our plantation to manage the harvesting and sale of 500# of arecanuts. I’m quite looking forward to it.


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## Overmountain1

Oh! My heart goes out to her during the recovery- I've had two cesareans myself. I can relate; almost died the first time but that's a story for another time, maybe.  not to worry, it was still worth it- I went on to do it again- and this time on purpose! Hehe.

But truly, congrats to your little family. I hope she heals quickly- I already know she's a tough one, and I'm positive will be back to normal in no time. The sleepless nights can feel long when strung together, but when you look back.... where'd they go?! I've never known if they seem short in hindsight due to delirium or joy!


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## robin416

Don't be ashamed, you have to do what you have to do to support your family. Most here in the states don't even get the time that you can steal with him. 

Thank goodness you have an MIL close by. Imagine trying to support your wife while she heals and still deal with the things you need to do day to day.


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## Poultry Judge

We wish you and your family continued good fortune, the Biring Empire grows!


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## Biring

Turns out it was 630# today and more tomorrow. About $15.20 today. Seems foolish spending time away for that kind of money, but that’s the way it is here.


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## robin416

But the cost of living there is next to nothing. Even though you spent a great deal of your years there it still has to be a shock to realize how little people live on there.


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## Biring

It’s not that the cost of living is next to nothing, but the realisation that money is unimportant. Anyone who manages a quarter acre of paddy fields has enough rice in their kitchen. They also have a few side crops. Add a couple of coconut trees and a nearby river and you have 85% of your basic needs catered for. Add a few chickens and you’ve passed the basic minimum.


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## robin416

But there has to be some cash money involved. You had to hire a car to take you to the pain house. But you can't be the only one that ever does that. 

When it comes to the hospital how is that dealt with? Are there out of pocket expenses? 

And I forgot, your little venture into the city. Was it overwhelming at first after living so isolated for so long? And did you check out any of those foreign restaurants while there?


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## Poultry Judge

Biring said:


> It's not that the cost of living is next to nothing, but the realisation that money is unimportant. Anyone who manages a quarter acre of paddy fields has enough rice in their kitchen. They also have a few side crops. Add a couple of coconut trees and a nearby river and you have 85% of your basic needs catered for. Add a few chickens and you've passed the basic minimum.


Add a few chickens and you have an empire!


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## Poultry Judge

It's still nice to think about a society and economy that is not totally money obsessed.


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## Biring

The cost of the operation plus other hospital fees plus the local midwife comes to about $750. That’s a big hit to our budget, but a drop in the ocean in the big scheme of things. A few years ago my parents rewrote their will to cut out their children and to leave everything to grandchildren. Baby Biring will be a small-scale trustafarian!


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## robin416

Believe it or not it's also true of many in the US. Although 750$ compared to your cost of living is a lot. 

A trust fund baby? LOL


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## Poultry Judge

robin416 said:


> Believe it or not it's also true of many in the US. Although 750$ compared to your cost of living is a lot.
> 
> A trust fund baby? LOL


A trust fund Chicken Empire baby!!!


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## robin416

I'm heading into the city today but I need to ask before you go to bed, how are mom and baby doing?

And as a second thought how is dad?


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## Biring

Mum and baby are doing well. Dad also.


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## Poultry Judge

Biring said:


> Mum and baby are doing well. Dad also.


That's good!


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## robin416

Biring, you're up before 4 in the morning? Huh, I wonder why that is.


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## Biring

Am I? I’ve got it easy for the time being. My mother-in-law and wife are caring for baby around the clock. All I have to do is walk the dog a couple of times a day. I’ve done more gardening and odd jobs around the house this past week than I managed during the previous nine months.


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## robin416

If you're ahead of us by 12 hours, yeah you're up really early. I got up at 5 and am exhausted now. And probably a little crabby.


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## robin416

If you've gotten so much extra done, does this mean you're hiding from the women?


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## Biring

Not really. For the past nine months I haven’t been able to go 10 yards from the house before my wife calls me back to lift this, open that etc. Now her mum is living with us I get to spend a lot more time doing the things that I think need doing.


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## robin416

Don't think because Baby Biring is now in the world that will change.


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## Biring

Oh it won’t. But I’m getting through a load of jobs that for one reason or another I’ve put off for months. Just now I chopped down our cheesefruit tree (look it up!). My wife had forbidden me from tackling that job because our electricity wire runs through the branches and chopping the tree down meant first scaling a rickety ladder and carefully pruning the branches so that nothing would snag the wire when I felled the tree. It was actually a lot easier than I had imagined and the only collateral damage was a couple of banana leaves.


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## robin416

It took me a while to find if it was edible or not. You couldn't pay me enough to eat one. So, I completely understand why you cut it down. 

Did she know what you were up to? From the sounds of it even if the fruit tasted like anything but vomit it would still have to come down since it was in your electrical lines.


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## Biring

She found out afterwards! The wood is an amazing colour. I'll have to look it up to see if it's useful for anything.


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## Biring

Apparently Polynesians use the wood for making paddles, digging tools and axe handles.


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## robin416

I think I read the roots are used by Hawaiians to make a yellow dye. There was something about the fruit being used as a dye too but after reading what it tastes like I kind of forgot what it said.

You know, that looks like you slathered yellow mustard on the wood. 

Did you actually use an ax to cut the tree down?


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## Biring

I used a machete.


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## Poultry Judge

Biring said:


> Oh it won't. But I'm getting through a load of jobs that for one reason or another I've put off for months. Just now I chopped down our cheesefruit tree (look it up!). My wife had forbidden me from tackling that job because our electricity wire runs through the branches and chopping the tree down meant first scaling a rickety ladder and carefully pruning the branches so that nothing would snag the wire when I felled the tree. It was actually a lot easier than I had imagined and the only collateral damage was a couple of banana leaves.


That's good!


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## robin416

Biring said:


> I used a machete.


I'm impressed. I couldn't swing an ax and hit the same spot twice. I can not imagine using a machete. To cut a tree down no less.

And you'll probably tell us there is nothing to it. Bet me.


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## Biring

I should take some photos of the gardening implements we use here. They take a bit of getting used to, but they get the job done.


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## robin416

You didn't take the bet but in a roundabout way did say it wasn't that bad.


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## Biring

No need to take a bet. A machete is the main gardening implement here. You can also build a house with one.


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## Biring

Our neighbour prunes her bushes using a machete and a block of wood.


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## robin416

Biring said:


> Our neighbour prunes her bushes using a machete and a block of wood.


Where does the block of wood come into the pruning?


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## Biring

Without the wood she’s just whacking the bushes with a machete. With the wood she’s chopping away as she pleases. Imagine a pair of scissors with only one blade!


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## robin416

OK, got it. That's got to take some strength and coordination to do safely.


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## Poultry Judge

robin416 said:


> OK, got it. That's got to take some strength and coordination to do safely.


That's interesting!


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## Biring

The mother-in-law kept taking my machete to use in the kitchen, so I bought myself a new one. About $2.15 - I added the strip of motorbike inner tube to the handle myself. Razor sharp and solid. I've already used it to chop down a few old banana stumps.


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## Biring

I’d be interested to know how much Overmountain1’s hubby would charge to make one of these. It’s probably made from a bit of old truck suspension.


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## robin416

Hard to imagine swinging that thing preparing food with such precise hits.

Hey, @Overmountain1, Biring is asking you a question.


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## Poultry Judge

Biring said:


> I'd be interested to know how much Overmountain1's hubby would charge to make one of these. It's probably made from a bit of old truck suspension.


It definitely looks hand forged. That's cool!


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## Overmountain1

Hey y'all! Sorry, just been.... weathering the storm. We may or may not have had the virus- I was sick as heck all week last week but with stomach troubles, and then got a low grade fever fri/Sat and so did Tristan. Now my older son is bundled up saying he feels cold. Hubbs got the vax so he's fine. At any rate it's been super wet and snowy all week too.

Biting, he generally starts from steel plate, and it depends on the type of steel being used, but- it could run anywhere from $50-$200-300, depending on material mostly. As it sits, maybe toward the lower end. Some decent scales on the handle would transform it to something more special of course. You know.  Again, that's just at a guess but it looks sharp as heck!  As long as it does it's job and holds an edge then it's a useful tool. And that can be invaluable!


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## robin416

I was beginning to get a bit concerned you didn't like us anymore. With what all is circulating right now there's no telling. A doc friend of mine in NJ just went through the same intestinal thing. Covid was a concern because one of the office personnel had just been DXed with Covid. Glad to know everyone is on the mend.


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## Overmountain1

Thanks Robin! I started to hop on a couple of times but I was feeling so dismal I decided to keep it to myself.  Everyone else has enough going on! 
Have we heard from Dan lately? I need to text Kimmi....


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## robin416

Yes, he's on here everyday. So, I guess he still likes us. 

When I have an off day I let PJ know that I might be a bit absent.


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## danathome

robin416 said:


> Yes, he's on here everyday. So, I guess he still likes us.
> 
> When I have an off day I let PJ know that I might be a bit absent.


Yes, he likes everyone here. Just learned that a friend's Grandmother died of Covid. Getting so I'm afraid to leave my yard or answer the door. This area is getting hit hard. And still people won't wear masks. A door-to-door showed up here yesterday-no mask-going door to door. And stupid me went and talked to him. Time to make a sign for the door. People endangering others by not having a mask; self-centered...


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## robin416

It's pretty much the same here. I get angry when I see the county pols taking pics, standing next to each other without masks. That's a great example to set.

Our med center is substantial in size. Monday when I was there I noticed the third floor looked funny from outside. Then I realized the windows were now part of a negative pressure setup. It appears they've taken the whole medical floor and turned into a Covid ward.


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## Biring

Overmountain1 said:


> Biring, he generally starts from steel plate, and it depends on the type of steel being used, but- it could run anywhere from $50-$200-300, depending on material mostly. As it sits, maybe toward the lower end. Some decent scales on the handle would transform it to something more special of course. You know.  Again, that's just at a guess but it looks sharp as heck!  As long as it does it's job and holds an edge then it's a useful tool. And that can be invaluable!


I'd buy a knife from him if I thought it would get through Customs (it won't). I prefer carbon steel. It rusts easily but keeps its edge, but I could be talked into any decent steel. As far as scales are concerned I like cow bone (or giraffe bone, if you have it!) but t this particular design has a handle made of a cone of steel, which is why I added the rubber strip. It's also useful for starting fires, so it makes the knife doubly useful.


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## Poultry Judge

danathome said:


> Yes, he likes everyone here. Just learned that a friend's Grandmother died of Covid. Getting so I'm afraid to leave my yard or answer the door. This area is getting hit hard. And still people won't wear masks. A door-to-door showed up here yesterday-no mask-going door to door. And stupid me went and talked to him. Time to make a sign for the door. People endangering others by not having a mask; self-centered...


Agreed.


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## Overmountain1

Things are crazy indeed.

Can we come live down/over there with you Biring? You think the chickens would share the palace? 

Hope things are going smoothly as everyone adjust to the new family member [mention]Biring [/mention]! And I hope mom is healed nicely and starting to feel more back to herself. I went thru it twice, I can sympathize with her. 
Yes, nothing beats a good carbon steel blade, except maybe a stainless clad carbon. That's about it!  But that's a whole other level anyway, you know! Utility has always been our first and most important quality in anything we build. Utility then durability, versatility when potential exists, and then comes the look of a thing. For us. It usually turns out best that route.  Thanks for checking us out! If there IS anything we can help you with- and you'll know your customs department best- just give us a shout.


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## Poultry Judge

Biring said:


> I'd buy a knife from him if I thought it would get through Customs (it won't). I prefer carbon steel. It rusts easily but keeps its edge, but I could be talked into any decent steel. As far as scales are concerned I like cow bone (or giraffe bone, if you have it!) but t this particular design has a handle made of a cone of steel, which is why I added the rubber strip. It's also useful for starting fires, so it makes the knife doubly useful.


That is interesting!


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