Oyster Catchers at Ross Priory flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
I aim to improve my Chinese reading through regular practice. This video represents a point on that journey. Text: Friend’s Tea - Chapter 5 (小绿不高兴) Source: Du Chinese Level: Elementary
Sent out a new issue of my newsletter
The Quicktake 100 and 150 have the same layout on that level. Problem with this Quicktake 150 was that it didn’t respond to the computer. It sent its Hello when DTR went down, but then did not reply to the first computer init message. I supposed it meant its RX pin was somehow disconnected. This was true. The Quicktake is an assembly of multiple PCBs (at least 5), connecting to each other via flat flexible cables, ribbon cables, bare wires, and PCB-to-PCB connectors, either angled or stacked.…
I got to go back for the usual comics jam for a pride-themed potluck! I brought along a friend that I haven't gotten to spend time with for a long while, which was incredibly nice. We talked a lot about what's been going on in our lives, and how we're coping with the realities of being chronically ill in more ways than one. I'm happy to see he's doing well despite both our difficulties. (he's an artist like me, you can find his portfolio here! Anyway, one of the things I did was finish an…
Expiation by Elizabeth Von Arnim published 1929 There is one book by this author that I really love: Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther. Others – not so much; My notes on one of them read: Dreadful. Absolutely awful. Two horrible girls. Dire. I didn’t like Enchanted April, or her Garden. I do like the fact that her books are numerous and very varied: Vera (1921) was an unexpected, compelling read, a very accomplished & not at all cheerful picture of a marriage, supposedly descriptive of her own…
It is the Summer Solstice apparently so it feels like a good time to reflect on the first half of my 2026. — TL;DR It has been a bit on the bleak side. — The Good It hasn’t all been bad. I started the year very excited to be back as a ‘real’ Civil Servant at GDS and to be working on a big, high profile data initiative. The team is lovely. Talented, committed, determined and just cynical enough for me to fit in with. It has also been nice to spend some time in the offices in Bristol, Manchester…
Some goats, just goating around, watching me mow the field. Thanks for reading this post via RSS. RSS is ace, and so are you. ❤️ You can reply to this post by email, or leave a comment.
A dull cloudy day with rain at times. Washed B2 and K cars. Brushed the drive up. New joiner started here today. Pumped tyres up on the moped.
That was just OK. Perfect cast and amazing location, the finale and plot twist were a bit foreseeable, I guess. Anyway, I liked it! Rating: 👌Hey, thanks for reading my blog via the RSS feed! Feel welcome to get in touch!
I wanted to read something about aliens and possibly a bit trashy… Maybe I found it? 👀 *Still in progress* 🏃Hey, thanks for reading my blog via the RSS feed! Feel welcome to get in touch!
Three episodes in, and the rhythm is already oscillating. I am a big fan of the Part II videogame, I can see it must have been hard to put some connections between characters on screen. We’ll see how it goes. *Still in progress* 🏃Hey, thanks for reading my blog via the RSS feed! Feel welcome to get in touch!
It’s not long until the solar sharer offer comes into force in many states across Australia, so while I am a little miffed by the fact that none of the retailers seem to be openly publishing their pricing ahead-of-time, perhaps fearful of a mass exodus, I’m still working towards being ready-to-go from day one. Part of that is the automation of loads. If you’re using power stations to gather energy during the free period, you might have noticed that the majority of units don’t have any…
I’ve been doing the Weekly Challenges. The latest involved . (Note that this ends today.)
A reader messaged me last week with a question about a topic that has been in my backlog for a few months now, AI and the physical world. The request was the following “Can you elaborate on the rate of adoption of AI for the physical world? We see [it] operating almost entirely in the digital realm. The Tesla FSD vehicles are examples of AI moving in the physical world. We are also beginning to see other machines such as humanoid robots move through space by interpreting the visual field. But…
Emma Warren's 'Up the Youth Club: illuminating a hidden history' is an enthusiastic account of 150 years of recreational provision for young people. This has taken many forms, but she identifies a number of common themes:'A central quality connects all the spaces in this book, whether they're attended by five young people or five hundred, in a shed or a purpose-built centre. A youth club, as far as I'm concerned, is a broadly warm and welcoming space where those who are in their second decade…
Hidden in the forests of north-western Ukraine lies a place that seems less like a real location and more like a setting from a fairy tale. Near the small town of Klevan, in Rivne Oblast, a leafy green corridor stretches into the distance, its walls and ceiling formed entirely by living trees. It is known simply as the Tunnel of Love - "Тунель кохання" (Tunel Kokhannia). Ask anyone in Kievan for The Green Mile Tunnel as it is sometimes referred to on the internet, and they will look at you…
Snip and Snap, D. C. Thomson's original duo of postman-pillorying dogs, enjoyed a stint in the Sparky for just shy of two years, from October 1972 to August 1974.As you may have immediately guessed from other posts I've done on this subject recently, for a brief spell beginning in the summer of 1999, the twosome were dusted off, colourised and reprinted in the Dandy as the Red Hot Chilli Dogs:
Pride Edinburgh 2026 🌈
Good day all, Finished an 8th army 25 pounder artillery piece this afternoon. Fun to paint and I like artillery pieces because they end up being little mini dioramas. This bad boy could fire up to 12.25km’s at a rate of 6-8 rounds a minute. This gun was particularly useful in the North African campaign during ww2 because of the open plains and minimal obstructions. It wasn’t designed to be an anti-tank gun but could fire armour piercing rounds nice and straight right into the Germans tanks. At…
At this point in history, 1952 A.D., our lives and freedom depend largely upon the skill and imagination and courage of our managers and engineers, and I hope that God will help them to help us all stay alive and free. – Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano (1952), forward.
Apple released Swift 6.4 during WWDC 2026, introducing a range of convenience improvements for both the general Swift language and the Concurrency APIs. While Swift is open-source, many of the changes might still have surprised you. At the same time, WWDC sessions do not cover all the new changes (if you have even had a … → The post Swift 6.4: What’s New in Concurrency appeared first on SwiftLee.
It's Father's Day! That day when we salute all of the wonderful dads out there. In spite of the zillions of photo prints that we have, I'm running out of examples of just me and my Dad. But I found a good one! It is a (damaged) photo of him holding Baby Pepperidge, telling me that he hopes that I will grow up to be a famous and respected blogger. Well, I'm a blogger, at least!It's also the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER! Sue B. sent this cute picture of an adorable girl who has just landed a monstrous…
The Hangover (2009)
As the longest day of the year approaches, it’s time to present another seasonal Top 10. The loose theme for this summer’s list — no doubt a response to the invidious headlines thrust upon us every day — is ‘perfumes that are good for the soul’. Here’s a link to the video, followed by a […] The post Top 10 Perfumes For Summer 2026 – Scents That Are Good For The Soul appeared first on .
Yesterday was pure magic. A wonderful day out at the Buxton exhibition where I met Michael (of Chandwell) in person after virtual conversation surrounding his contribution to the last Ribbons. We enjoyed looking at models for a few hours before escaping to the pub and having some energetic conversation…Sprinters rest at Buxton. What an end to my journey, my favourite unit, windows open, charging uphill to the spa town terminus. Magic!It’s the sort of day that goes beyond restorative benefits, I…
One week at number one on 14th November 1987On a scorching summer day in the mid nineties, I was sat in the park with an ex-goth, swigging from a cheap bottle of wine, testily asking him about the old days. I was merely curious and didn’t intend this to be a form of psychological torture, but I watched his cheeks get steadily pinker in tone as he stammered his way through the ‘old lifestyle’. I began to feel unnecessarily like a BBC documentary filmmaker interviewing a departed member of a…
Sunrise of the first day of summer on the Marmolada highest peak I wanted to write a bit earlier today; I’ve had so much time that it feels like I’ve already burned through half the day. I’ve been awake since just before 5 am, the fate of those who sleep in a tent. Luckily, I had a bandana that kept me from waking up too abruptly. The night wasn’t exactly comfortable, though I think I managed to get at least six hours of sleep, somewhat interrupted by constantly tossing and turning on the…
