Also:

I used to use Lidl’s own brand, 69p for a big tube. But they changed the recipe to a gel, and I don’t feel it cleans as well as before. So now I’m on the lookout for an alternative too.

Revelation 9:20: “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.”

The fundies must be wetting themselves with excitement, rapture any day now!

Cat also seems to have short legs, might make squatting difficult.

Good luck getting the bank to count it for you. My bank would only accept bulk coins like this if they were counted out into separate coin bags - which they would give you. Then they can check by weight.

Always always signal your intention. I heard a woman complaining that her new car had lane control, which forced her to indicate when changing lanes. “It’s so annoying, I mean it’s obvious I’m overtaking, I don’t need to indicate!”

Also, as a frequent pedestrian I appreciate when drivers and cyclists indicate and judge heavily when they don’t. So frustrating to be waiting to cross the road and someone turns without indicating.

https://youtu.be/fI0Fa66h6Qo

They’ve chopped off most of Caithness too. Thurso has pubs AND a distillery. John o’ Groats has a distillery too, AND a brewery.

Freedom and whisky gang thegither, Tak aff your dram!

I got married in 1976 and didn’t change my name. My mother cried when I told her. “People will think your children are illegitimate!” At work I had to go to HR and explain, they acted like I had lost my mind.

Oh fantastic! My ancestors are mostly Scottish, I didn’t realise when I moved here to Scotland that I could just TAKE some land! Off to appropriate my next door neighbour’s back garden, they aren’t using it much. Next week: taking over the house my great great grandfather built. It’s by the beach!

You forgot about the Defenestration of Prague.

https://foragerchef.com/elm-samaras/

Like peas, apparently.

I went to this talk last night https://www.edinburghscience.co.uk/event/the-beauty-of-falling/ - Prof Claudia de Rham of Imperial College London spoke on the latest theories about the structure of the universe. I wish I could pass them on, but sadly my grasp was fleeting. Timey wimey stuff. Something something energetic vacuum! She has written a book: https://www.awesomebooks.com/book/9780691237480/the-beauty-of-falling

Kea are obsessed with rubber. https://youtu.be/7N_ggTVKQWE

Shout-out to the nice Indian gentleman whose YouTube video walked me through disassembling an ancient laptop so I could add a bit of RAM. I ended with a few leftover screws and a rattle, but it worked! Still chuntering away (slowly, it’s geriatric) on Linux. I was amazed to find a video of the exact model.

The Guardian does an occasional feature called Flashback, where a celebrity recreates a childhood photo. It’s a bit of fun! You have my permission to go right ahead. A sense of humour is very attractive.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/05/rob-beckett-looks-back-where-i-was-from-you-got-attention-by-being-good-at-fighting-or-football-there-were-no-class-clowns

Twenty-one bum salute.

That’s a good strategy, thanks.

My (perfectly good) PC isn’t Win 11 compatible, so I can’t upgrade from 10. I’ve got Linux running on an old laptop so I’m thinking of installing it on my PC. Buuut a few years back I moved from Google Drive to OneDrive and so now I’m looking at Proton Drive instead. It’s all a big time soak, sigh. But worth it? I guess… The timing isn’t great either - I’ve got an exam in October that I need to study hard for and do practical prep as well, plus I have travel plans. It’s all a bit much. I’m too old to be this busy!

A million seconds is 12 days. A billion seconds is 31 years. A trillion seconds is 31,688 years.