MrsDoyle

That’s so nice! I gave away a microwave, and the couple who took it brought along a little pot plant as a thank you.

I had a big heavy electric bike I used for my work commute, and once I retired it gradually morphed into a coat rack. I put it on Gumtree, a UK Craigslist equivalent, priced at £50 more than I actually wanted for it, which was well under half the price I’d paid. A full 27 SECONDS after I listed it, I had a buyer, and less than half an hour after that he was at my door. As expected, he offered £50 less than the listed price, and was delighted when I accepted. Bargain!

I noticed he’d come in a car, and wondered out loud if it had room for a big heavy bike. “No problem, it can fit loads!” As he wheeled the bike out the door, he realised just how heavy this big heavy bike was. But he forged on, managed to heave it into the car, and drove off a happy man.

Questions he didn’t ask: How old is this bike? (Seven years or so.) What’s the projected lifespan of the battery? (About another year.) How well is it holding a charge? (Not well at all.) How much is a replacement battery? (£200.)

I fully expected to hear back from him complaining about the big heavy lemon he’d just bought, but no. I guess he’s enjoying his new coat rack.

Vanuatu 🇻🇺

It’s got a boar’s tusk on it.

https://youtu.be/0Wf5nFbA_YM

My friends know not to ask me about bees. Ten-minute illustrated lecture guaranteed.

Famn, PugJesus beat me to it. I love you Pug!

I know this one!! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigil

Neil Stephenson’s “In the Beginning… Was the Command Line” (1999) touches on this. He compares Microsoft to a station wagon vs Linux as a free tank. People keep buying the station wagon because no-one wants to learn how to drive a tank, even if it’s free. (Apple is a luxury car in his analogy.)

My first computer ran on MS-DOS, and I’ve seen Windows hiding DOS deeper and deeper behind the GUI. And now AI… ugh. I’ve been tinkering with Linux on old laptops so I’m ready for the move, it’s just finding the time.

It’s true. A friend asked for help on his new laptop and after a confusing conversation I realised he was upset because the web browser had “lost” his “bookmarks”. No, those aren’t bookmarks, those are shortcuts to your most recent web pages. Looks like you don’t have any bookmarks. Let me show you how to make a bookmark…

He’s not dumb or even inexperienced with tech, he just has a different mindset.

Yeah yeah, I will get round to it, stop bloody nagging me.

The London plane tree is particularly suitable for urban areas, it’s resistant to air pollution.

I discovered when I joined a volunteer litter-picking group in my town that some people really hate trees. And I must emphasise HATE. They hate the shade they cast in summer, the way the leaves block the all-important View. They hate the fallen leaves in autumn. They hate the bare branches in winter. They hate the risk of branches falling in storms. They hate the racket the birds make. I was astonished - it never occurred to me that people would feel so strongly.

Turns out I’m a bloody tree-hugging extremist.

Bluey! It’s a kiddie cartoon about a dog family. If I’ve read or watched anything too heavy I’ll watch a couple of Bluey eps to chill before sleep.

https://youtu.be/kPFHL0R0oIU

In the UK a fascist movement took off at the same time as Nazism. It failed because their bullying tactics didn’t wash with Brits, especially with what was going on in Germany. They were seen as the thugs they were, basically. Antifascists halted an attempted parade through the largely Jewish east end of London, “the Battle of Cable Street”. After that the govt banned paramilitary uniforms etc. Once the war started of course that was it - the party was proscribed and most fascists were interned for the duration.

Meanwhile… https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American_Bund

A fair old chunk of the crowd were in bright red frocks and silly hats.

A scientist. It’s never going to happen because I’m 72. At school I was pushed into languages, history etc because I wasn’t good at maths. I was good at general science though, especially chemistry, and I enjoyed it.

After I retired I took up beekeeping and have lately rediscovered my love of science. I have two microscopes and am studying bee anatomy and pollen identification. There’s an exam later in the year for a certificate that will open further areas of study, but I doubt my skills are up to the challenge (eg dissecting a bee in front of the examiner). However, I am really enjoying the whole process of making slides and examining them. I would have loved doing this as a job.

The bees. All our hives made it through winter and a fairly mild spring so far has given them a boost. Queens are laying like crazy, workers are working hard.

I’ve started wearing very thin gloves while inspecting the hives after realising that they make it less likely I’ll be stung, because I can be gentler. A bonus is that I can feel the warmth of the bees, and that really does bring me joy.

I’ve been reading up on the front-runners for Pope and some of them are super old school illiberal. Though the fellow from Ghana does apparently concede that the laws on homosexuality in some African countries are a bit harsh.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/21/who-next-pope-francis-potential-candidates-succeed

Meanwhile no-one mentioned Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited Earth 48 times on her own back in 1963. Sigh.

https://youtu.be/fI0Fa66h6Qo