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Monday, May 26th, 2025 05:53 pm
So no vet trip, I guess!
Friday, May 23rd, 2025 08:45 pm
The Church is early 14th century.
Rood screens are rare survivals and many are 19th century copies, but this one is original:
( See more: )
Rood screens are rare survivals and many are 19th century copies, but this one is original:
( See more: )
Friday, May 23rd, 2025 07:12 pm
My dearios will have heard me whinge about the massive point thahr misst of so much spam I get offering deals and collaborations with my entirely non-profit and very niche personal website -
- and that sometimes one can see that they've picked up on a word or even a phrase but have totally missed CONTEXT quite apart from the fact that I am Not In Trade, perish the thort, not to mention that they tend to miss what one might consider obvious links.
But, lo, I am boggling like a boggling thing over this:
[A] vertically integrated manufacturer based in China with over 14 years of experience specializing in high-efficiency equestrian gear and innovative pet products.
Our 22,000m² facility provides in-house manufacturing of a wide range of products including saddle pads, horse rugs, fly masks, halters, pet beds, leashes, harnesses, and other items. We are pleased to offer top-tier European and American brands known for their superior quality, cost-effectiveness, and prompt delivery.
I don't think I've even got anything on the site relating to e.g. 'pretty horsebreakers' in Victorian England or, indeed, wot abaht bestiality. Or I have a vague recollection that the annals of Victsmut here and there include ponyplay but I don't actually Go There.
I am boggled but in a different way by the spam from a mirror factory in Hangzhou city which informs me that ' it only takes more than ten minutes to drive from our company. I can show you our factory at any time and give you quick feedback to inform you of the production progress.' Pretty sure it does only take more than 10 mins....
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Friday, May 23rd, 2025 07:54 am
Gluten-Free Flour Power - Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table, by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot: A gorgeous cookbook with lots of color photos and not one, not two, but THREE custom flour mixes. One is like an all-purpose flour and is mostly starch (cornstarch, tapioca starch, white rice flour, brown rice flour, nonfat milk powder, potato flour, xanthan gum), one is closer to a whole wheat flour (arrowroot, sorghum flour, white rice flour [or millet], brown rice flour [or sorghum], potato flour, milk powder, guar gum), and one is a low-allergy blend (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, arrowroot, sorghum flour, potato flour, golden flaxseed meal). And now that I type that out, they're all pretty starchy, as it's the first ingredient in every mix. They're going to give different results, but the authors claim you can use any of the three flour mixes in the recipes.
The recipes have measurements in volume and weight (grams). They're sweet and savory and cover the basic to the very fancy. I mean, the authors pulled out a loaf pan with dimensions I'd never seen before in my life. They also think you have the time, resources, and energy to cold-smoke masa harina. Don't ask.
The font choices are kind of annoying, but it has a useful index, and if I hadn't already hitched my gluten-free wagon to America's Test Kitchen's custom flour mix, I might have given this a try.
This review appeared on my journal in a slightly different form.
The recipes have measurements in volume and weight (grams). They're sweet and savory and cover the basic to the very fancy. I mean, the authors pulled out a loaf pan with dimensions I'd never seen before in my life. They also think you have the time, resources, and energy to cold-smoke masa harina. Don't ask.
The font choices are kind of annoying, but it has a useful index, and if I hadn't already hitched my gluten-free wagon to America's Test Kitchen's custom flour mix, I might have given this a try.
This review appeared on my journal in a slightly different form.
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Friday, May 23rd, 2025 07:24 am
I "upgraded" MacOS last night to Sequoia 15.5. They've "fixed" Safari like the proverbial cat.
My reading page on DreamWidth displays as a solid screen of light blue, roughly the same as my desktop background. It did briefly show me a screen or two of text - not the whole page - when I refreshed it, but new refresh attempts do nothing.
I was informed last night by Safari that there was a way to get rid of annoying features on web pages. It was identified by an icon, which I couldn't find anywhere else on the Safari screen, and whatever text it was labelled didn't seem to be in any of the menus either, though I didn't make a thorough search.
I now can't remember either the name or the icon, and would never have known how to get back a randomly appearing tip once I'd closed it.
FWIW, My reading page loaded properly in Safari after the post-upgrade reboot. (It was one of my many open tabs when I started the upgrade.) It only broke when I tried to access new messages.
I'm posting this message using firefox.
The improved version of Safari reports itself as version 18.5 (20621.2.5.11.8)
I'd previously been running last year's .5 version of MacOS. Probably 14.5 (The .5 versions tend to be the most stable, or at least did so when I worked at Apple, and the most hated of the year's misfeatures are likely to have been backed out, repaired, or made optional by the time the .5 release comes out.)
I don't know yet whether I'm on the latest Safari or not. I'll do the usual checks one does when one's software craps out once I'm a bit more awake. Meanwhile CrApple is welcome to do anatomically impossible acts with itself, also involving a splintery telephone pole or perhaps an already-deceased cactus.
At a guess, it's a version mismatch or similar, or failure under load - too many tabs for this MacMini to sustain on top of the latest dose of bloat. But it might be CrApple acting to disimprove the user experience of software that doesn't come from its paying partners. After all, using DreamWidth interferes with FaceBook's monopoly.
[Edit: it gets better. I was able to convince my reading page to load in a new Safari window, but the existing blue window is still blue, even on refresh. Same URL.
Also noted - a new icon on the right side of the title bar, which when left clicked reloads the page, and when right clicked gives a choice of reloading the page with or without content blockers. No tool tip of course; the only way to find out the purpose is to right click - or left click and successfully guess that the resulting behaviour constitutes a refresh.
Of course this icon may have been there for 3 releases - I don't tend to notice random curliques embedded in e.g. text input fields, assuming unconsciously that they are merely neo-baroque artwork.
[Edit 2: another website that had been in a tab at reboot showed as a completely blank page, without me attempting to refresh it. Attempting to refresh that tab didn't fix it. Copy-pasting the URL into a new Safari window got me the page contents in the new window, but the messed up one is a lost cause. Clearly users should be discouraged from having too many tabs at reboot - or perhaps from using the (default) feature to reopen existing tabs at Safari restart.]
My reading page on DreamWidth displays as a solid screen of light blue, roughly the same as my desktop background. It did briefly show me a screen or two of text - not the whole page - when I refreshed it, but new refresh attempts do nothing.
I was informed last night by Safari that there was a way to get rid of annoying features on web pages. It was identified by an icon, which I couldn't find anywhere else on the Safari screen, and whatever text it was labelled didn't seem to be in any of the menus either, though I didn't make a thorough search.
I now can't remember either the name or the icon, and would never have known how to get back a randomly appearing tip once I'd closed it.
FWIW, My reading page loaded properly in Safari after the post-upgrade reboot. (It was one of my many open tabs when I started the upgrade.) It only broke when I tried to access new messages.
I'm posting this message using firefox.
The improved version of Safari reports itself as version 18.5 (20621.2.5.11.8)
I'd previously been running last year's .5 version of MacOS. Probably 14.5 (The .5 versions tend to be the most stable, or at least did so when I worked at Apple, and the most hated of the year's misfeatures are likely to have been backed out, repaired, or made optional by the time the .5 release comes out.)
I don't know yet whether I'm on the latest Safari or not. I'll do the usual checks one does when one's software craps out once I'm a bit more awake. Meanwhile CrApple is welcome to do anatomically impossible acts with itself, also involving a splintery telephone pole or perhaps an already-deceased cactus.
At a guess, it's a version mismatch or similar, or failure under load - too many tabs for this MacMini to sustain on top of the latest dose of bloat. But it might be CrApple acting to disimprove the user experience of software that doesn't come from its paying partners. After all, using DreamWidth interferes with FaceBook's monopoly.
[Edit: it gets better. I was able to convince my reading page to load in a new Safari window, but the existing blue window is still blue, even on refresh. Same URL.
Also noted - a new icon on the right side of the title bar, which when left clicked reloads the page, and when right clicked gives a choice of reloading the page with or without content blockers. No tool tip of course; the only way to find out the purpose is to right click - or left click and successfully guess that the resulting behaviour constitutes a refresh.
Of course this icon may have been there for 3 releases - I don't tend to notice random curliques embedded in e.g. text input fields, assuming unconsciously that they are merely neo-baroque artwork.
[Edit 2: another website that had been in a tab at reboot showed as a completely blank page, without me attempting to refresh it. Attempting to refresh that tab didn't fix it. Copy-pasting the URL into a new Safari window got me the page contents in the new window, but the messed up one is a lost cause. Clearly users should be discouraged from having too many tabs at reboot - or perhaps from using the (default) feature to reopen existing tabs at Safari restart.]
Friday, May 23rd, 2025 06:56 am
Today is the beginning both of the graduation "stuff" and packing up Mason in earnest.
Tonight is some kind of champaign mixer for parents and.... Wesleyan grads? professors? It's somewhat unclear. Shawn and I are bringing along somewhat fancy dress so that we can look exactly like the scholarship parents we are. And by "bringing along" I mean that we are stuffing our somewhat fancy clothes into a backpack and bringing it along to our real job for thae day: Packing.
Mason has sent a few things home via FedEx early.Things he was not likely to miss, like his winter clothes. Now we triage what we can pack up and send back via some mail service (now that we will have a car, likely USPS, since it should be cheaper) and what absolutely has to come back in the car with us Like most college students, Mason started out with almost nothing and now has an apartment full of things. Wish us luck.
Tonight is some kind of champaign mixer for parents and.... Wesleyan grads? professors? It's somewhat unclear. Shawn and I are bringing along somewhat fancy dress so that we can look exactly like the scholarship parents we are. And by "bringing along" I mean that we are stuffing our somewhat fancy clothes into a backpack and bringing it along to our real job for thae day: Packing.
Mason has sent a few things home via FedEx early.Things he was not likely to miss, like his winter clothes. Now we triage what we can pack up and send back via some mail service (now that we will have a car, likely USPS, since it should be cheaper) and what absolutely has to come back in the car with us Like most college students, Mason started out with almost nothing and now has an apartment full of things. Wish us luck.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 09:10 pm
I finished today's watering and found the dog had gone back inside. Then Monty emerged from under the overgrown tree and sat there looking at me. So I fed him.
Earlier—well before lunch but later than it should have been—the dog took me on an epic walkies. I had to turn back towards home, via the near section of the park, and then when we reached our driveway she walked right past it and was headed for a whole second walkies. I think she'd had a bit too much sun, so I did bring her back into the house.
Earlier—well before lunch but later than it should have been—the dog took me on an epic walkies. I had to turn back towards home, via the near section of the park, and then when we reached our driveway she walked right past it and was headed for a whole second walkies. I think she'd had a bit too much sun, so I did bring her back into the house.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 11:00 pm
This morning comes an order from the Secretary of State, Nicholas, for me to let one Mr. Lee, a Councellor, to view what papers I have relating to passages of the late times, wherein Sir H. Vane’s hand is employed, in order to the drawing up his charge; which I did, and at noon he, with Sir W. Pen and his daughter, dined with me, and he to his work again, and we by coach to the Theatre and saw “Love in a Maze.” The play hath little in it but Lacy’s part of a country fellow, which he did to admiration. So home, and supped with Sir W. Pen, where Sir W. Batten and Captn. Cocke came to us, to whom I have lately been a great stranger. This night we had each of us a letter from Captain Teddiman from the Streights, of a peace made upon good terms, by Sir J. Lawson, with the Argier men, which is most excellent news. He hath also sent each of us some anchovies, olives, and muscatt; but I know not yet what that is, and am ashamed to ask.
After supper home, and to bed, resolving to make up this week in seeing plays and pleasure, and so fall to business next week again for a great while.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 06:32 pm
The comments rapidly go off the rails, but there are three links there to go through.
There's more linkage here.
I genuinely do not have the energy to read all of this. I will be sending out an email to my senators, I guess.
There's more linkage here.
I genuinely do not have the energy to read all of this. I will be sending out an email to my senators, I guess.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 04:55 pm
Image: whaling ship in the grey, cold rain
Shawn and I have made this trip to Connecticut (and back again) five times. Once to move Mason in, and then four times now to move him out. We have never, ever been able to see anything more off the coast of Connecticut than mist. I was pretty sure that the whole fog-of-nothingness/evil was supposed to be a Stephen King thing for Maine, not Connecticut, but here we are, our fifth trip, and there is clearly NO OCEAN OFF THE COAST. It is all greyness and LIES.
But, we managed a fun sight seeing trip anyway.
We went to Mystic, CT, bringing along with us both Mason and his partner Jas.
Mason, our grad, (left) and Jas (right) at the Black Sheep in Nantic, CT.
The Seaport Museum was probably an interesting choice given the foul weather, and, honestly, I would have hoped that pouring rain would mean that we'd have the place to ourselves. No, every school group in the history of school groups were all there, making trying to get into the litttle faux village shops somewhat of a crapshoot. It was a lovely little space, though. Mason and I explored the whaling ship and I got inspired to do a better job explaining how cramped berths on sailing ships (in my case space ships) can be.
I'm going to say, however, that my favorite thing was seeing a family of geese and their three little goslings.
And getting to see Mason hanging out with the person he calls "love."
We did not get any packing done today, but the four of us got very moist and a little cross, so it's back to the AirBnB for us. Clothes are in the dryer and my wet toeies are tucked under the covers. We are giving up for the day, with only dinner out for plans. I wish we'd had better weather, but we had excellent company and that's what it's all about.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 10:36 am
Quite a few decades ago, when I was a child or a very young adult, still living in Canada though possibly attending university in the US, there was a major news and political event known as "the repatriation of the (Canadian) constitution". I was not involved in politics, or an active student of the history and constitutional questions involved; I was merely a random resident of Quebec, from a family with mostly British ancestry, who spoke English at home.
I'm intentionally not looking up the details as I write this, because the initial point I want to make involves what it looked like to J. Random, not what it looked like to the well informed. It's been a "hot" political issue for me ever since, as it had major effects on both my attitude and my future life choices; this has only been somewhat mitigated by recent examination of the actual history. I'm hoping "what it looked like to me" might cast some light on non-specialist perception of current and recent political issues, still too hot for most people to discuss - or even think about - objectively or even calmly.
There first thing to know is that I had no clue why the constitution was being repatriated, or even what the term "repatriation" was intended to mean. The whole thing was being presented as a good thing (TM), so I was clear that the political classes wanted it. (Later review suggests this was spin, not reality.) As I (mis)understood it, the idea was that Canada would take control of its own constitution, previously controlled by the United Kingdom and its parliament. This was good and necessary ... but why? Ah, nationalism. "We" wanted to control "our" own destiny, and were taking that control.
( Read more... )
I'm intentionally not looking up the details as I write this, because the initial point I want to make involves what it looked like to J. Random, not what it looked like to the well informed. It's been a "hot" political issue for me ever since, as it had major effects on both my attitude and my future life choices; this has only been somewhat mitigated by recent examination of the actual history. I'm hoping "what it looked like to me" might cast some light on non-specialist perception of current and recent political issues, still too hot for most people to discuss - or even think about - objectively or even calmly.
There first thing to know is that I had no clue why the constitution was being repatriated, or even what the term "repatriation" was intended to mean. The whole thing was being presented as a good thing (TM), so I was clear that the political classes wanted it. (Later review suggests this was spin, not reality.) As I (mis)understood it, the idea was that Canada would take control of its own constitution, previously controlled by the United Kingdom and its parliament. This was good and necessary ... but why? Ah, nationalism. "We" wanted to control "our" own destiny, and were taking that control.
( Read more... )
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 02:59 pm
I initially saw this because somebody on Facebook posted the video: Boyfriend proposed during the marathon she trained 6 months for, and in the list of Inappropriate Times and Places to Propose, while she is actually running a marathon is very near the top, right? it's bad enough for bloke to be waiting with ring and maybe flowers at the finish line (for many observers, marathon proposals are about men stealing the spotlight).
Run, girl, run.
***
To revert to that discussion about The Right Sort of Jawline and Breathing Properly the other day, TIL that mouth taping is (still) A Thing, and Canadian researchers say there’s no evidence that mouth taping has any health benefits and warn that it could actually be harmful for people with sleep apnea.
***
Since I see this is dated 2020, I may have posted it before: but hey, let's hear it for C18th women scholars of Anglo-Saxon Elizabeth Elstob, Old English scholar, and the Harleian Library. I think I want to know more about her years in the household of Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (1715–1785), duchess of Portland, who I know better through her connection with Mrs Delany of the botanically accurate embroidery and collages of flowers.
***
I like this report on the 'Discovery of Original Magna Carta' because it's actually attentive to the amount of actual work that goes into 'discovering', from the first, 'aha! that looks like it might be' to the final confirmation.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 06:49 am
Art table today. When I get done with the latest LIVE book (art-a-day) I'm working in now I'm going to do something new and start to use a commercial coil bound book next. The handmade books I've been using get very out of shape as you can see by the one I'm working on now on top of the pile in the center. I can get 30 sheet 140 lb watercolor paper books for cheap so I think those will be my next books to work in. Maybe not as "cool" as a handmade book but more suited to watercolors and acrylics. I tried out a page in one last night. I say I'm tired of art-a-day (with its rule of having to do SOMEthing everyday, no matter how simple or dumb) but really I like it. It feels like a daily accomplishment that I wouldn't have otherwise. It fulfills something. An expression of my day. I don't want to stop. Thinking about this stuff energizes me.
Breakfast this morning: plain Greek yogurt, honey almond granola, dried cranberries, walnuts. Another breakfast I like is a hard boiled egg with a handful of lime corn chips. Or I make steel cut oatmeal for us and have mine with brown sugar, a little butter and almond milk. Sometimes we'll have French toast with butter and real maple syrup. I think we'll be having that a lot when the younger chickens start laying in July. Something is wrong with Blondie - her last 3 eggs had no hard shell, just a rubbery bag around them. Hopefully it's just a calcium deficiency - I gave them a big handful of oyster shells yesterday in addition to the usual ground up eggshells that I always have available for them to peck at.
Art group today. I got a game yesterday called Shut The Box that I'm bringing and hope that we can play it.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 08:26 am
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 08:22 am
( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )
Monday, May 26th, 2025 12:53 am
but Paramount Plus won't cooperate at all. So I finally convinced E to watch some Prodigy with me!
Man, I really love that theme song. Also, I'm gonna just say, maybe it's because it's aimed at a younger audience but this show does the best technobabble - just enough to explain, not enough to confuse or bore.
**********
( Read more... )
Man, I really love that theme song. Also, I'm gonna just say, maybe it's because it's aimed at a younger audience but this show does the best technobabble - just enough to explain, not enough to confuse or bore.
( Read more... )
Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 09:20 pm
It's feeling summery, and the oleander is starting to flower. The first gladiolus has made it into bloom. I looked for Monty in the evening after not seeing him at breakfast today, just Prudence—then I realised that those were his feet waving in the air on the roof of the neighbour's shed. Apparently having a good roll and scratch. So I put out food.
Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 11:00 pm
My wife and I by water to Westminster, and after she had seen her father (of whom lately I have heard nothing at all what he does or her mother), she comes to me to my Lord’s lodgings, where she and I staid walking in White Hall garden. And in the Privy-garden saw the finest smocks and linnen petticoats of my Lady Castlemaine’s, laced with rich lace at the bottom, that ever I saw; and did me good to look upon them. So to Wilkinson’s, she and I and Sarah to dinner, where I had a good quarter of lamb and a salat. Here Sarah told me how the King dined at my Lady Castlemaine’s, and supped, every day and night the last week; and that the night that the bonfires were made for joy of the Queen’s arrivall, the King was there; but there was no fire at her door, though at all the rest of the doors almost in the street; which was much observed: and that the King and she did send for a pair of scales and weighed one another; and she, being with child, was said to be heaviest. But she is now a most disconsolate creature, and comes not out of doors, since the King’s going.
But we went to the Theatre to “The French Dancing Master,” and there with much pleasure gazed upon her (Lady Castlemaine); but it troubles us to see her look dejectedly and slighted by people already. The play pleased us very well; but Lacy’s part, the Dancing Master, the best in the world.
Thence to my brother Tom’s, in expectation to have met my father to-night come out of the country, but he is not yet come, but here we found my uncle Fenner and his old wife, whom I had not seen since the wedding dinner, nor care to see her. They being gone, my wife and I went and saw Mrs. Turner, whom we found not well, and her two boys Charles and Will come out of the country, grown very plain boys after three years being under their father’s care in Yorkshire. Thence to Tom’s again, and there supped well, my she cozen Scott being there and my father being not come, we walked home and to bed.