It was last year, 2021. I was back in Bristol, England. My dad was unwell, nearing the end of his life. I went to sit on The Downs, and area of public open space of 400 acres that looks out over the Avon Gorge. Wide open spaces, woodland, trees and bushes. I was blessed to grow up around The Downs. I’m at home when I am up there. This time I went up there not to just get some air, but to take a break, to fluff the feathers after time spent indoors.
Today’s distraction.
Following yesterday’s post and reminder by @manton about Micro.blog’s read-later bookmarking service with highlighting, I went back through my bookmarks to spring clean those that I no longer wanted. There were a lot! Embarrassingly a lot. I shall be more judicious in my bookmarking going forward.
Wordle 306 5/6
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This was one of those, “well this could be one of many words, let’s just hope that I find the correct one before I run out of turns.” Fortunately I did 😮💨
…young people like me were parched for the vision that poured out of pulpits of Black America, and the vision of a Black Reverend from Atlanta, a man who refused to hate because he knew love would do a better job…
~ Bono
A couple of weeks back I had an early morning Hawaiian Airlines flight to catch to Honolulu. In flight time the journey is a hop, skip and jump. Throw in airport time and it can take just as long as any long haul flight from parking the car to getting to the gate. And this was rush hour. For the flight that I was catching, to manage the commuter traffic a slightly larger aircraft is made available than the usual interisland airplane.
Eating celery and remembering my dad. I have memories from when I was a kid of a glass full of celery sticks, dad picking out one, dipping it in salt and taking a crunchy bite out if it.
I’ve, well, dithered around this for a while but have finally decided to subscribe to John Gruber’s & Ben Thompson’s Dithering podcast. Two podcasts a week, each no more than 15 minutes. I’ll try it for a month to see if I want to stay with it.
My wife prepared these two Easter baskets before going away. They now await the arrival of our grandsons. 🐰🍭
Today’s wet weather has brought out the Aseroe rubra or Anemone Stinkhorn fungi, that I wrote about last week, in greater numbers (the red dots in the photograph).
What a fascinating story, with a perhaps unfortunate code name.
I didn’t have much luck with the quality of video uploads earlier to convey that the rain is really coming down now, and so sharing a few photos. 🌧🌧
It’s Saturday morning, pouring with rain outside, and those two fit my mood perfectly. The forecast is for a wet day, a day for hunkering down. 🌧
After seeing copious mentions of this book online, I am currently reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman 📚
Wordle 295 3/6
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Just a little bit of luck involved in this one today.
This came to me this morning as I was reflecting on motivation.
You don’t stop because you are not the best. You keep going because you are doing what you love.
Nature is an amazing thing. I’m seeing more of these fungi growing out of the mulch in our garden. Some searching online revealed that they are Aseroe rubra, more commonly known as Anemone Stinkhorn or Starfish Fungus.
They omit a foul smell that attracts flies through the black, sticky, spore bearing substance that can be seen at the base of each arm. The flies injest and trample the spores which they subsequently distribute further afield, thus spreading and helping to propagate the fungi.
Finished reading: Reconciliation by Thich Nhat Hanh 📚
I bought a paper shredder yesterday and have spent some time going through paperwork that I want to get rid of securely. I find something deeply satisfying about watching the papers being chewed up into a pile of little pieces.
The timing and professionalism of this piece of presenting. While I can’t remember this particular shot, I do remember growing up watching James Burke on British television. His skill was in making science subjects accessible to the ordinary person. I’m sure that he played no small part in my interest in science.
Then in the closing seconds of the piece he drops the quiet reminder of the potentiality of such powerful technology for, on the one hand human advancement, and on the other human destruction.