Headline of the Day.

Bahni Turpin is one of my favourite audiobook narrators (have a couple of her Nalo Hopkinson). So great.

This isn't too bad other than there being a lot of it. My least favourite is where it goes through the middle of squares a lot.

Cross stitch of brightly-coloured baubles in a box, with one bauble roughly outlined, like a sketch, in black and white threads.

I don't enjoy backstitch (does anyone?) but I accept that it really adds to a piece. This is just one corner (1 of 9 pages) and it looks so much more artistic and interesting, and better defined.

Large cross stitch of brightly-coloured baubles nestling in a cardboard box.

The cross stitch part of this project is done! There is lots of backstitch to do which will make it really pop. The colours are so gorgeous.

I know everyone is complaining about not being able to get a GP appt, but I suggest if you get one, don't sit somewhere where you can't see the drs calling names with your earbuds in so you can't hear them calling names, then complain 15mins after your appt that you haven't been seen yet 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

PETERBOROUGH STANDARD - Friday, April 18th, 1980 The memories live on CROWLAND'S Silver Jubilee committee was finally wound up on Thursday evening with a presentation ceremony at the library.. The Jubilee fund, described by chairman Frank Parnell as 'one of the finest efforts in Lincolnshire', fremony at the library. The Jubilee fund,. described by chairman Frank Parnet s 'one remony atremony are sony at the library. The jubremony at the library. Tremony at remony at the library. Thrremony at tremony at the liremony at the libraremony at the library. Theremony at the library. The Jubilee fund, described by chairman, Frank Premony rremony at the remony aremony at the libremony atremony at tremony at the library. Tremorremony at the library.remony at the library. The Jubilee fund, described by chairman Frank Parnell as 'one of the finest efforts in Lincolnshire', fn he latched onto a through ball. Although be was hauled down by the keeper he still managed to stroke the ball home. But for the second week running Durant had to leave the field injured, this time suffering eye trouble. The winning goal was another 25-yard shot - again from Blackstones' central defender - coming from their second chance of the game. Gary Cooper, recently signed from Old Boys, had a good debut.

Well, happy thrremony at tremony at the liremony at the libraremony at the library day to all who celebrate

I saw an article today funded by the "Alliance for Potato Research and Education". They didn't specify how they would be educating the potatoes.

Really? Is it not like eating a horrible furry thing?

I learned recently that there are some people out there eating the skins of kiwi fruits. Surely everything about kiwi fruit skins screams "do not eat me you will not have a good time"? I realise we all need to eat more fibre but surely there are less... hairy, ways of doing that.

Yep, 12/15 for me too. Very hard!

The faces I have been making listening to this have been a joy to all encountering me in the wild.

bluesky is actually paying homage to an ancient internet tradition known as "signing off." it is a lost art, but people would "disconnect" and maybe return to the family computer after finishing dinner and homework

Somehow I thought it would be a "fun" challenge to learn it completely by heart and do it without notes. Thanks, past self.

I have to give a wedding speech next week, and currently have it input into my line learning app. Might be taking this a bit seriously (or possibly not seriously enough?)

That's kind, but I'm afraid I'm very hard to please when it comes to choirs.

After at least 5yrs of meaning to (maybe more like 10!) I finally tried out the Cathedral Singers (vacation only ad hoc choir doing services for Christ Church Cathedral) and it was delightful. Have to audition but hopefully will get to do it more.

something that wrinkles my brain every time I remember it is the fact that total eclipses are only possible on earth because the moon and sun appear to be the same size in our sky, due to the insanely, astronomically unlikely fluke that the moon is 400x smaller than the sun but 400x closer to us.

Abby's favourite garden toy is "any piece of bark she can find on the lawn".

Having one of those "brain feels like a box of broken glass being shaken around" days. Was very nearly hit (while cycling) by a cyclist trying to overtake a car down a hill while they both went round parked cars, WHYYYY.

they really said "they should have sent a poet"

This is good on Bluesky user growth but really wrong on Bluesky viability. “Bluesky costs a lot of money to run” and “its user base is just too small to monetise” are both mistaken. Bluesky is run for tuppence ha’penny and its userbase is basically your ideal demographic for subscriptions. 🧵

Book cover. The background is divided in two, the bottom half is a reflected city skyline at night with origami boats floating in the water. One has a man standing in it. The top half is mostly clouds and a huge moon but with a few older, more traditional Japanese buildings with little lights silhouetted. The title Water Moon is written vertically down the middle. The author's name Samantha Sotto Yambao is written vertically down the left hand side.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. Sweet fantasy with Japanese folklore influence. I enjoyed it more than I expected, but it's pretty light and reads like fantasy for non-fantasy readers. The characters didn't grip me at all. Reminded me of The Night Circus.

The Book of Lost Tales I by J.R.R. Tolkien. A very yellow sunrise shows a cliff face with two black dragon statues. In the bottom corner is a blue globe or planet.

The Book of Lost Tales I by Tolkien. An absolute slog, only really for completionists. Basically a collection of early versions of some stories that are in the Silmarillion. Commentary from Christopher Tolkien is very dry.

1980s-style pulp paperback cover. Big orange writing of The Hero and the Crown. Image is a huge ugly black dragon breathing fire directly onto a white horse and a small person with a sword.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley - part of a v hit and miss Humble Bundle. Classic epic fantasy and magic and dragon fighting but a good female lead and lots of lovely stuff about horses.

Book cover of Learning to Think by Tracy King. In the middle is an old photo, maybe 1980s, of a small girl on a large sofa grinning at the camera.

Learning to Think by Tracy King. I actually read this by accident thinking it was a different book, but it was very good. Memoir about poverty, school phobia, religion, dealing with the violent death of a parent. Well read by the author as well.

I saw a production of Romeo & Juliet at the Globe and it used Max Richter's On the Nature of Daylight and I sobbed. I tried to trace it but had nothing to go on but I never forgot it. Years later I did sound for my theatre group and the director picked it for a scene and I finally learned its name!

Sounds like something I'd say!

It's not showing up for me on Amazon HBO app, sadly.

This is excellent. Ties in well with "AI can replace junior coders, but then how will we get senior coders?"