Eliane Wigzell

@mauricejcasey.com just finished listening to Hotel Lux. Wonderful. Thank you.

What Is Colonial Williamsburg For? Telling the full story of the town’s past is an easy way to make a lot of people mad.

Thirty-one years ago, there was a slave auction reenacted at Colonial Williamsburg.

Some thought it powerful, many thought it insulting.

This summer, I traveled to Williamsburg myself to see how the country’s largest living history museum today tells the story of Black life at America’s founding.

Not Elaine will be my epitaph. Only country where it’s a problem is the UK but unfortunately that’s where I’ve lived most of my life. I don’t say it the correct way because it sounds pretentious and ridiculous with my last name - which is English but also weird.

A map, a myth and a pre-Incan lagoon: the man who brought water back to a drought-ridden town When historian Galo Ramón uncovered a long-forgotten pre-Incan water system in Ecuador, he set about restoring it, and helped transform the landscape and livelihoods

Brighten your day. Historian rediscovers a pre-Incan method of water storage, gets money to restore the existing structures, and the town he grew up in now has access to water 10 hours a day, up from 1/2 hour per day. The details are v. cool.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

A Feather on the Breath of God: Songs of Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard von Bingen · Album · 1985 · 8 songs

Try this.

open.spotify.com/album/5o5TCl...

Bleak House - reread after over 30 years. Even better than I remembered.

Every six months. Which is what it was set to as default. We live in rural area with low levels of pollution.

We need to get the That’s devolved account to move to Bluesky…

This is England’s scheme? So not UK as a whole?

Given that might be reasonable. I’m on a hill in Wales so cold but not Switzerland! Did wonder what the spike was. Our installers recommend keeping Ashp slow and steady.

But think I’d look first in your case at improving ASHP efficiency?

Have found running it in simplest way possible works best - constant thermostat setting, and flow temp for radiators of 40 deg. Am on Octopus agile but also have battery which works intelligently to shift demand. Suspect with just ASHP/solar that Octopus Cosy would reduce bills.

I compared this to ours - large all electric house airtight/well insulated/ASHP to radiators. We have thermostat at 20.5 degrees constant. You generated 3x as much solar but used 2x as much electricity. What’s your COP for the ASHP?

Spreadsheet recording readings from Octopus app, and solar app, plus monthly COP data from ASHP. 100% electric house + 2 cars so not just heating.

Walgreens CEO describes drawback of anti-shoplifting strategy: ‘When you lock things up…you don’t sell as many of them’ Walgreens' CEO talked about the flip side of investing in increased security on a recent earnings call.

fortune.com/2025/01/14/w...

Our Christmas lights were bought in the mid 1960s. Still haven’t had to use the spare bulb.

Earlier shifts from 1890s probably explained by development of antiseptics, cleaner practices during childbirth, work of Koch and Lister etc.

Female life expectancy - so maternal mortality must be significant factor. 1920s-30s saw major developments leading to rapid drops in number of deaths from sepsis.

Such a good book. The tofu with tomato sambal.

Merchant of Venice, To Kill a Mockingbird (love) poems of Coleridge, Antony and Cleopatra (brilliant), Death of a Salesman (love), Great Expectations (started love of Dickens), Vanity Fair, Far from the Madding Crowd (didn’t start love of Hardy), Keats (hated), Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale

Which part of the the UK does this stat refer to? England only? If so how does it compare to NI, Scotland, Wales rates?

Everyone’s criticisms are valid though my fridge isn’t very noisy. Wide French doors, drawers in freezer below. Love the wide shelves and not having to bend down to hunt lower shelves (I’m tall).

This and you’re gonna make me lonesome from the same album.

YouTube video by Tom Waits Tom Waits - "Somewhere" (From 'West Side Story')

Which made me think of this youtu.be/0XfOLQVuwaE

Let's Dance M. Ward · Transfiguration of Vincent · Song · 2003

open.spotify.com/track/6UZyDq...

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go Madeleine Peyroux · Careless Love · Song · 2004

open.spotify.com/track/7AldoM...

Oh all right then. Barbara Kingsolver: Animal Vegetable Mineral - non fiction. Oh and if you bake bread then Chad Robertson’s Tartine is superb. Intense dive into making sourdough.

This may be the last one. Michael Pollan: Cooked.

You’ve started something… Caroline Eden. Travel food writing. Gorgeous. Black Sea, Red Sands and Cold Kitchen. All brilliant.

Another! Helena Attlee: The Land Where Lemons Grow