Silversprite

In the space of 10 minutes I've probably gained the unspoken collective judgement and question of "why do they give access to any crazy greying man who rolls up here?"

YouTube video by Weliketvthemes The Magic Roundabout - Theme / Opening

In the university library. The quiet zone; many students here, working in monastic silence.

I'd forgotten my phone volume was, for some reason, on maximum. You can guess the rest.

Soberly, everyone here except me was born several decades after this first aired.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ao...

Ooooooooh I haven't listened to Screamadelica in a long, long, time and now I will. Thanks for the memory jog!

A tray on a table. On the tray is a pastry on a white plate, and a large latte in a cup on a saucer.

Traveller's breakfast, I guess.

A small travel case on its back, next to a laptop bag, in a hallway. A cat is on top of the case, investigating it.

Time for some annoyingly complicated travel. I'd prefer to just sit here instead, but unavoidable logistics.

Toodle pip, cat; try not to wreck the place while I'm gone.

7. To gratify friends and irritate enemies.

In 1969 Roland Barthes drew up a list of ten reasons why he imagined that he wrote. Here, to gratify or irritate you, is number seven:

YouTube video by FlorenceMachineVEVO Florence + The Machine - Sympathy Magic (Official Video)

"And light coming in the window just so
And the wind through my fingers
The only God that I know
And it does not want me on my knees to believe"

Just when I start to wonder about inspiration Florence Welch comes absolutely roaring through to make me feel like I'm tapped into the vein of poetry.

YouTube video by BBC News General Election: "You're joking - not another one!" BBC News

I can only read this in the accent of Brenda from Bristol.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6-I...

Vital Cat Update It’s time to talk about my cat. To which you might be saying, “Chuck, I didn’t know you had a cat!” and I’d respond with, “I didn’t know I had a cat either…

It's time to talk to you about my cat.

a white man with brown hair in a blue top is lighting red candles on a wreath made from coat hangers, tinsel, baubles and ribbon. An absolute fire hazzard. One for the kids.

@onbradstreetfarm.bsky.social okay. after seeing something done on a children's tv show in Britain, I have decided that yes, the British public are not into fire safety.

(3/3) He's long dead.

This is kind of annoying; I'm robbed of the opportunity to briefly reappear in his life, tell him I've just got an interview at Oxford Uni - for a postgraduate course - so he was wrong.

People like me - rural farmboys who found a life pathway via a library card - can do this.

(2/3) "People like you don't get interviews at Oxbridge [Oxford or Cambridge University], which makes my life easier." Followed by a smirk.

I have remembered exactly that. Especially the "People like you" part.

He was [redacted] in additional ways, and left our college because of some incident.

(1/3) When I left school and started at college, day one for our cohort of A Level students was not great.

First, we learned there was no half-term week off.

Second, the new university application support person came in, said he'd looked through our school records, and then said...

#TombolaLust

🌲 THE BIG CHRISTMAS GIFT THREAD! 🌲

If you are a creator or small shop/business, reply to this post with:

- pics and a brief description of what you do (don't forget the alt text!)
- a link or details on how people can buy

I will boost you!

Everyone else: buy the cool things! Repost this post! ⛄

An all-grey cat, resting on a striped duvet cover. The cat is looking directly at the camera; it it was human, the facial expression would be one of displeasure.

I swear the cat is plotting something. And whatever it is (a) it's not good and (b) it involves me.

Can hear carol singers, somewhere, out there.

Is there a specific collective noun for them, other than choir, when they move as a pack?

A chart of the highest confirmed conversion efficiencies for research cells for a range of photovoltaic technologies, plotted from 1976 to the present, and collated by the NREL - the National Renewable Energy Laboratory - recently renamed the National Laboratory of the Rockies. The chart shows the increasing efficiency of various solar power and photovoltaic technologies at the technical level.

(3/4) technology researcher, will possibly (like me) spend some time looking up the meaning of each word. Which opens up more internet/knowledge rabbit holes.

Guess we should take copies of the chart (maybe the whole website) in case *that* disappears one day, along with the Internet Archive.

(2/4) One of the most positive resources on their website - currently still there, but for how long - is the Best Research-Cell (for photovoltaic technologies) Efficiency Chart:

www.nrel.gov/pv/cell-effi...

It's quite the rabbit hole to fall down and, unless you're a hardcore photovoltaic...

(1/4) Seeing the administration in DC continuing to aggressively diminsh renewable technology, development and implementation in the USA.

They've now renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the ... "National Laboratory of the Rockies"(!) and are hacking away mentions of renewables.

@profanity.accountant What's my swearometer reading, please?

A double lane road, with markings. On the road is painted SLOW. On the right hand side are some houses. Behind and overhead is a clear, light blue sky.

A single track lane, with fences and trees on either side. Behind and overhead is a clear, light blue sky.

A single track lane with tall hedges immediately on either side, and a few trees up ahead. Behind and overhead is a clear, light blue sky.

A single track lane, with various trees on either side casting shadows on the road. Behind and overhead is a clear, light blue sky.

6 mile walk became a 8.5 mile walk; picking the more persuasive choice at junctions and forks, like playing through a physically real Twine choose-your-own-adventure.

Two lane road became one lane became one track, hemmed in by banks and trees and shadows and a noticeable absence of bird song.

Window of opportunity to do a 6 mile walk, with a latte at the halfway point.

{packs Tunnocks wafer bar, phone, water bottle, emergency banana; lectures disinterested cat on behaving while no human in the house}

With Alt Text

A still from a Wham! video, showing Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael, with two women, in a soft-focus scene, drinking wine. The text above reads "Last Christmas I gave you my heart" while the text below reads "But you were all deceived, for another heart was made, into which I poured all of my malice and will to dominate men".

A nativity crib scene with Mary, Joseph, a lamb, and the baby Jesus who appears as though he's doing a muscle strengthening exercises. The text reads "Baby Jesus is gonna have some sick abs this year".

Another meme from Christmas past:

And only 25 days till the start of the Easter festive food season (otherwise known as Boxing Day).

The front of a Christmas card from Tony and Cherie Blair, showing the couple and the logo "Season's Greetings". Tony is half-angled towards the camera and Cherie has her hand on his chest. They are both slightly miling, but Tonys smile could be viewed as a threatening stare.

1st of December delivers reminders of past Christmas memes on other social media platforms.

"I never truly feel the Christmas spirit until I see the 'Tony Blair being held back from attacking you in the pub' card."

A still from the Christmas Dinner scene of Wham's Last Christmas music video with Andrew Ridgley in a red shirt and brown hair with his chin in his hand to the left of gorgeous George Michael with blonde flicked 80s hair and a lot of blusher in a black and red Christmas jumper gazing steamily into our souls across the rim of a generous glass of Chardonnay.

#Whamageddon. He stalks us in tones of dulcet heartache.

The aforementioned ice cream van, and an unimpressed cat.