Monthly Archives: May 2021

environment, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

OK, guys & gals. Hold tight for this month’s ride through my links to items you may have missed the first time around.

Science, Technology, Natural World

We know surprisingly little detail about the landscape of our oceans as relatively little has been systematically surveyed, but now scientists have identified and accurately measured the depth of the deepest hole in each of the planet’s five oceans.

Two items on our friends the wasps. First in the Guardian on the importance of wasps. And secondly from Prof. Seirian Sumner of UCL on why she loves wasps and on their importance [LONG READ].

While on insects, an Australian school has been treated to the rare sight of a Giant Wood Moth – and yes, they really are huge!

In another pair of articles in New Scientist [£££] and Scientific American [£££] ecologist Suzanne Simard talks about discovering the hidden language of trees and how they communicate with each other.

A look at the chemistry of the fragrant flowers of viburnum.

Pharmaceutical chemist Derek Lowe takes a look at the how our genes are littered with apparently junk DNA.

We’re regularly told that red wine is good for us and it’s all down to a chemical called resveratrol. (Actually I’d maintain all wine is good for us!)

Health, Medicine

Many women have problems with the symptoms of the menopause. Journalist Kate Muir investigates the social impact, and what could (and should) be done to help.

While on women’s health, the Guardian‘s Emine Saner investigates the (apparently) new focus on the pelvic floor. (Hold on! What’s new here? Haven’t we known about this for several decades?)

Sexuality

So in these days of Covid concern, is oral sex safer than kissing, and other questions about dating?

In which a couple of young people talk about being polyamorous.

At the other extreme several young people talk about being asexual.

Environment

From the outside you’d not think that the River Thames is one of the cleanest rivers in the world, so how come it looks so awful.

One London woman has “adopted” three urban foxes who visit her garden, and they’re confident enough to let her touch them. (We don’t actually advise doing this, guys & gals; remember they’re wild animals with a nasty bite!)

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Archaeologists claim to have identified the oldest known tattooing tools at an ancient site in Tennessee.

Back in Europe archaeologists think they may have identified one of the victims of Vesuvius at Herculaneum as a rescuer.

Back at home, we all know the legend about Lady Godiva; it seems it is all based on the real early medieval countess Godgifu.

And in another investigation it has been concluded that the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset was created in Anglo-Saxon times.

Medievalist Dr Eleanor Janega gave a short talk on the Black Death. [Video]

And Dr Eleanor Janega has also devised a new (pub?) game: Annoy a Medievalist Bingo.

Tudor historian Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb discovers what it is really like to wear early Tudor women’s clothes.

London

Still in historical context, the Tower of London’s baby raven has been named after a Celtic goddess in a “brilliantly ridiculous” ceremony.

Back down on the ground, London Reconnections takes a look at vehicle design, with special reference to that done for (the various guises) of London Transport.

Food, Drink

What do you mean, you didn’t know avocados are good for you? Here are five reasons you should eat avocado every day. (Disclosure: yes, I do!)

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

You know I’m not going to miss out on a chance to mention naturism … so here’s another look at why we’re better off unclothed. (Disclosure: yes, I am.)

People

Don’t underestimate or write off shy people: one such looks at how it has actually been a big benefit.

In other news, the Heritage Crafts Association has added hand kilt-making and glass eye making to list of the UK’s endangered crafts

And finally … from sewage works to cemetery, Guardian columnist Emma Beddington writes enthusiastically about the bleak local places in which we’ve found solace during lockdown.

amusements

Auction Amusements

It’s a long time since we had any amusements from our local auction house. There have been fewer auctions and the pickings have been rather thin for the last year. But here is what I’ve collected – as always it is the strange things people sell and the odd combinations that make up a lot. (Images where they seem to add something. Text & images direct from the auction catalogues.)

Enamelled items, comprising: a pair of Korean enamelled duck sauceboats with covers and spoons on a stand, brightly coloured, and a small octagonal canister, all stamped 98%; an Indian condiment stamped 925; and a Soviet Russian part egg stamped 925


A Georg Jensen silver pendant comprising three abstract triangles, design 138 by Ibe Dahlquist, marked and stamped 925 S Denmark, with associated chain.


A box of military badges presented on cards, a Harrow School bronze medallion, a small quantity of omnibus tickets, a motor car ration book, and an interesting solicitor’s letter dated 1898 and, on behalf of a client, offering an owner £1,450 for the 11 houses numbers 40-60 Avenue Street, Fulham


A saucy Naples figurine of figures at a waterfall.

A mixed lot including a silver plated photograph frame, a pair of silver plated salad servers, art deco style figurines, a vintage oil can, a Chanel book, a Radley’s ladies handbag, a silver and amber brooch, a Russian Zorki-6 cased camera, a small quantity of motor magazines etc.


A fine old Mobile Oil Pump early 20th century of tapering ovoid form.


A Simplex No. 6 Coffee Grinder with two large wheels painted red with a silver-coloured funnel.

A table of architectural items, including a large quantity of metalwork, knobs, furniture handles, a workshop lamp, five old locks, a pair of 19th century carriage lamps in brass and metal, a Georgian oak wall-mounted cutlery and candle box, another oak box, a fine Victorian set of clothes pegs with porcelain knobs on a mahogany back, an old oil can, a tea canister-style table lamp and others, and a Follows & Bate Ltd, New Universale Marmalade Machine from Manchester, with table bracket, etc.

A table and … a quantity of curiosities, including pottery, metalwares, cutlery, tools, teddy bears, old cameras, early 20th century photograph albums, handbags, Victorian boxes, a Supersonic hi-fi, a folder of early 20th century love letters, CDs, a Chinon projector, telephones, old Quink ink bottles, jewel boxes, etc.

An extensive lot, including a four-piece Teac hi-fi with a JVC amp, a Toshiba amp, a pair of JVC speaker, a Toshiba portable computer, two HP printers, a filing box of CDs, a quantity of china, an iron, a shredder, Sennheiser earphones, model cats, old telephones, etc., and three suitcases on wheels


A large pair of decorative floor-standing metal vases decorated with sunflowers and birds


A late 19th century Swiss Black Forest wooden musical coat hook, carved as an anthropomorphic dog with glass eyes, and with gun and powder flask bearing the Swiss cross, with chamois horn feet, fitted with a musical movement with 6 cm cylinder numbered 12 223, with applied circular metal label inscribed ‘C. Spiess Schloss Laufen Patent 16870’ and remains of paper label, 39 cm high

A large quantity of astrological [sic] accessories and spares across three and a half shelves including lenses by Meade and Parks plus others, many labelled with sizes and magnification, a monochrome camera by Starlight Xpress Mx716, a large mirrored refractor, possibly the base for a telescope, two Celestron Star Diagonal 1’s, a Cullmann clamp, a Revelation 2 in dielectric mirror diagonal, a Meade Plossl 5 element 9 mm, a Sirius Plossl 25 mm lens, an AC power supply unit No.110 etc., a large quantity for the keen amateur or professional (telescopes have not been checked for their completeness)

A Cuisinart 1.5L ice cream maker and a small quantity of Folio Society books


A carved wooden owl garden seat


A rare pair of early 20th century decorator’s easels, and a smaller single easel


A four-fold hardwood screen, each leaf with a panel of six glass panes above upholstered lower section covered in floral fabric, and an early 20th century folding wooden stepladder of seven steps


Four old wooden folding garden chairs and an old set of wooden step-ladders.


Eleven vintage bike lights including ‘Lucas Silver king, Birmingham’

A mixed lot comprising an oak Art Nouveau smoker’s companion, a quantity of brassware including goblets, candlesticks and vases, a vintage pencil sharpener, electrical testing equipment, a small quantity of records, flatware etc.


Electronic projector, a Rollei Projector P350A, a metal handle, a cased General Electric Company electrical implement, a large metal microscope on wooden base, two Victorian children’s nightdresses, an oval mirror etc.

A bag of golf clubs including John Letters and Daiwa, plus a Tryglider Gold Trolley, a McLaren foldable pushchair, garden seats in bags and a pair of Speedo flippers.

A nautical lot comprising a bronze porthole frame, a bronze pump, a large metal anchor and ropes.

A Dyson hot and cool fan, a Cuprinol fence sprayer, a Karcher K2 compact pressure washer, a folding music stand, an empty guitar case, a gold coloured adjustable reading light, two large silver Trider exercise balls and a collapsible circular garden table.

A musical instrument lot comprising a mandolin by G. Grandini, a mandolin in case, a violin with label inside, possibly Mapp, a Zither and a lacrosse racket.

A mixed lot including a pair of brass shell cases, a pair of Brevette French bike pedals, a small box of coins, a metal Tilley lamp, flat iron, a small collection of men’s magazines, a set of three large metal frying pans, a large flower holder, a quantity of frames, old metal cooking pots and a quantity of vintage tools including hammers, etc.

A large wooden church candlestick, two verdigris candlesticks, three lightshades and a quantity of glassware mainly wineglasses, tumblers, sherry glasses, etc., one golf club, three books on London, etc.

A quantity of long farming implements and walking sticks.

Two boxes of mid-20th century mainly children’s books including Richmal Crompton, a microscope, ephemera, puzzles, and a small collection of antique lace nightdresses, undergarments, wedding accessories, etc.

quotes

Monthly Quotes

This month’s selection of quotes which caught my attention …

No one ever commanded a cat. You can shout at a cat, and it may vanish through the window, or ignore you and begin washing its tail, or stare at you in pained surprise. But it will never apologise, never promise not to do it again.
[CR Milne]

Three articles of Civil Service: it takes longer to do things quickly; it is more expensive to do them cheaply; it is more democratic to do them in secret.
[https://twitter.com/YesSirHumphrey/status/1384965488317435911]

[T]oxic masculinity is stopping the servant day labourers of a dying empire from picking out the right avocados for me.
[https://twitter.com/SzMarsupial/status/1387525646658777093]

… the normalisation in big cities of getting a grocery servant to pick out whatever you want to cook for lunch that day …
[https://twitter.com/SzMarsupial/status/1387476900499570691]

Freckles, moles, scars, cellulite, scabs, pimples, textures, broken capillaries, stretch marks, loose skin, pigmentation, redness, dark circles, birth marks, hair … all belong as a part of the experience of skin. Our skin is alive, dynamic, changing, fascinating and weird. Our surfaces are unique works of art just as they are.
[Ashlee Bennett]

My goal is not just to feel comfortable in my skin. My goal is to feel *so* comfortable in my skin that the patriarchy gets confused, can’t compute, malfunctions, and spontaneously combusts.
[@EmilyDFitness]

Date someone you can be weird as hell with who at the end of the day still wants to get naked with you.
[unknown]

[There’s been] this separation of humanity from nature, mind from body, spirit from intellect, and that we had moved away from this more holistic, spiritual way of seeing the world. Lovelock’s idea of the biosphere as a self-regulating system was antithetical to the view that we could dissect the world and understand all the parts in a deterministic way.
[Suzanne Simard; https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033320-900-suzanne-simard-interview-how-i-uncovered-the-hidden-language-of-trees/]

Everything had to always be as it is, Parmenides reasoned, because nothing could come to be out of nothing – nonexistence could not produce existence, because there is no such thing as nonexistence, by definition of existence. Reality consisted in an ever-present, unchanging, unmovable mass of undifferentiated sameness that filled all of space.
[Tom Siegfried; https://www.sciencenews.org/article/anaxagoras-science-athens-history-philosophy]

The one who plants trees, knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.
[Rabindranath Tagore]

None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.
[Anthony Hopkins]

You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat.
[Often wrongly attributed to Albert Einstein, but who first said it?]

A fact is a simple statement that everyone believes. It is innocent, unless found guilty. A hypothesis is a novel suggestion that no one wants to believe. It is guilty, until found effective.
[Edward Teller; Conversations on the Dark Secrets of Physics]

Humans are not optimized for intelligence. Rather, we are the first and possibly dumbest species capable of producing a technological civilization.
[Eliezer Yudkowsky]

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
[unknown]

I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself. To undermine a man’s self-respect is a sin.
[unknown]

Being naked starts with your spirit. If you are not allowing yourself to be naked spiritually, being naked physically is significant.
[Stephanie McManus]

Sex is more than an act of pleasure, it’s the ability to be able to feel so close to a person, so connected, so comfortable that it’s almost breathtaking to the point you feel you can’t take it. And at this moment you’re a part of them.
[pleasure_portraits; https://www.instagram.com/p/COyilOuBpDD/?igshid=xbn7yul1eb9z; NSFW]

amusements, personal, ramblings

The Village. VIII.

The Village – A Story in Eight Pieces

VIII. King George’s Oak

Abundant the Acorns, cached by the Jay,
While well furrowed Bark keeps fungus at bay.

Cork’s from an oak, it’s preserving our wine,
The Dove’s in her nest, a love bird divine.

Look there’s our Ellen, snuggling her swain,
Ripe for the Fuck, that they’ll soon entertain.

Old Billy Goat’s browsing anything low,
Turning Herbs to manure, and helping things grow.

Ever green is the Ivy, hiding a drey,
While the old Jay’s still caching away.

Katt is the cat who’s stalking the Jay,
While thousands of Larvae are munching all day.

Growing the Moths which make food for the Bat,
And leaving the Nuts which make Squirrel all fat.

Over the Orchard, grow apples to munch,
By agéd Piers Ploughman, who’s eating his lunch.

Pretty’s the Quince, with pink flowers in Spring,
While later a Robin Christmas greetings will bring.

Slyly the Stoat’s on the lookout for prey,
While circles of Toadstools, grow in the hay.

Shady the Umbra, we all sit beneath,
Not knowing the Vixen’s her den underneath.

Wispy the Wool, from the sheep of the croft,
While woody old Xylem, sends water aloft.

Here there’s a Yew, that great tree of old,
Protecting our Zzzzleeps, more precious than gold.

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed this little drollery. Watch this space in case there are further developments.

amusements, personal, ramblings

The Village. VII.

The Village – A Story in Eight Pieces

VII. More Village People

First there is Alice, whose surname is King,
her husband is Bert, who can mend any thing.

Clive is the one who tends to our hair,
He’s living with Dana, exceedingly fair.

Starchy is Ellie, she’s really a prude,
While Fanny relaxes, sunbathing nude.

Gary and Greg live as husband and wife,
And then there is Hannah, the vicar’s young wife.

There’s Arthur’s girl, Izzy, living alone,
With twins Jane and Jemima, father unknown.

Here is Nurse Karen, who tends to our ails,
And lazy old Leslie, who lodges at Gail’s.

We all love Matilda, a Master of Wine,
But no-one likes Norman, a breeder of swine.

There goes Orlena, who lives by her snatch,
While Pete the Policeman watches our patch.

Quaintly old Queenie lives down The Streete,
And Robin the farmer, grows barley and wheat.

Susy the sculptor carves objects in wood,
Her Toby’s a terror, mostly up to no good.

Doctor Umberto’s an expert on soils,
He lives next to Vikki, a painter in oils.

Old Walter’s a wonder, he’s still mending clocks,
Next to Miss Xandra, a stitcher of frocks.

Yanko is ancient – he came in the war,
and lastly there’s Zoe, our expert on law.

Piece VIII will appear on Tuesday 18 May.

amusements, memes

Ten Things: May

This year our Ten Things series – which surprisingly appears on the tenth of each month – continues concentrating on the amusing, both real and fictional. So this month we have …

Ten Oddly Named Animals

  1. Alston’s Singing Mouse
  2. Annamite Striped Rabbit
  3. Jackson’s Climbing Salamander
  4. Malabar Whistling Thrush
  5. Penis Snake
  6. West Indian Whistling Duck (right)
  7. Zigzag Elm Sawfly
  8. Screaming Hairy Armadillo
  9. Raspberry Crazy Ant
  10. Striped Pyjama Squid
amusements, personal, ramblings

The Village. VI.

The Village – A Story in Eight Pieces

VI. The Duck Pond

Andy the Angler, is trying his luck,
While bumble-y Bees, at the flowers they suck.

Cunning the Carp – a fish cannot drown,
Unlike the Ducks, all dabbling down.

There is Old Eb, who sits on the bench,
He’s watching the Fox, just seen jumping the fence.

There’s gaggles of Geese, they’re just flying sheep,
And then there’s old Heron, who’s off with a leap.

Winter brings Ice – see the skating is free,
Surprising the Jogger who stops for a pee.

Look! – a Kingfisher – just flashes of blue,
Zips past the Log we use as a pew.

Merry the Mermaid, we never have seen,
But here is a Newt – this one’s called Jean!

O are the ripples caused by a rock,
Thrown by the Parson, ignoring his flock.

A Quern Stone has made a step at the edge
Of the tall Rushes right next to the hedge.

A babbling Stream, with its water so clean,
Houses the Toad, all swarthy and green.

Running, the Urchin’s evading his Mum,
Ignoring a Vandal, fly-tipping – the scum!

Wet was the Witch they once ducked in the pond,
But saucy young Xena swims the millpond.

Yo, there’s a Yob, forever a pest,
To even the Zephyr which blows from the west.

Piece VII will appear on Tuesday 11 May.

current affairs

Ever Given

I’ve been reading these two items (and a few others) on the situation of the Ever Given, the giant boat what got itself wedged sideways in the Suez Canal a few weeks ago.
Ever Given in a Nutshell
Ever Given – What Happens Now?

The position seems to be a Byzantine minefield of convoluted international law, contract law and insurance. At least that’s how I read the two articles, viz:

The cause of the problem is still under investigation. Was the ship exceeding the speed limit? Was there mechanical failure? Was there human error? How much of a factor was the weather? Someone will likely be able to work this out as the ship carries an equivalent of an aircraft’s “black box”.

The ship, having been re-floated, was safety checked at anchor in the Great Bitter Lake. It was found to be sound and passed to continue up the Canal to Port Said at the northern end for further checks, before being cleared (or not) to continue to it’s destination in Rotterdam.

However the Ever Given is still at anchor in the great Bitter Lake and cannot move as it has been arrested by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA, an Egyptian government agency) pending settlement of the SCA’s claim for $916million in compensation (including $300million as salvage bonus, and $300million for loss of reputation).

But who pays what is, to say the least, complex as:

  • The hull is owned by Japan based Shoei Kisen Kaisha, and insured in Japan.
  • The ship is registered in Panama.
  • It is leased and operated by Taiwan based Evergreen Marine Corp, who will own much of the ship’s “fixtures and fittings”.
  • It is managed by German based Bernard Schulte.
  • Protection & Indemnity (P&I) insurance is by UK based UK P&I Club.
  • The Ever Given is crewed by 25 Indian seafarers.
  • It is apparently 85% loaded with around 18,000 containers of multifarious goods, owned by we know not who, on route from the Far East to half the western world.
  • At the time of the accident the ship was being piloted by SCA pilots, who are ipso facto defined as part of the ship’s crew.

The P&I insurers have failed to agree a compensation payment with the SCA and the ship’s owners have reputedly filed an appeal in the Egyptian courts against the ship’s arrest on the grounds that the SCA’s claim is excessive. This is scheduled to be heard tomorrow, 4 May 2021.

Meanwhile the crew (who are apparently being fully paid) are apparently free to leave the ship, and to be replaced, providing there are always sufficient crew to maintain the ship’s safety. Only the ship’s Master cannot leave as he is the ship’s legal guardian.

The estimated value of the vessel and the property on board is:

  • Vessel: Approx. $125million
  • Cargo: Approx. $500-$600million (and maybe more)
  • Containers: Approx. $30million

A total of $655-£755million and perhaps more; but likely less than the SCA’s compensation claim.

However it is reported that while the SCA can arrest the ship, it cannot legally arrest the cargo. But without the ship the cargo is going nowhere. Consequently it has been suggested that the cargo owners could launch a class action (but in which court?) to get the cargo released. But even if they did that, and the legal challenge succeeded, the ship cannot be unloaded: neither in situ nor at any port along the Suez Canal as none have the infrastructure to handle such a massive ship.

Even if it could be unloaded, and the containers transferred to other vessels for onward movement, this would be time consuming and very expensive – for which presumably the cargo owners would have to pay (unless they managed to claim the cost as compensation or against their insurance).

All that is without even thinking about the consequential losses and delays to other ships, some of which will have opted to go the long way round via the Cape of Good Hope, and others who sat it out in the traffic jam. Either way they’re incurring extra expense and delay to their cargoes.

That, my friends is the very simplified version of the simplified version. While it makes for interesting reading (I’m sad like that!) it makes me very glad I’m neither a lawyer nor an insurer!

amusements, memes

Things to Think About: May

This year we’re beginning each month with a (potentially logical) oddity to think about, and to keep the brain cells active. This month:

If you replace “W” with “T” in “What”, “Where”, “When”, you get the answer to each of them.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments.