Category Archives: amusements

amusements, quotes

June Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

June Quiz Questions: Famous Quotations

Who said …

  1. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C Clarke
  2. “Every harlot was a virgin once.” William Blake
  3. “I have always believed that I was slightly saner than most people. Then again, most insane people think this.” Truman Capote
  4. “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.” Richard Feynman
  5. “In converting Jews to Christians, you raise the price of pork.” William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.

amusements, quotes

June Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

June Quiz Questions: Famous Quotations

Who said …

  1. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
  2. “Every harlot was a virgin once.”
  3. “I have always believed that I was slightly saner than most people. Then again, most insane people think this.”
  4. “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”
  5. “In converting Jews to Christians, you raise the price of pork.”

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

amusements, personal

Unblogged May

Sun 1 At least 13 keyboards & 15 mice unearthed in clearing out all the old computer junk; as well as a box of old cables. I wonder if they reproduce sexually or by parthenogenesis?
Mon 2 It’s always surprising how much better one feels for a haircut.
Tue 3 Today has been one of pushing jelly uphill through treacle with a toothpick – so many things had to be fixed or cajoled into working properly.
Wed 4 Today, not one, but two 5 minute jobs that actually took five minutes! And they avoided London bus syndrome, by not arriving three together.
Thu 5 Local election day, and how nice not to have to flog round to the polling station having already voted by post.
Fri 6 Watching Tilly cat this evening sitting quietly . Waiting. Squirrel daft enough to trot along the fence a foot above her. And oh, she so nearly got it; if only she hadn’t needed to hang onto the fence! Yon squirrel had a very lucky escape.
Sat 7 What’s that big bird circling high a couple of streets away? Binoculars. Buzzard: right size; right flight pattern; right tail; wings too slender & pointed. Red Kite: right size; right flight pattern; right wings; but tail convex & curved, not forked. Gull: right size; right wings; not sure about the tail; but unusual flight pattern. Falcon: too big. And we don’t have osprey or marsh harriers round here!
Sun 8 Several good pictures of our foxes on the trail camera this week, as they’re out and about more in daylight (dusk and dawn anyway) at the moment as they’ll have cubs to feed. I wonder where their den is?
Mon 9 Something ails the boiler. There is no hot water – well there is intermittent hot water. Looks like something to do with a pressure somewhere. Call out to our gas engineer.
Tue 10 Having managed the sum total of 3 hours sleep, I was sufficiently wrecked that I cancelled my morning meeting. And felt a lot better after another 2 hours sleep.
Wed 11 Wet & windy. There was a good chill breeze in the bedroom window at 3am. And windy rain by the time I surfaced md-morning. But a nice sunny evening.
Thu 12 Finally bit the bullet and placed an order to move the house phone & broadband away from BT to a VoIP provider. Moved the outgoing calls a year ago. When all done we should be saving around £20 a month.
Fri 13 Hold on! Today’s Friday (no not Saturday) and it’s the 13th. No wonder it’s one of those days when everything fights back.
Sat 14 N and I spent the afternoon baking: rhubarb tart and cheese scones with tomato & garlic. Then for dinner: lemony salmon, garlic potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes & mushrooms (all done in parcels in the oven) followed by strawberries & cream; washed down with a bottle of bubbly. Talk about living like the gentry!
Sun 15 Sunday morning. Oh what fun! Trying to get worming tablets down three cats and then flea treat them. Three very pissed off felines all went out. Not sure how I escaped intact!
Mon 16 A day spent chasing my tail, which doesn’t bode well for the next fortnight, which is going to be almost endless chasing of tails to keep up.
Tue 17 And suddenly the garden is awash with roses.
Wed 18 Phew! Two days of Zoom calls of all sorts = fair knackeration.
Thu 19 The gas man cometh – NOT! His previous job has overrun so our boiler service must wait. A nuisance, but we needed a quiet day.
Fri 20 Two young great tits around the nut basket at lunchtime; they must be almost independent but were still being fed insects the parents were picking off the plants. But sadly varmint Rosie cat later destroyed a long-tailed tit – and we ain’t got too many of them.
Sat 21 Yay! The gardener cometh for the first time this year. But Nooo! Also cometh the labyrinthitis (again); if it’s as resistant as last time it’ll be a trip to the doctor’s.
Sun 22 Reprise the gardener. At least we can now walk down the front path without needing a machete.
Mon 23 Vertical hold still on the blink, so spent most of the day horizontal. Cancelled tomorrow’s trip to the dentist.
Tue 24 Vertical hold returning to normal, but very glad to have cancelled the dentist appointments.
Wed 25 <expletive deleted> banks!
Thu 26 N heroically took all 3 cats to the vet for shots, and Boy Cat for some dental work – poor little beggar has had 4 extractions!
Fri 27 Blimey, that’s two weeks in a row that the supermarket delivery has been 100% correct. A couple of items not available, but an overall improvement.
Sat 28 OMG! Must celebrate. I won £10.30 on the lottery. That doubles this year’s winnings.
Sun 29 Picked 2 small (lime-size) lemons from the treelet on our patio. Last year’s flowers; now just ripe. Tried a thin slice from one; really lovely; not too acid. Was gorgeous in my G&T, and the flesh was good afterwards too. Exeunt scurvy.
Mon 30 The gas man cometh (at last) to service the boiler and flush the heating system. Three cats head for the hills, but return in time for an afternoon snack!
Tue 31 Somehow I managed to find time – and just enough enthusiasm – to cut my hair, in between all the chaos of the day.
amusements, beliefs

May Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

May Quiz Questions: Mythology & Religion

  1. In Greek mythology who or what guards the gates of the Underworld? Cerberus, a three-headed dog
  2. Theravada and Mahayana are branches of which major world religion? Buddhism
  3. Which group of traditionalist Christians of Swiss German Anabaptist origins was founded by Jakob Ammann? The Amish
  4. According to Norse legend, what animals pulled Thor’s chariot across the sky? Two goats
  5. What three words begin the Book of Genesis? In the beginning

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.

amusements, beliefs

May Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

May Quiz Questions: Mythology & Religion

  1. In Greek mythology who or what guards the gates of the Underworld?
  2. Theravada and Mahayana are branches of which major world religion?
  3. Which group of traditionalist Christians of Swiss German Anabaptist origins was founded by Jakob Ammann?
  4. According to Norse legend, what animals pulled Thor’s chariot across the sky?
  5. What three words begin the Book of Genesis?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

amusements, personal

Unblogged April

Fri 1 Cold, with wintry showers. Sorry, this is not an April Fool.
Sat 2 Why do my fingers smell of curry? Because earlier this afternoon I was immersing 3 poussins (which I’d spatchcocked) in a curry marinade, ready for tomorrow.
Sun 3 My stupid chilli plants. Pruned a month ago, they’ve grown at most 6 inches, and already have flower buds.
Mon 4 Last week was one of “those” weeks. It’s only Monday and this week has already qualified to join it.
Tue 5 Had to bite the bullet and order Mrs M a new PC having failed to satisfactorily wrangle the current one back to working well. I don’t know what she does to them. Still she’s paying! Now looking at upgrading mine too – it’s only money!
Wed 6 Pigeons pecking peacefully at discarded seeds. Suddenly a flash of tabby & white from nowhere (ie. behind the hedge). Pigeons scatter airward. Tabby & white already back in lair. So fast I couldn’t even see if the cat got pigeon for lunch.
Thu 7 Body clearly making up for two short nights sleep. Awake at 7 this morning; next I know it’s 11. Been behind all day as a result.
Fri 8 Having ordered Mrs M a new PC, I’m now seriously looking at one for me. Can’t get something beefy enough off the shelf; don’t want to DIY it; but custom builds take at least 6 weeks (why?).
Sat 9 I’d given up on them. Special offer wisteria plants ordered early in the year should have arrived a couple of weeks ago. But they arrived today, and look good, if small. Now to find good pots for them.
Sun 10 Still playing hunt the PC. Have found a possible (well reviewed) supplier who will custom build in under 2 weeks and is UK-based. I feel an order coming on this week.
Mon 11 Another wasted day … waiting for the delivery of Mrs M’s new PC. But UPS didn’t.
Tue 12 The lawn hasn’t been cut for almost a year but surprisingly is only half way up our cats. This week it’s growing a brilliant crop of cheery bright yellow dandelions. I’m torn between leaving them, picking the petals to make wine, picking the leaves for salad or digging up the roots and roasting them for coffee.
Wed 13 And yes, Spring really is a-coming in. The cherry tree and crab apple are in flower, the other apples are well on the way, and in the last couple of days the first butterflies: brimstone and holly blue.
Thu 14 Two punnets of raspberries in the supermarket delivery; and different varieties. “Malling Bella”, grown in Spain: large, dark red, luscious berries (almost like good loganberries); superb fragrance and flavour. “Kwanza”, grown in Portugal: lighter red and smaller berries, perfectly nice raspberries but definitely less flavour and rather more tart. Eaten for pudding with flaked chocolate and double cream. Yum!
Fri 15 Spent most of the day setting up N’s new PC. Actually Windows 11 isn’t as bad as most people make out. Yes, it’s different, but if you use the setup options carefully it isn’t that different. One good thing is that the machine came with Windows 11 Home, but there’s an instant upgrade to Windows 11 Pro (for a fee, of course) – and I mean it is instant!
Sat 16 The bluebells are out and the lilac is not far behind. It’s also been a good couple of days for butterflies: as well as the brimstone and holly blue of a few days ago, today a beautiful new speckled wood dancing in the sunshine.
Sun 17 So we have a lovely sunny long weekend, and what am I doing? Sitting indoors “jellivating” because I just can’t make myself do anything. Bah! Depression!
Mon 18 An afternoon spend fiddling about with family history; trying to see if anything pops up on any of the problem areas. No, nothing.
Tue 19 You can tell Spring is here. I’ve just spent the last three days (and of course nights) without a stitch of clothing. OK, I’ve not been parading around the garden showing off to the neighbours, but I have been 3-4 metres outside the back door.
Wed 20 Phew! At last I’ve finished fettling N’s new PC, having been waiting on a backup drive and then testing. Now all I have to do is install it on her desk. By which time my new PC will have arrived (assuming DPD play properly).
Thu 21 Today feels like a day spent marking time. Still, N’s PC is installed on her desk. Meanwhile my PC has arrived in 2 large boxes, which will be investigated tomorrow.
Fri 22 Restaurant quality food this evening. N did an old favourite of hers: Pork in mushroom & cream sauce. Very yum!
Sat 23 Hmmm … fresh pineapple with coffee ice cream doesn’t quite work. But it was an interesting experiment!
Sun 24 They tell me today was Sunday.
Mon 25 Two full days slog has got my new PC to the stage where it can get it installed tomorrow for the final conversion.
Tue 26 Phew! Finally the new PC is in place. Just a couple of glitches still to settle, plus setting up automatic backups.
Wed 27 After several nice warm days, it’s a typical English Spring – back to being dull, grey and not very warm. And good grief, the birds have emptied the nut feeder again, in about 4 days; mind you, they’ve likely been helped by the local squirrel.
Thu 28 It’s all computing at the moment. Decided to clear out all our old computer junk. Started with the 2 crates worth under my desk. Found a laptop which hasn’t been touched in over 3 years; it still boots into Windows 10 with the correct date & time too!
Fri 29 Very early this morning (like 06:30-ish) saw two pairs of birds high up; one pair appearing to pass something between them. They looked very like Hirundines of some form: I don’t think swifts as the flight wasn’t quite right; more likely house martins; possibly swallows. Only in view for a few seconds, so hard to be certain.
Sat 30 You stand in the kitchen putting together some salad, and the cats drive you demented. Tilly and Rosie are in and out, crashing through the catdoor, as if on elastic. Scarcely a minute goes by but one or other is going one way or the other! I’ve never before known cats like these two.
amusements, words

A Linguistic Amusement

I happened across this the other day (on Facebook, I think). It is too good not to share.

Click the image for a larger view

We should, of course, add:

  • Stalactites and Stalagmites
  • Unicycles (perhaps my favourite!)

I’m sure you can think of others. Enjoy!

amusements, science

April Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

April Quiz Questions: Physical Science

  1. How much water is there on Earth per human being? Roughly 175 trillion litres ± 15%
  2. What was the name of the first, Russian, man-made satellite? Sputnik I
  3. How many internal reflections of light take place in the formation of a primary rainbow? Two
  4. Roughly how long does it take for the sun’s light to reach Earth? Eight minutes
  5. Which Russian chemist published the first widely recognised Periodic Table? Dmitri Mendeleev

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.