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Happy V-Day!

This big rusty pile of anchors is a memorial to the tens of thousands of souls who drowned off the Kent coast. The anchors are all at least 200 years old and were dredged up from Goodwin Sands, a bank off the coast that has claimed 2,000 ships. More than 10,000 have been lost along the Kent coast alone.

The anchors gently deteriorated in the overgrown garden of Bleak House (yes, that Bleak House) until they were brought here to make this memorial.

“Here” is the parking lot of the Pilot, the bestest fish and chips we know. You can see a marker for it near the tip of Dungeness in this very interesting maritime traffic tracker. It’s at the far end of our day trip territory, but we have a meal here every few years.

Folks, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten myself insensible, but I did so today. That was a big ol’ pile of crispy fish and chips (and the inevitable peas, for some reason).

Long time readers may recall that Valentine’s Day is our anniversary. This is only #14 – not exactly a milestone – but worthy of a field trip and a fish coma. We’re romantic like that.

February 14, 2023 — 7:34 pm
Comments: 5

Unexpected stoat!

Making the rounds. It’s a TikTok ported to Twitter, so I don’t really know the backstory. Scrabbling in the walls leading to a stoat-hole, I guess.

Though wouldn’t your first thought be a rat? Maybe it’s a put-up job. “Let’s put Mister Slinky behind the drywall and take a video!”

I really just wanted to see if I still had the knowledge to squeeze an animated gif under a meg. And I do. It clocks in at 900K. Go me.

Do go look at the color one. It’s adorable. Bear in mind, a weasel is even smaller! But see if you can avoid the other one making the rounds, the Indonesian one with the snakes.

February 13, 2023 — 7:54 pm
Comments: 4

Dead Pool 163: the Nearly Valentine’s edition

Pablo won the spotty richard with Burt Bacharach. I did not know he was still alive.

Reading about it the last few days, I only just realized how much I dislike his big hits, and that is because you only have to say the title and even fifty years later the whole song plays beginning to end on my mental Wurlitzer and THAT is because Top 40 radio played his big hits over and over and over until I thought I’d scream if Raindrops Fell on his Stupid Head one more time.

Well. I’ll compose myself. Are we ready? Here goes…

0. Rule Zero (AKA Steve’s Rule): your pick has to be living when picked. Also, nobody whose execution date is circled on the calendar. Also, please don’t kill anybody. Plus (Pupster’s Rule) no picking someone who’s only famous for being the oldest person alive.

1. Pick a celebrity. Any celebrity — though I reserve the right to nix picks I never heard of (I don’t generally follow the Dead Pool threads carefully, so if you’re unsure of your pick, call it to my attention).

2. We start from scratch every time. No matter who you had last time, or who you may have called between rounds, you have to turn up on this very thread and stake your claim.

3. Poaching and other dirty tricks positively encouraged.

4. Your first choice sticks. Don’t just blurt something out, m’kay? Also, make sure you have a correct spelling of your choice somewhere in your comment. These threads get longish and I use search to figure out if we have a winner.

5. It’s up to you to search the thread and make sure your choice is unique. I’m waayyyy too lazy to catch the dupes. Popular picks go fast.

6. The pool stays open until somebody on the list dies. Feel free to jump in any time. Noobs, strangers, drive-bys and one-comment-wonders — all are welcome.

7. If you want your fabulous prize, you have to entrust me with a mailing address. If you’ve won before, send me your address again. I don’t keep good records.

8. The new DeadPool will begin 6pm WBT (Weasel’s Blog Time) the Friday after the last round is concluded.

The winner, if the winner chooses to entrust me with a mailing address, will receive an Official Certificate of Dick Winning and a small original drawing on paper suffused with elephant shit particles. Because I’m fresh out of fairy shit particles.

February 10, 2023 — 6:00 pm
Comments: 57

Weasel drinking a martini in the rain

Those were the keywords I gave the AI. It’s okay. I note weasel is lacking in back legs, and I’m pretty sure that’s a decapitated bunny holding the melted martini glass.

I have a thing to go to tonight, so I shall fob you off with the announcement that Pablo had Burt Bacharach in the Dead Pool. I didn’t even know Burt was alive.

That means NEW DEAD POOL TOMORROW. Be here or be wherever you wish to be instead.

February 9, 2023 — 5:23 pm
Comments: 4

How many fingers am I holding up?

The is AI, naturally. I don’t know why, but it really cannot work out fingers, teeth and how many legs a cat has got. (Pinched from Reddit, where I believe the key phrase was “The correct number of fingers”).

I spent an enjoyable hour browsing this Twitter account for funny AI generated images. It’s amazing what it can do, and what it can’t.

Then I spent another happy hour playing with the AI programs themselves. That is, until I uploaded a picture of myself. I AM NOT THAT OLD AND WRINKLY – thank you! – stupid computer program.

You can try it yourself on Craiyon or DeepAI or DreamAI. I’m sure there are many others. Just…be careful uploading a selfie.

February 8, 2023 — 8:28 pm
Comments: 5

Aw, that’s a nice idea

It’s an international movement…the repair cafe! You bring your broken junk in and old duffers fix it.

I suppose, technically, old duffers fix the machines, old biddies sew up the teddy bears and young whippersnappers sort out the computers. Principle remains.

I mean, yes…it has its origins in sustainable blah blah help the planet blah how dare you blah blah. I’m willing to overlook that because I love the idea.

I just stumbled out of a Zoom meeting into Gin O’Clock. I’m off. Watching the SOTU tonight, are we?

February 7, 2023 — 8:44 pm
Comments: 16

No, not *that* kind of green beans

I had a question today. And the answer is – yes, you CAN roast small quantities of coffee beans in an air fryer, if you like light or medium roast. Which I do.

Have you ever roasted your own coffee? Is it worth it? I bet there are some volatiles in coffee beans that don’t last long post-roastie.

Yes, that’s me all over: yesterday, I buy a fancy coffee subscription; today, I’m looking into wholesaling beans.

Oh, don’t worry. It won’t last. My enthusiasms flare up and burn out in short order, streaking across the sky like Chinese weather balloons.

February 6, 2023 — 8:11 pm
Comments: 10

Pre-decimal mental math

I pinched the illustration off this person on Pinterest. I hope she regards the link as sufficient payment.

You want to see a wrinkly British face light up? Bring out some pre-decimal currency. Britain switched to a decimal system in 1971, but before that they had a base 12 currency. Everything’s ones, threes, sixes, twelves and twenty-fours. It’s fiendishly hard if you’re used to decimal.

They can rattle it off like nothing. AND they remember what things cost back then, too. We ran across a bag of old money in the archives today, and off they went!

If something costs one pound, two shillings and sixpence you could pay with a sovereign, a florin and a sixpence OR ten florins, two shillings, two tuppences and two pence OR two crowns, two half crowns, a thruppenny bit, a ha’penny and two farthings. You get the idea.

Try it yourself! In pennies (d), it’s:

Farthing: ¼d
Ha’pence: ½d
Penny: 1d
Tuppence: 2d
Threepence (thruppenny bit): 3d
Groat: 4d
Sixpence: 6d
Shilling AKA ‘bob’: 12d
Florin: 24d
Half crown: 30d
Crown: 100d
Sovereign: 240d (£1)
Guinea: 240d (£1)

You ought to see how they beam over a train timetable.

February 3, 2023 — 7:45 pm
Comments: 17

Happy Groundhog Day

I understand the magic rodent has predicted six more weeks of Winter. Well, there are five daffodils blooming in my front garden, so there you buck-toothed prognosticator.

They’re under the bathroom window. I hate to think why it’s especially warm there.

Check out these carrots. Uncle B discovered them poking around in the vegetable beds yesterday.

Mind you, we knew we’d left them there, we just didn’t realize they’d be recoverable. I thought they might be woody, but they’re still tender and sweet. Damned if I can get the dirt out of the little cracks, though.

I’ve decided the dirt is good for my microbiome.

February 2, 2023 — 7:57 pm
Comments: 4

What is this deviltry?

We had to do an errand in the big city today. First time we’ve had Mickey D’s in at least four years.

They already had the touch-screen ordering kiosks when we visited last, but the McDonald’s app? That’s new. Imagine being a registered McDonald’s customer.

Free food, I guess.

I ate a Big Mac, fries and a Coke every school day for a whole year once. I think it was 1975. I don’t believe they called it a meal deal in those days, but I do remember it was under a buck.

I also remember a Big Mac was a much bigger sammich. And Brits are really stingy with secret sauce.

I’m not going anywhere interesting with this, just sharing.

Oh, look at that – 1975 was the year they invented the Big Mac. That probably explains it.

February 1, 2023 — 8:47 pm
Comments: 13