ManCity is still at the top of the league

he league is back (after some European football) and Manchester City’s buying spree is drawing attention.

Arsenal will go top tonight, then the derby (tomorrow) will be a big test for Enzo and Team.

There’s a good chance ManCity won’t win anything this year, but it’s off to a good start.

Bewildering Manchester, rewilding the place

HE end of August marked the opening of a new coffee shop and then there was some heavy lifting in the area opposite it. About 20 men were working hard to plant trees and other plants.

Given the awful, outdated industrial nature of that area before the heavy investment in it, seeing the planting of trees there is really nice.

Oh, speaking of men gardening, we saw a very large truck driven by a lady, which is rare. Yes, bus drivers are female sometimes (more and more over time), with the same for trams, but seldom does one see a construction site with a female doing the truck’s manoeuvring, so it’s a refreshing sight, a welcomed change. They push social boundaries.

I’ve noticed that there’s a “Calico Coffee” in Mayfield Park, Manchester, which isn’t new, but I cannot (yet) find the name of the new one at the old train station (now Depot).

They know the face!

HE other day or about a week ago in Mayfield we tested the birds to see if they can recognise us and distinguish us (from the crowds passing by). Some birds did. When they see us – and they do in fact know the faces – they know food has arrived. No mnemonic like clapping necessary anymore.

One bird then follows the other. A flock forms.

Birds are smart.

But it’s not about expecting returns

oday was an exceptionally good day. We fed lots of animals in spite of the government telling humans to stockpile food and not (anymore) feed birds. Yesterday we went to check the shop where we used to buy sacks of seeds for the birds. For the second time in a row they don’t (or no longer) stock the stuff we bought, only small bags. This was likely intentional, perhaps some sort of policy (or so we’re guessing).

Research shows that “Millions Could Spend Half Their Income on Food by 2050,” meaning that half of one’s salary is just to nourish one’s body, so what’s left for water, power, rent and so on? Insane.

Anyway, I’ve saved 45 pounds today on food, maybe a hidden blessing or covert reward for us selflessly sharing food with nature’s wildlife. I found many discounts after Rianne and I went to the park and only minutes after giving a ton of seeds to 70+ birds there (various species). We enjoyed seeing them resting on their bellies on the grass (after a very large meal for a considerable length of time). They seemed so happy, some of them leapt on our laps, asking for more (we ran out)

Today, unlike before, Edwin came home and stayed here until almost 7PM which is when it’s getting dark. This is a bird we know and recognise. It inspired me to write this.

Share food with those who need it. One day you might be the one in need.

Update: Edwin has just returned again. Thrice! It’s part 7PM already. Amazing.

He left for good at 7:09.

Where’s the dog?

n December of this year it’ll be 3 years of uptime (not just 1,000 days), so I am extremely pleased with the stability of Linux. It runs mostly on old hardware.

Yesterday we went to a store that used to be known as “Cash Generator” (it looked like it changed ownership) to assess laptops that are pre-owned (used) and understand the correlation between storage (disk space) and price.

It looks like the insane price surges did not spare the “pre-owned” space.

For now, thankfully, we have enough hardware and storage.

Mintro looks OK (can’t complain), but where was the dog that was inside when it was “Cash Generator”?

Mintro, bring back a (or the) dog. It attracts customers like us.

Many people still remember how they first heard about it (and where)

still remember how I found out about the 9/11 (2021) attacks. I was likely on a plane at the time, flying back to Manchester. After I had landed and picked up my suitcase the cab driver told me that a plane hit a building in the US. I assumed it was 1) a small plane (one person); 2) only one collision; 3) an accident.

When I arrived home I began to realise what happened. Maybe some of the collisions happened after my landing^*. I never checked and compared the times; the media focused on entirely different aspects (not the exact times).

That was 25 years ago. I was a student at the time. The world has changed profoundly since then, and not at all for the better.

____

^* If the air crew (onboard in English airspace) knew about what happened, then they chose not to tell passengers. That’s understandable. Panic is a safety hazard.

Strong start

think the derby this coming Sunday (2 days from now) will be hard for Manchester City. United is doing OK since that awful first match in Hull and despite last night’s rival (quite new in European football) being generally weak, United handled it very well. Yesterday we walked in Town for a couple of hours and saw salespeople of match scarfs in the streets.

Manchester United used to be almost synonymous with Manchester. Not anymore.