Sunday, August 16th, 2026, 10:11 am

find it hard to believe we’re just hours away from the start of “real time” for football (or “showtime”).
Rianne finished her crate of Carabao drinks (the ones Carabao Cup is named after) only 2 days ago and today there’s a “cup” or “shield” up for grabs (3PM BST this afternoon).
For Enzo’s confidence (and others’ confidence in him) it’ll be important to win this.
We still have 15 days left in this vacation.
Sunday, August 16th, 2026, 5:48 am
am happy to report that “Sleepy” (the bird) is “Sweepy” no more. She quit sweeping aside seeds after some training (reinforcing good habits, penalising bad behaviour).
Our bird-feeding habits changed a lot. Today “Bot” (Bottle) came as early as 6AM and last night some bird came after 8PM, which is highly unusual for mid-August.
This is more essential this year due to the drought.
Saturday, August 15th, 2026, 7:52 pm
was just reading your article “Less Shopping Centres, More Parks”, someone has told me, noting “the line about water shortages at the end.”
I said: “Water shortages are also becoming a matter of urgency across Europe. This is climate change in action.”
In IRC he shared “the good, the bad, and the ugly….”
It said (headline) “Europe’s Record Heatwave Kills 25,000, Dries Rivers, Shuts Nuclear Plant, Exposes Submerged Warships…”
“How Is the beaver population in the UK?” he asked. “What is happening in the USA might be of help” (The beavers returning to the desert).
In IRC I joked: “let’s build more chatbot centres, we need more chatbots, give them our water and power to cool down… the server, not the elderly… because… chatbots”
We are seeding our own collective destruction.
Saturday, August 15th, 2026, 5:40 pm
think it is fair to say that Pocock’s political success boils down to “free publicity”, not securing a seat in the EU, Ireland, or the UK.
He seems to have strategically chosen an election precinct that’s guaranteed to attract media attention. 33 other folks chose the same.
Saturday, August 15th, 2026, 4:16 pm
AM growing increasingly aware of the dietary needs of the snails/shells. They are multiplying fast and now they finish their daily meals within hours, not days.
I still have lots of food for them in store, but if they keep reproducing they will be “over capacity” in this tank. Then I’ll need to think about introducing another, bigger tank.
Those are not expensive though…
Saturday, August 15th, 2026, 2:51 pm
HE weather here has cooled down considerably, so I am back to drinking hot coffee and researching for upcoming articles.
This coming week I’ll stay indoors more; I expect writing capacity will hence increase.