MrsDoyle

My favourite joke, being the only one I can remember. Still gets a laugh!

Oh, that is so much more interesting than wordle! Thanks.

Was playing Trivial Pursuit with family one time, classics question came up. My brother replied “Pericles”. His 10-yo daughter said “Wrong!” He knew he was right & demanded the “correct” answer.

“Testicles.” Pronounced to rhyme with Pericles. It was the answer to another question on the card - What is removed from a horse to make it a gelding?

The poor child. Her face as we all screamed laughing. “What?!?”

Beekeeping, rowing, swimming, knitting, photography, gardening. I also do quite a bit of tech stuff, and some sewing and baking. None of it is for income, though I have been paid for a few photos.

Beekeeping is far and away the most absorbing and interesting hobby I’ve ever had. Where I live there are very active local associations that support learning and hold social events. The national association organises courses at all levels. A government department sends out bee inspectors to check for disease; great support and another learning opportunity.

If you want to, you can make good money from selling honey. It’s a lot of hard work, but really enjoyable.

Marine Traffic - I live by the sea.

Proton Mail - trying to give up Gmail.

Bitwarden - had to stop using the same password for everything.

My Row Counter - for knitting, it’s a fantastic app.

Sadly they moved away, and let the flat to concrete-shod students.

Lived downstairs from a couple who were in a chamber orchestra - he was cello, she was violin. They apologised, but I LOVED my morning recital, even if it was only part of the full score.

This is it. Yes, spinning HDDs may be cheaper, but replacing mine with an SSD made my PC faster and quieter, especially on boot.

About half an hour ag

At least they still exist somewhere, albeit hidden. In the early days of television, the BBC routinely taped over episodes, even of really popular shows, because the tapes were expensive.

Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_missing_episodes

Every now and then a box of old VHS recordings turns up in someone’s shed or attic, and can be added back in to the archive. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-67218634

Ooooh, I’m rare! Colour me capercaillie.

the old boat has oars

Which no-one is using. It’s the first thing I noticed. There’s a man sitting in the stern with a tiller and rudder, but there’s no visible means of propulsion, no other crew. Weird.

Edit: I zoomed in, and it’s possible there is someone else in the boat, hard to see.

My refund was for a pack of tomatoes, boring! So I’ll tell you a funny refund story I heard today. Friends, mostly a bit squiffy (driver aside) were trying to book a hotel at their destination on booking.com. There were rooms available in hotel A. “Check the reviews” said Ms Sober. “Nah, just book it!” said Ms Squiffy.

Booking made, they tried to contact the hotel. No answer. Reviews were AWFUL. “Rats behind the bar” type awful. Fast forward to arrival aaaand the hotel was closed. They moved on to hotel B, where they learned that hotel A was shut because the owner was in jail for repeated violation of food hygiene standards.

So they called booking.com for a refund. “We can’t refund you until we’ve heard from the proprietor.” “The proprietor is in PRISON.” “Well we’d still like to give a chance to get in touch.”

It took them weeks to get their money back. Moral of the story is always try to book directly with the hotel.

I just had a look and apparently it’s back in business.

Review from this month: “Refused to stay, checked in 3 rooms & all checked out within 10mins of arrival, the disgusting place is a health hazard, taps not working, mould all over walls, the place needs closing down.”

Owner: “Sorry this not true just looking for refunds.”

I cut it in half and kind of gnaw the innards out. I don’t eat the skin, too fuzzy. I think some of modern kiwifruit have smoother skins, but I’ve been eating them since they were called Chinese gooseberries and to me they’re forever fuzzy.

Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, the Lone Ranger.

I’m not THAT old, but New Zealand didn’t have television until late in the day, so we got cheap, years-old US kids’ shows. I was ten before our region got TV and it was a few years after that when we got our own set. The first TV I ever watched was coverage of what must have been one of the early Saturn rocket launches. We went to my older sister’s boyfriend’s house to watch it. Very exciting!

I liked Lone Ranger best. “Hi ho Silver, and awaaaay!”

Phone in left front pocket, keys in right front pocket. Nothing else, that’s all I need if I’m just stepping out. I have several hobbies though, and I have a separate backpack/bag for each one, loaded and ready to go.

I had a dog who’d lived rough and he stole stuff too. The pack of toilet paper was his biggest disappointment - “Hey this is all wrapping! There’s nothing inside!”

I was minding a friend’s cat one time. She wanted out into the back garden, but changed her mind when she saw the rain. She walked through to the front door and meowed there. I had to open the door and show her that yes it’s raining on this side of the house too.

Following up on that, I’d been trying to remember the song in Blazing Saddles, when they literally break the fourth wall and there’s an anachronistic musical number being filmed - it’s called “The French Mistake”. https://youtu.be/FezOkjeNs5Y

1967, dir Mel Brooks - I mean, who else? What a guy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)