Lebensraum.

I moved to a Kobo e-reader a while back as part of de-Amazoning my life, and while I’m annoyed that they’ve stopped supporting my 2011 Kindle Keyboard, it means I can finally close my account.

The Kindle is still perfectly usable after all these years. I jailbroke it not long after I bought it because I hated the wallpapers. I found a website where you could create your own, so I have a lovely array of images on it. One time I dropped it in the bath, and bought a new one. That turned out to be one of a run of KKs that developed a crack in the case, so I phoned customer service and sent it off for a replacement (I know, right?!?). While waiting for it to arrive, I dug out my old drowned reader and charged it up - and it was fine!! I sold the replacement when it arrived.

And now this: “To minimize any disruption, we’re offering a promotional code for 20% off select new Kindle devices as well as a £15 eBook credit that will be automatically added to your account after purchasing a new device”. As if. Fuck off.

Ok thanks. I’m amazed it passed me by.

My stance is: you can say what you like, but I am going to judge you by your words.

I can’t stand that line of “oooh, you can’t say anything these days”, it’s absolute bullshit.

A friend has a pair of Raybans she bought 25 years ago. One day last year she dropped them and they were run over by a trailer with a boat on it. She was pretty upset until she realised they weren’t damaged, not even scuffed. I witnessed this, it was incredible. Worth the expense, I would say.

I was in a fender bender a few years ago where the other party insisted on getting the police involved because of injury - the passenger slumped dramatically to the ground complaining of whiplash. The officer who attended said, “You don’t have whiplash.” And explained to her the concept of crumple zones in modern cars absorbing forces from impact. Then he declared it a no-fault accident (it was actually my fault).

Sudden spike in sales of plasma balls.

This is the second time today I’ve Turkey spelled this way. First time was on a travel programme on TV. They didn’t call Italy Italia, so why this? Did I miss something?

VLC for me too. What a great program it is, never a single problem.

Excellent suggestion!!! Thank you.

No issues with mosquitos here in Scotland, lol. I had maybe a dozen very healthy frogs in my pond, with great piles of spawn every spring and tadpoles galore. Then one morning last year I opened my curtains to see a heron standing in the pond. It’s been back again this month. I can’t really cover the pond, because the frogs need to come and go. Several herons live along a nearby estuary, and I guess this one happened to spot my pond one sunny day.

My frogs are fucked - thanks to a visiting heron. No spawn, no idea if the adults have survived. I’ve had the pond for about ten years, and the frogs found it almost immediately. The heron visits started last year.

Last year I had mystery bees coming and going from an unused compost bin. Took photos and showed them to an etymologist. He identified them as chocolate mining bees (no, no chocolate is being mined). I was pleased to see them hanging out in my garden. I keep a few corners of rough ground with piles of sticks etc to offer shelter for bumblers and others; it was funny to see these bees deciding the bin was better.

They must be competent story of the wedding capturers, many are not.

At a niece’s wedding the photographer had been asked to video the ceremony. The resulting film lingered on an especially pretty bridesmaid during the exchange of vows and rings.

Thanks, this is excellent pub quiz knowledge!

Real historic concentration camps, in case anyone is wondering.

It’ll be bought by a “property investor” who will gut it, put in new bathroom and kitchen, redecorate in shades of grey, then resell it for a serious profit. They might clear the back yard and put down turf as well. It’ll all take a couple of months unless there’s something seriously wrong, eg rotten roof.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/01/as-satellites-fill-earths-orbit-the-space-race-risks-becoming-an-environmental-crisis

I’m currently in the midst of throwing money at a problem - car’s brakes corroded after I didn’t drive for three months due to Reasons. I’m desperate to get back behind the wheel - a backlog of car-centric jobs has piled up.

I remember when he first threw his toys out of the pram over a wind farm visible from one of his Scottish golf courses. He’s lost all his battles here, hah!

Wind farms aren’t ideal given all the infrastructure needed, but they are certainly preferable to a war.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15l3knp4xyo