Bluey! It’s a kiddie cartoon about a dog family. If I’ve read or watched anything too heavy I’ll watch a couple of Bluey eps to chill before sleep.

https://youtu.be/kPFHL0R0oIU

Windows is doing its best to shake me off. It keeps reminding me that it’s ditching Win 10 and I’d better upgrade. Except I won’t, because my (perfectly good) computer isn’t up to spec for 11. So in effect it’s telling me that I’d better hurry up and decide on a Linux distro, tick tock.

I have a couple of friends who use it like that. I hate when they send me links, it’s like those people who used to spray you with perfume in department stores.

In the UK a fascist movement took off at the same time as Nazism. It failed because their bullying tactics didn’t wash with Brits, especially with what was going on in Germany. They were seen as the thugs they were, basically. Antifascists halted an attempted parade through the largely Jewish east end of London, “the Battle of Cable Street”. After that the govt banned paramilitary uniforms etc. Once the war started of course that was it - the party was proscribed and most fascists were interned for the duration.

Meanwhile… https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American_Bund

Look at it on a world map, one without border lines, and it’s blindingly obvious. It’s not a sub-region, it’s part of a large land mass barely separated from a large land mass to the south.

Ha ha, one guy I met guessed Wisconsin. I was told I spoke very good English.

In the 1700s only landowners could vote.

White, male landowners - I’m just guessing here.

Wut? Don’t you need a WOF any more?

You’re obviously not from round here… (Gesturing vaguely at shuffling hordes of very plain people in my town. Self included. I fit right in.)

Seriously though, comparing yourself with strangers is a terrible idea. That said, if you do want to smarten up a bit, I’d suggest going to a menswear store and asking an assistant to assist. Explain your dilemma, ask them to help you put together one outfit, “smart casual” would be a good start. Good luck!

A fair old chunk of the crowd were in bright red frocks and silly hats.

A scientist. It’s never going to happen because I’m 72. At school I was pushed into languages, history etc because I wasn’t good at maths. I was good at general science though, especially chemistry, and I enjoyed it.

After I retired I took up beekeeping and have lately rediscovered my love of science. I have two microscopes and am studying bee anatomy and pollen identification. There’s an exam later in the year for a certificate that will open further areas of study, but I doubt my skills are up to the challenge (eg dissecting a bee in front of the examiner). However, I am really enjoying the whole process of making slides and examining them. I would have loved doing this as a job.

Lemur.

In my experience the people in the back have their fingers in their ears and are going “lalalalalala”.

Extra info you didn’t ask for but might help: the doctor gave me a sheet to record my BP for a week. Two readings in the morning, a few minutes apart, two readings in the afternoon, a few minutes apart. Once I’d done that he added and divided the results to get the average. Too high, so now I’m on meds.

I was a bit blasé about it at first - pfft, I feel fine! But he explained that high BP can cause a stroke. You can recover just fine from a heart attack, but a stroke can be devastating, if you even survive it. You will feel absolutely fine until suddenly you’re on the floor, unable to move one side of your body or speak coherently. Scared me into taking it seriously!

The bees. All our hives made it through winter and a fairly mild spring so far has given them a boost. Queens are laying like crazy, workers are working hard.

I’ve started wearing very thin gloves while inspecting the hives after realising that they make it less likely I’ll be stung, because I can be gentler. A bonus is that I can feel the warmth of the bees, and that really does bring me joy.

For example Caoimhe, pronounced Keeva.

Yes. Pupae are fed a mix of pollen and nectar/honey called “bee bread”. (Honey is nectar that has its water content reduced to 20% and is sealed, to prevent fermentation.)

I’ve been reading up on the front-runners for Pope and some of them are super old school illiberal. Though the fellow from Ghana does apparently concede that the laws on homosexuality in some African countries are a bit harsh.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/21/who-next-pope-francis-potential-candidates-succeed

Meanwhile no-one mentioned Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited Earth 48 times on her own back in 1963. Sigh.

Latte is an Italian drink. In France it’s café au lait (or café crème in the south), which is generally a breakfast drink, served in a bowl-like cup.