Reality check: New Zealanders are leaving New Zealand in record numbers.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/12/new-zealand-cost-of-living-pressures-record-people-leaving-australia

Ok I’m coming round to your place for dinner. That sounds AMAZING.

Huh, I did not know that. Thanks! I was in a discussion over lunch the other day about chemistry - one woman revealed she was a chemistry teacher, which prompted an anti-science member of the group to scoff, “What relevance does chemistry have in daily life?” I gave cooking as a prime example of chemistry - cakes rise, sauces reduce, roasts brown. And now I can emulsifying to the list!

No. Combine the sauce with pasta, put it in an oven proof dish and grate extra cheese on top. Put in the oven until the topping is browned and bubbling. Then serve. (Also, add a bit of mustard to the cheese sauce, it perks up the flavour.)

Hah! In Scotland we dip pizza in batter and deep fry it. With a deep-fried Mars bar for afters.

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/five-glaswegian-chip-shop-delicacies-11462402

I just listened to a podcast on this whole saga - what a wild ride.

Struwwelpeter. We had an English copy handed down by my grandfather. It’s insane.

Example: “Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug (“The Very Sad Tale with the Matches”): A girl plays with matches, accidentally ignites herself and burns to death. Only her cats mourn her.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struwwelpeter

– pay for a large residence and security on the outskirts, then stay inside. Use disguises/body doubles when going out.

So … you can everything you want, except sponteneity? Or privacy, with all those staff hanging around. And there’d still be some douche tracking your private jet.

Last year my email address - initialslastname@gmail.com - was added to the group list for a bunch of old ladies in England. First I was advised of my spot on the flower roster for the church, then I got someone’s holiday photos, a reminder that Gerald’s birthday was on the 9th, a lovely eCard congratulating me on my wedding anniversary… on and on.

I tried deleting them but they kept coming, and I worried about all the cool stuff initialslastname was missing out on. I sent an email to the whole group saying stop it & got a heartfelt apology and promises to correct it, but the emails have kept on coming - they all have me in their address books now. If I wasn’t so lazy it would be a good incentive to move fully to my proton address.

Ha ha, read this wonderful piece through thinking, sounds great but what would I ever make? And then omg, yarn winder. I’m a knitter, and my yarn winder is a plastic monstrosity. I mean I’m never going to do it myself, but there definitely is a market for beautifully machined yarn winders.

Thanks! Will do some more research…

Oh dear. I was planning to visit Japan in the autumn. Guess I will give it a swerve. Maybe Korea then? I haven’t flown anywhere since the Before Times and have a hankering for foreign travel.

It was partly because my parents forced me into a scholarship that was tied to teaching afterwards - I was entirely unsuited to being a teacher, but neither of them even attended high school, and to them being a teacher was the pinnacle of achievement. I was pretty good academically but university overwhelmed me, so between that and no incentive to succeed, I failed miserably, only passing a few courses. I ended up getting a professional qualification (not a degree) in my 30s and had a decent career.

Living in a squat for a few years showed me I would have made a fantastic electrian or plumber, but you had to have a penis for that for some reason.

Oh yes, I’d forgotten about Winnie. I have a lot more respect for science and literature prizes than the peace prize though. Harder work, I reckon.

Is this the first Nobel laureate to run a country? How bloody amazing. Well done Mexico!

Last time I was in the mosh pit was a Pogues gig. Might have been hit by Shane MacGowan’s spit. Totally worth it.

This is the correct answer. It’s how ships avoid running into each other. When whoever is steering the vessel is facing the bow (front, usually the pointy bit), port is their left, starboard their right. Ship’s running lights are red on the port side, green on the left. So if you’re out on the water at night, you can immediately see whether a ship is coming towards you or moving away. The rule for passing an oncoming vessel is “port to port”, thus avoiding confusion and collision.

Sitting up in bed I would consider the headboard the stern, because I have my back to it, and the foot the bow. So the area to starboard is right, and portside is left. Ahoy maties!!!

I found out what was going on from Yahoo! Lol. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/bing-api-down-taking-microsoft-090532873.html

I know a couple of blokes like this. Great stories, but pleeeease I have things to do. I wouldn’t mind so much if it was a conversation but it’s a monologue, with barely room for a “good grief” or “oh gosh”. One of my friends now just says “I’m off, bye” and walks out, in the middle of a story about crocodiles in the Zambezi or whatever.

1626, three-storied house.