Discovering emojis!

Discovering emojis!

 Kathy, on ‘The Second Half of My Life’ taught many of us something interesting. Many people enjoy using emojis to enliven their writing. Thus far, I have had to rely on punctuation to achieve what I want - ; and – and ) for a smile, for example, or a cut and paste job from somewhere which never quite fits.

There is a way to have an emoji keyboard pop up. On a Mac, it’s Control + Command + Space. On Windows, it’s the Windows logo key + . (full stop or period)

I couldn’t find the Windows logo key on my keyboard and then I noticed that my F7 key had a smiley face on it. So, I pressed it and hey presto! a menu of emojis popped up. 😊😉

Very pleased with this, I tried again later, with no success 😔so I’m back to punctuation emojis again and whatever Blogger offers on the ‘new post’ page.  

Rats!  😒😕😠

Flesch Reading Ease

 

Flesch Reading Ease

Some writers use a stream of consciousness process when writing. This method can deliver lively, entertaining work which is easy to read. Others plan carefully, doing rigorous research and double-checking facts. Many fall somewhere between the two, aiming for interesting content without being didactic.

I review my blog posts before publishing them. I do this to try and make sure that no dreadful bloomers escape into the wider world. I do not always succeed.

Anyway, after completing my previous post about Gilbert’s detached squeaker, I followed the usual review process. Then I did something I haven’t done before: out of curiosity, I looked at ‘Insights,’ under which heading came ‘Document stats.’ The analysis for the ‘squeaker’ blog post can be seen above.

The Flesch Reading Ease test determines how readable a text is. It looks at the average number of words in sentences and the complexity of the vocabulary. There is more information here.

When a score between 0 to 100 is established, accompanying notes indicate the level of readability.

From Wikipedia:

Score	School level (US)	Notes
100.00–90.00	5th grade	Very easy to read. Easily understood by an average 11-year-old student.
90.0–80.0	6th grade	Easy to read. Conversational English for consumers.
80.0–70.0	7th grade	Fairly easy to read.
70.0–60.0	8th & 9th grade	Plain English. Easily understood by 13- to 15-year-old students.
60.0–50.0	10th to 12th grade	Fairly difficult to read.
50.0–30.0	College	Difficult to read.
30.0–10.0	College graduate	Very difficult to read. Best understood by university graduates.
10.0–0.0	Professional	Extremely difficult to read. Best understood by university graduates.

What sort of writer are you? Do you review what you have written before you post it?

Readability statistics for this post:

Gilbert the Good and the Squeaker

 

Gilbert the Good and the Squeaker

I am sorry to report that my honking duck has been confiscated once again. I deconstructed it the other day and removed the squeaker. It is beyond repair – the squeaker, that is.

I think Janice can repair the duck. I hope so, anyway. Strangely, she didn’t want to do it immediately. She said something about it being ‘all slobbery.’ I was quite insulted. I don’t slobber. I know I dribble water all over the floor when I have a drink but that’s because I’m in a hurry. There’s always something else needing my attention.

This is our water bucket. It used to contain fish food. There is another full bucket in the garage, maybe even two. I think there may have been a special offer . . . Whatever the reason, it’s going to take a long time before those buckets are emptied ‘cos all the fish have disappeared, again.

 

TTFN

                    Gilbert                                

Dogs must be carried

 

Dogs must be carried

The London Underground, more usually called ‘the Tube,’ is the oldest of its kind in the world, dating from 1863. The first escalators had a system whereby passengers were guided to the left at the bottom of the moving stairs and so evolved the rule, ‘Stand on the right.’ That allowed people in a rush on the left to get to where they were going without forcing their way through more sedate travellers. The rule still stands, allowing speedy passengers in a hurry to gallop down the lefthand side of the escalator without any obstacles other than slower travellers in front of them. This applies to ‘up’ as well.

Passengers should adhere to the rules of etiquette if they wish to travel the escalators safely and without danger of recrimination from impatient fellow travellers. ‘London Dreaming’ gives more advice on travelling on the Tube.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Small children should be carried and people with pushchairs/buggies/strollers should use the lifts, if there are any, or the stairs!

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Dogs must be carried. This is not an issue with a small, light dog, but becomes problematic if the dog is one of the larger breeds. There is an hilarious scene in ‘Paddington1’ when Paddington Bear takes the instruction literally and won’t step onto the escalator until he has a dog to carry.

Escalators can be worrying. I was standing behind a gentleman on one of the London station escalators, when he fell backwards and I had to push him upright. He wasn’t ill, just not well balanced. He also wasn’t very appreciative, but I suppose he was embarrassed. I know I would have been.

Deliveries and returns

 

Deliveries and returns

Castors

Image source

I was pleased to see that Andrew received his full reimbursement.

Castor cups

Image source

Barry ordered something or other – air fryer ‘accessories,’ that was it. A parcel duly arrived, by way of China, of course, but it contained furniture castor cups, so he contacted Amazon and was greeted very respectfully and cheerfully by a young woman, who organised a return label, posted to his email address.

So, he printed it, but noticed that it required him to return the item he didn’t want, that referring to the air fryer accessories. It became an Alice in Wonderland situation, then, because, ‘I can’t return it because I haven’t received it,’ but, ‘We cannot refund you until you return the unwanted item.’ After a bit (actually, quite a lot) of to-ing and fro-ing, a resolution was reached and the money will be refunded – eventually.

Meanwhile, someone is in possession of air fryer accessories and bemoaning the lack of delivery of furniture castor cups.

The people at Amazon customer services are unfailingly polite and helpful. I hope they’re appreciated for the work they do.

Electric Teeth

 

Electric Teeth

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

There is a site on YouTube called ‘Electric Teeth’ which is dedicated to the testing and analysis of electric toothbrushes. The main presenter and co-founder of the site has been testing toothbrushes for ten years. I just wondered how many hours a day he spends evaluating them.

We are advised to brush our teeth for two minutes twice a day. That is surely not long enough to reach a conclusion about a product, so I assume he brushes his teeth several times a day. He has insanely extremely white clean teeth. Close-ups of him brushing are not attractive, but at least he’s proving he’s doing the job he’s paid for. To be fair, it’s not alluring to have an intimate view of anyone cleaning their teeth.

It’s informative, unbiased, interesting viewing if you have nothing better to do. We watched because we are replacing our old brush. Expect gleaming gnashers from now on!

 😉

 

 

 

Do birds have a sense of taste?

 

Do birds have a sense of taste?

Redwing with holly berry

A comment from Linda Sue made me query whether birds have a sense of taste. The early bird catches the worm, but does it enjoy its meal?

Birds certainly have taste buds, though far fewer than mammals. There is not a huge body of work on avian taste buds, but most species studied so far have been discovered to have up to 300, while human beings have between 2,000 and 9,000, depending on age, genetics, health and lifestyle. However, birds are significantly smaller than many mammals, so the ratio of taste buds to individual is higher, suggesting that their sense of taste may be quite sophisticated.

Like mammals, birds can taste sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (delicious, complex) but the taste buds are located differently in distinct species. Ducks’ taste buds are inside their bills while in parrots, they are on their tongues and the back of their throats. Ducks and parrots have been shown to have the largest number of taste buds, around three to four hundred, while chickens have a paltry twenty-four.

Birds learn to avoid unpleasant foods, and to appreciate others. Most songbirds can discern sweetness. Hummingbirds can detect different concentrations of sugar in nectar, and fruit-eating birds can distinguish between ripe and unripe fruit.

One bird that does not have taste buds is the ostrich.

So, maybe the Corvid Cleaners do not like the taste of cigarette butts, but willingly pick them up and dispose of them for the food treats they receive.

Helpful crows

 

Helpful crows

Not picking up cigarette butts or litter, but dog biscuits!

Six years ago, an unusual initiative began in the city of Södertälje in Sweden. It was designed to cut down on litter and the expense of cleaning the streets. Christian Günther-Hanssen, the founder of Corvid Cleaning, believed that trained crows would reduce the litter of cigarette butts by about 75% in the city.

Cigarette butts take an incredible ten years to decay, releasing lead, nicotine and arsenic into the soil and water.

The crows quickly learnt that if they picked up cigarette butts and put them in a special machine, they would get a food treat in exchange. In a theme park, Puy du Fou, in France, the falcons in a falconry display, demonstrated how they had been trained to pick up items and take them to specific locations. Inspired by this, crows were trained to pick up cigarette butts and other litter in exchange for food treats.

If only we could train humans to stop dropping litter everywhere they went!

 

 

Wednesday surprise

 

Wednesday surprise

Ariella with Gilbert

The dogs looked up, alert, as they heard a voice and some scuffling. Then they realised it was Gillian and two of her grandchildren. Roxy and Gilbert greeted Gillian enthusiastically.

                                                              Luca

Roxy was very happy, as experience reminded her that little children are closely associated with food and sticky fingers. Gilbert has never experienced little ones so he lay down close to me and watched carefully.

Ariella with the Quintopus

 Eventually, he realised that they can be fun, especially when Ariella, who is three and a half and accustomed to many dogs in her life, began playing with him with his Quintopus. Luca, her little brother, will be three in October, and he did what most children his age do, and that is, followed his own agenda.

Gilbert realises that small children can be fun . . . or, at least, the source of food!

Ariella with a reindeer push-up toy, which she was determined to master - and did!

We had a lovely and totally unexpected day with them, thanks to Gillian, who has form for turning up unannounced and full of enthusiasm. They are delightful children, both blonde and blue-eyed, as is all of Gillian’s family. It is invigorating to spend time with young minds and inquisitiveness. 

Gilbert watches . . .

It was a grand tonic for both of us, Barry, in particular, who continues to improve daily.

On the way home, they called in to see Susannah, Gillian’s younger sister, who lives less than ten minutes away from us, so her day was brightened, too, as it needed to be.

A pensive Luca

Thank you, Gillian 😊💖

Nosebags

 

Nosebags

Horse with nosebag

                                                        Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I am not obsessed with this subject but something Andrew mentioned made me laugh out loud. He lives in Melbourne, home to the Melbourne Cup, which is next due to take place on Tuesday, 5^th November. That date is celebrated in Great Britain – the Protestant parts, anyway – as Guy Fawkes’ Night, more usually known nowadays as Fireworks Night. It is also an important date this year for Americans everywhere as they go to the ballot boxes to vote for the next President, who I hope will have a more natural skin tone than the Republican candidate.

Anyway, Andrew mentioned that tourists can be conveyed by horse-drawn carriage to visit the sights. Horses cannot be house-trained, or road-trained, so, in an effort to keep things neat and tidy, they have been fitted with little bags to catch anything that falls behind them, but, in Andrew’s words, ‘they aren’t terribly effective’ which I take to mean that they’re useless.

I have a vision of horses with nosebags and tail bags trotting about the clean streets of Melbourne, the drivers of the carriages working out how much they’ll get for their bags of dung, for, assuredly, nothing goes to waste.

Dung, manure, poo

 

Dung, manure, poo

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

It was a remark from Gail that Nobby thinks poo is yummy that made me think.

Years ago, I had read that dogs would eat horse dung from horses fed on grass but not that of horses fed on pellets or concentrates.

However, I would discourage dogs from eating anything they may find on the ground and ‘Leave it!’ is taught from a very young age. This applies to babies and toddlers, too, though a sharp command is likely to reduce little humans to tears. 😉

More seriously, eating horse manure can be dangerous to dogs. Like most domestic animals, horses are wormed at regular intervals, and dung may contain some of the chemicals, like Ivermectin, for instance, which can be toxic to dogs. The ten or more symptoms of such poisoning include dilated pupils, vomiting, tremors, disorientation and difficulty breathing. Some breeds, like Collies, Shetland sheepdogs, Pomeranians and Australian shepherd dogs. are more susceptible, because of a gene mutation.

Ivermectin is found in many worming compounds and is used for farm animals like cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, to treat or prevent lung and intestinal worms.

If a dog is an inveterate consumer of poo, there may be something missing in its diet.

Horses

 

Horses

                                            Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

A colleague of Barry’s wanted to leave work early one Friday afternoon, because he was expecting delivery of a pile of horse manure and intended to spend the weekend working it into his garden soil. On the following Monday, Barry enquired how the work had gone. His colleague looked a little sheepish and said, ‘Well, it wasn’t there when I got home and when I ‘phoned the supplier (presumably the local stables) to ask where it was, he said it had definitely been delivered. We decided not to pursue the matter. I just hope the lucky recipient was pleased with his unexpected gift.’

There are a number of horse riders in our area and sometimes they have to access public roads, which always seems incredibly dangerous to me. Most car drivers know that they should pass wide and slowly. Sometimes it is impossible, without resorting to a horse box, to reach ground where horse and rider can exercise, without travelling on roads, even for a short distance.

From time to time there are spats on the local community Facebook page.

Today’s made me laugh. It concerned a complaint from a local resident that a horse had dropped dung outside her house. She had suggested that it would be courteous for the rider to knock on the door to alert the householder about the pile. She had posted a photograph of the offending article(s).

The initial sharp reaction was as follows: If you’re happy to stand by the path ready to hold a horse for a rider whilst they dismount so they can kick the poo to the side then I’m sure they’ll take you up on that offer. You’ll also need to give them a leg up to get back on the horse of course (or have a mounting block on standby). The law doesn't require equestrians to collect poo, partly because there's no practical way for them to do it, but also because it is just grass and water. It's just not realistic to expect a rider to dismount mid ride to clear it up, unless there is somewhere safe for them to tie their horse up and to mount again from.

 This was followed by someone commenting, ‘Hey! Get off your high horse!😊'

 The next person said, ‘Surely an inspiration for a local firm to start selling horse nappies?😉'

 The final reaction was, ‘Bloody horse riders don’t pay no road tax, slow us down when we’re trying to get somewhere and shit all over our roads.’😂😂😂'

There is always the voice of reason in these instances and sure enough someone posted a screenshot of the section of the Highway Code that refers to equestrians. Specifically, horses are not allowed on footpaths.   

I looked again at the householder’s photograph and lo and behold, the no longer steaming pile of dung was on the path outside her house. The thing is that I didn’t see the suggestion or complaint until after I’d seen the responses to it – a quirk of Facebook, perhaps - and initially I had thought the complaint was about dung on the road.

Years ago, on my way home from work, I regularly passed an elderly chap who lived in a ramshackle house near the road. I saw him many times with his bucket and shovel ‘clearing’ the road. Very good for roses, I believe. 

Not just an apple a day . . .

 

Not just an apple a day . . .

There is some truth in the adage, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’

Apples contain vitamin C, which supports the immune system, and vitamin A, which is necessary for healthy eyes and skin. There is some evidence that eating apples can promote heart health and protect against cancer and type 2 diabetes. They are also good for the brain, containing potent antioxidants that ‘protect brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation.’ The fibre in the fruit aids digestion, slowing down the absorption of sugar, thus helping with weight control.

My favourite apples are Pink Lady, Jazz, Braeburn, Egremont Russet and the apples from the garden, whose names I cannot remember, but which are crisp and juicy.

 . . . but almonds too! (so long as you’re not allergic to them.)

Almonds can help lower ‘bad’ cholesterol (I always feel that someone should be saying, ‘Bad boy, down’ when I hear ‘bad cholesterol’.)

They seem to have almost the same PR team as apples, as they are high in fibre and contain vitamin C, as well as E, which can ‘protect brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation.’ In addition, they contain potassium, magnesium and calcium, which apples also have, but in smaller proportions.

Apparently, Americans are guided to consume one ounce of almonds a day, which equates to a handful – man, woman, child?? – or twenty-three nuts.

The sickly Brits, though, are encouraged to eat two ounces a day, which would be more of a handful, no matter the size of the hand, or thirty nuts. Maths is not my strong subject, but if one ounce equals twenty-three nuts, surely two ounces would equate to forty-six.

I apologise to readers from other countries – I can find no Antipodean or European guidelines, or indeed, guidance from any other continent, but they surely must be similar.

Anyway, we have each munched our allotted portion of almonds today, so are feeling virtuous. I gather we also must eat walnuts. They must be good for the brain – just look at a naked walnut, or even a pecan. It could not be plainer.

POSH

 

POSH

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ship The Hindostan departing Southampton, 24^th September, 1842 

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

In common with many others, I thought POSH came from the initial letters of ‘Port Out, Starboard Home,’ which described the preferred cabins of passengers travelling from Britain to India and back, possibly on a P&O ship. These were the cooler, north-facing cabins of wealthy, often aristocratic travellers, who could afford to pay for their greatest comfort. Sadly, the story has never been verified.

Another suggested origin is the Romani posh. From posh-kooroona, or half a crown, posh came to mean something expensive or upper-class. It came more generally into the English language in the early 20^th century and was used to mean elegant and is still used currently to describe something a little more extravagant than the commonplace – a posh restaurant, a posh frock, a posh do. It was considered slang for ‘swish.’  

‘Posh’ is a pejorative description applied to people who may consider themselves or be thought to be superior to the hoi polloi by reason of any of the following: the way they dress, where they live, how they vote, where they went to school and how they sound – that is, their accents. Britain is a class-ridden society. 😉

I always thought P&O stood for the Pacific and Orient Company, but it was actually the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. For more than a century, from 1842 to 1970, P&O was the major sea carrier of mail and passengers between Britain and India. On the outward journey to India, the port, or left, cabins had the sun first thing in the morning and then cooled down during the day. The right, or starboard cabins had afternoon sun, so were still very warm when it was time to retire for the night. During the return voyage from India to Britain, the reverse was true.

P&O dates from 1822 and was formed by a London stockbroker, called Brodhie McGhie Wilcox, and a Scottish sailor, Arthur Anderson. Its life as a cruise company began in 1837, and it is the oldest cruise line in the world. It is now owned by the US Carnival Corp, which also owns Cunard and Princess Cruises, but still caters mainly to British passengers.

Today’s cruise liners are enormous. P&O’s ships Iona and Arvia both carry 5,200 guests and are served by 1,762 crew. Iona was built in 2021 and it and Arvia are both powered by LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) The line’s smallest cruise ship is the Aurora, which has 850 crew attending to 1,874 passengers.

Aloe vera

 

Aloe vera . . . 

or, as we say, 'Allo, Vera, 'ow yer doin', ducks?'

I planted a selection of Aloe vera plants in a shallow bowl in February. 

They grew rapidly and have produced offsets, called ‘pups,’ which could be potted separately. They are relatively easy to look after and, as they are succulents, they do not need enormous amounts of water. In fact, the advice is to allow them to dry out completely between waterings. They enjoy bright light but can get ‘sunburnt’ and turn red if subjected to too much direct sun. 

                                Aloe vera with 'pups' or 'babies'

In their natural habitat, they produce tall spikes of yellow flowers, but are unlikely to do so in temperate climates. Having said that, I have just seen a flowering aloe advertised on ebay. As it’s being sold in a 9cm pot, I don’t think it will be flowering very soon; it is more a case of it being a plant that could flower, with luck.

Aloe vera originates from the Arabian Peninsula in southwestern Asia. The Arabian Peninsula is the birthplace of Islam and is the largest peninsula in the world, with Saudi Arabia occupying around four fifths of it.

The Ancient Egyptians called Aloe vera ‘the plant of immortality’ and it was believed that Cleopatra used the gel from the leaves more than 2,000 years ago as a cosmetic. The gel is both soothing and hydrating.

In modern times, Aloe vera is cultivated for use in products to alleviate sunburn or insect bites as well as in cosmetics and hair care. Agricultural production is conducted in many countries including Australia, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Most of the harvest is used in the cosmetics industry, but some may be included in the manufacture of facial tissues and shaving cream, because of its moisturising, emollient properties.

I have found that squeezing the cooling gel from a leaf onto a scalded or sore hand brings immediate relief, though other people may report an adverse reaction to it. It's toxic to humans and animals, so not suitable for curious animals or inquisitive tots, who enjoy learning through their mouths.

Gilbert the Good – Noses and needles

 

 

Gilbert the Good – Noses and needles

I am a very lucky boy and have lots of toys. My newest toy is the Quintopus and I really like playing tug with it, either with Roxy or the humans. The trouble with it is that it loses its tentacles really easily. 

It became a Quadropus until Janice mended it, but after that a strenuous game transformed it into a Triopus, so she took it away from me and promised to repair it. That was ages ago. Every time I reminded her, by picking up one of the pieces, she just said, ‘I’ve got to mend this, Gilbert. You’ll have to wait.’

That wouldn’t have been so bad, but she’d also taken my duck away for mending and that was on a high shelf, so I couldn’t reach it. I like all my toys, but I especially like my duck and my Quintopus. Every time I looked at her with sad eyes, she just said, ‘I will repair it, Gilbert, I promise.’

I had given up all hope until today. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw her threading a needle. 

I wanted to see how to do it. Roxy came along to watch, too. I’m not sure I’d be able to sew, as I haven’t got opposable thumbs, but maybe Roxy and I could work on it together.

Janice was worried about us getting so close to the needle. She doesn’t realise what sensible dogs we are.

It was so good to have my soft toys again, but I found I was exhausted from concentrating so hard so needed to have a refreshing snooze.

Arthur’s coming to stay tomorrow night. Yippee!

TTFN

Gilbert