2008 — 15 June: Sunday
Past midnight again, already! Tonight's picture dates from Christmas 1977, over in Meisenheim. We slept in my brother-in-law Georg's bedroom, upstairs. For reasons that never became clear, he'd rigged up room lights and switches from a false ceiling, and it was a bit of a stretch for Christa to reach them. Although she was actually about three inches above average height I used to tease her (because she always giggled) and her parents' house was large and had high ceilings:
Christa reaching for the lights, and smiling as usual
Another stroll in the New Forest later, and a pub lunch is planned. G'night, at 00:36.
Damn that AG Bell chap!
It would have been a better night (granted I didn't clamber into bed until about 02:00 or so) had someone (or some robot?) not chosen to call me on my landline (ex-directory and not well-publicised) at 05:17 but only let it ring once and a bit. Enough, that is, to wake me fully. Grrr!
Oh well. Brekkie has just (09:32) been loaded, the sun appears to be on its own in a blue sky. In a New Yorker comment piece published shortly before Clinton conceded there's a neat summary of the 2000 Florida recount (subject, it seems, of an HBO movie of that title). There's also a lovely little cartoon by BEK showing a couple at a cocktail party saying "We thought it was a rough patch, but it turned out to be our life." How true. (Source.)
Sunday strolling
Back, and it's now 15:03. The rain stayed away, and we rambled gently round a 3.8 mile track taking in a pub lunch at Minstead. Seemed to be enough for the elderly set of relatives Mike was shepherding, and suited me fine. Not too much pollen, too, though surprisingly muddy underfoot in places. It's time the New Forest had some New Drains fitted. Let's see if any of my photos contained anything worthy of notice... Well, here's a nice, little chap. Click the Haldane quotation...
Easily-overlooked little green BEM
It was good fun tracking down the origin of that Haldane quotation, as Mrs Google took me down some strange paths. For example:
- Caterpillar deception
- Flies prefer fizzy drinks
- Insecticidal Toxins From Bacteria
This one has an attack mode as weird as anything in science fiction: insect-killing nematode worms [which] have symbiotic bacteria living in their guts. When the worm encounters insect prey, it burrows into the insect's body and regurgitates the bacteria. These bacteria, called Photorhabdus luminescens, then release toxins directly into the insect's bloodstream, rapidly killing it. The insect's flesh then provides food for the bacteria and in turn the bacteria are food for the nematode.
Neat, but far from sweet! - Living fossils have hot sex
- Clockwork beetles
- A Coleoptera pendant
Freak Zone
Having missed the Stephen Fry tribute to Humph (although if it did indeed largely consist of excerpts from ISIHAC I was a very regular listener over many years) on BBC Radio 4 while out on that ramble, I'm now (17:31) compensating with the ever-enjoyable "Freak Zone" on BBC 6Music. Let the slide scanning recommence... Oh, and by the way, the first two episodes of Californication I watched last night were nearly as entertaining in their way as the sublime Boston Legal. Good writing.
Steaming gently...
At 23:06, after a nice refreshing bath. And I just remembered to switch off the immersion heater too. I am getting slowly better at this self-sufficiency survival lark — not before time, of course. Winding down towards the final cuppa.