Yes. You read right.
Literally every last one.
TIL: There are very few goats in Alaska.
America’s goat population is heavily concentrated in the Southwest, Texas in particular. Nearly 80 percent of America’s goats are raised for meat. Sixteen percent are raised for milk, with the remaining 6 percent is comprised of Angora goats raised for mohair.
Now we know (that there are 102% of goats in the USA).
More here.
This is very nifty, especially if you are vexillologically inclined. A simple print ad, with prices and destinations highlighted as part of the airline’s national flag:
Simple and effective, although comparing prices to distance traveled is (as ever with airlines’ fare structures, it seems to me) less straightforward.
We watched loads of vehicle carriers rounding Cape Agulhas this last week. None of them got stuck on any rocks or sandbanks (and there are both around the Southern Tip). But they were obviously just lucky.
Here’s a great picture of the grounded Hoegh Osaka on Bramble Bank in the Solent:
Initial reports suggest that the captain made a decision to delberately run the listing vehicle carrier aground there in order to stop it falling over completely capsizing [Loving the technical terminology. Nice work. – Ed.]. If so, that probably represents the best demonstration of parking under pressure since I swung into that gap 30cm longer than my car directly outside Caprice in late December 2009.
Marine Traffic reports (entirely accurately, I suppose) that the Hoegh Osaka is currently “Stopped”:
Next to it are the tugs Lomax and Svitzer Alma. That red diamond is the West Bramble Buoy – warning big ships of the sandbank there. And acting as a parking marker for listing carrier captains everywhere.
Stuff you should know about Bramble Bank: It’s an underwater sandbank between Southampton and the Isle of Wight. Oh, and THEY HAVE A CRICKET MATCH ON IT EVERY YEAR!
The Bramble Bank is renowned for the annual cricket match held there, when the Royal Southern Yacht Club play the Island Sailing Club. The match takes place when the bank is exposed but never lasts very long before the tide returns. The undulating surface with large puddles ensures it is more a social occasion than a serious cricket match, and the scoring reflects this – the victor of the game is pre-determined, and the two clubs simply take it in turns to “win” the match, regardless of play. The Brambles cricket match has been described as “quintessentially English”.
Yep:
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Following a few weeks of growth, and then a few hours of hard work this morning, I am pleased to announce that the lawn status here at Chez 6000 has officially been downgraded from
Oh Christ, we’ve lost the bloody beagle again, to
Could probably do with a cut.
I’m not sure why we chose kikuyu grass for the lawn. It grows like a weed if it’s looked after (i.e. watered) (ours was), but it dies like a dead thing if subjected to partial shade or minor drought. The buffalo on the other lawn (firstly, in this context buffalo is a kind of grass, not a huge mammal (the presence of which would surely negate any mowing anyway (or at least make it far too dangerous to cut the grass)), and secondly, I’m making my garden sounds much, much bigger than it actually is), but anyway, the buffalo on the other lawn is robust and took almost 30 seconds to mow.
Yes, I now realise that the kikuyu was a mistake.
I predict some rebuffalisation in 2015.
I watched the six episodes of this first series of everyday Essex metal detector(ist)s, on the plane and I loved every minute of it.
The very real, very believable, sad lives of English middle-aged men, together with the bewilderingly tall tales of a true British comedy. There’s human drama and hidden subplots alongside the constant laughs as well.
Mackenzie Crook wrote and directed and stars, but Toby Jones as Lance is the one who really makes it all so perfect.
Oh, and then there’s the music. No wifi on board on this flight, but we need to do some investigation on Johnny Flynn and Dan Michaelson.
Consider me entertained.
P.S. If you’re reading this, I’ve landed safely. 🙂