Just Yorkshire things

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Here’s the headline that piqued my interest:

Of course he does.

And here’s the quote which drew me in:

Mr Trevelyan said: “Those who know me well know I was eventually going to build a giant curlew.”

Of course they did.

It’s all good, though. Mr Trevelyan – an ex-puppetmaker, obviously – is raising awareness of the loss of habitat, land-use changes and climate pressures on the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) – by walking 53 miles (that’s 85.29km) dressed as a curlew.

He crafted the 10ft-long (3m) costume of a Eurasian Curlew – Europe’s largest wading bird – out of polystyrene and bamboo.

It’s an admirable endeavour. Although not without its dangers:

It’s got a 4ft-long curved bill…

[the costume, not the actual bird]

[Jesus. Can you imagine?]

…which I’m quite worried about snagging in trees on the way, or tripping over and it snapping, but I’ve got a splint and I’ve got strong tape in case that happens.

But that’s not even the most dangerous bit.

It’s very lightweight luckily, but I am a bit worried about getting up on the tops because it’s quite windy today.

Actual Curlews can fly. 3m long bamboo and polystyrene costumes of Curlews aren’t meant to.

Still, if you’re going to die in a horrific freak gust of wind/giant Curlew costume-related accident, it’s a beautiful part of the world for it to happen. Just look at those views (only mildly spoiled by the ubiquitous massive beak).

You can follow Mr Trevelyan’s journey on his IG, and you can donate to his (and the Curlews’) cause here.

Which is more expensive?

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Well, I can safely say that whatever we’re talking about, it’s probably more expensive now than it was this time last year.

But let’s compare like with like, instead of now with then.

I’m forever being asked about the prices of things. Printer ink, for example:

6000, exactly how expensive is printer ink?

We’ve all seen that thing about the world’s most expensive liquid being printer ink.
Of course, it’s not true – depending on what source you choose, perfume, scorpion venom, and the bloods of both human and… er… horseshoe crabs are way pricier* – but whenever you’re buying your printer ink cartridges**, it doesn’t feel that way.

So. Printer ink: actually not that expensive.

But no sooner have we determined that printer ink isn’t the world’s most expensive liquid (not even close), then suddenly the line of questioning obviously goes straight onto cars and cheese.

6000, pound for pound, which is more expensive: cars or cheese?

See?

At first thought, this seems fairly straightforward. It’s clearly… it’s… hang on, actually, which one is it?

Thankfully, there’s a graph. There’s always a graph.
And yeah: it’s actually pretty tight.

Can’t read it? Make it bigger by clicking here.

Is this pre-tariff or post-tariff? And if it is (or isn’t), which prices will be more affected?

OK, let’s leave out the ridiculously priced vehicular outliers at the top. And the run-of-the-mill mass produced dairy products at the bottom, and… it’s actually pretty even, isn’t it?

Stilton: more expensive than a Range Rover.
The 4 wheels of a BMW 330i: cheaper than a wheel of brie.

How bizarre.

It was Gouda outpricing a Ford Mustang GT that really got me, though. A Gen-4 5.0L Coyote V8 engine generating a track-ready 328kW of power and 540Nm of torque, or some rather bland, beige, Dutch dairy offering?

I know which one I’m choosing – and it’s not going to fit on a cracker.

I’m not sure if ranges of any other everyday products would fit together so nicely when measured on the same price for weight scale – oranges and refrigerators perhaps, or household pets and glass – but if anyone has any examples, please send them through.

.

* And if we’re going down the route of molecular biology reagents, then this stuff at €1,750 for 10uL (that’s 0.00001ml) beats everything else hands down.

** LPT: Get a tank printer.

The week ahead

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It is, as they say, looking a bit hectic.

Tomorrow: Hike and a music lesson. And then a football match to watch. Probably need to find a public holiday vet for the beagle as well. Today has not been a good day.
Tuesday: Back to school (not me). Music exam recording session (not me). Y11 farewell dinner (not me). Rearranged football match to play (me).
Wednesday: Last day at school (not me). Horseriding (not me). Arranged football match to play (me).
Thursday: Molton Brown Curry Club – with actual curry (me and I can’t wait).
Friday: First exam in a six week exam session (not me). Birthday dinner (not me, but I am invited).
Saturday: Mrs 6000 heads away for the weekend.

Bathroom renovations continue throughout.

All pretty straightforward then.

Trailer Hire

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Bit late with today’s post, but maybe someone can please try and explain this one to me.

It’s a Facebook post from a trailer hire place down in Agulhas, and it starts off quite reasonably.

But then they add the hashtags, and I’ve actually no idea what is going on…

The smiley face at the end is the icing on the cake.

#karma #bitch #pitch #karma

Help. I don’t understand.

Better news

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United back to winning ways?

Yes.

But also…

The BBC has delayed blocking BBC Sounds app for audiences outside the UK.

It comes after a decision made by the corporation meant listeners outside the UK would only be able to access Radio 4 and the World Service via a new audio section on BBC.com.

In a statement the BBC said it is working on plans to “continue to make other BBC stations available to listeners outside the UK” adding that it “will not close BBC Sounds outside the UK until we have confirmed these plans”.

Any backtrack on their plans would be great news for me and the many thousands of BBC listeners worldwide.

I’m not counting chickens, but I am crossing fingers.

(I’m a big grown up boy and I can count things without using my fingers now.)