Jane Eyre Gothic Heroine

Jane Eyre, Or: The Bride of Edward ‘Crazypants’ Rochester:

BLANCHE INGRAM: Oh great. The dude I’m trying to marry likes wearing bonnets and crinolines. I cannot believe this is happening to me again.

[via The Bloggess]

---

For all my social networking posts, see my Google+ page

fresh blood, raw meat, mud, stagnant water, fresh fish, otters, and some species of toad

What do fresh blood, raw meat, mud, stagnant water, fresh fish, otters, and some species of toad have in common?

They all smell “pl’eng”.

North American river otters

---

For all my social networking posts, see my Google+ page

good unintended consequences

Electric cars may reduce your air-conditioning bill?

Using summer 2012 in the Chinese capital of Beijing as an example, the team estimate that replacing conventional cars with electric ones could have reduced the heat by nearly 1 °C. That in turn would result in a reduction in air conditioning use in the city, leading to a drop of 10,686 tonnes in daily CO₂ emissions.  [New Scientist]

---

For all my social networking posts, see my Google+ page

typical

First day of British Summer Time.
It’s currently hailing.

---

For all my social networking posts, see my Google+ page

Witch’s house?

From a distance, this could be a witch’s house in a forest.  But it's a termite mound!

termite mound

---

For all my social networking posts, see my Google+ page

coincidence? you decide

8:45. Phone rings.  Foreign accent, claiming that they are calling from Italy.  (I think not.) Wanting to talk to me about something to do with my kitchen.  I say “Do you know what time it is!” and hang up.

Another day, another scammer, I think.

10:45. Phone rings.  Foreign accent: “Are you getting unsolicited marketing calls from overseas?”  Turns out, they are trying to sell me a device that stops overseas calls that my membership of the Telephone Preference Service doesn’t stop.

“So, you are making an unsolicited call to sell me something that will stop people making unsolicited calls to sell me something, because you know I don’t want unsolicited calls to sell me something?”

What a coincidence this happened so soon after an unsolicited call to sell me something, at an unusually early time, where that first caller very carefully emphasised they were calling from overseas.

Second scammer called from 08451297936.

---

Update.

11:50. Phone rings.  Local accent (makes a change).  “Hello.  We’ve been informed someone at your address has been in a car accident.”

“Absolutely not.  You’re a scammer.”

Third scammer called from 02037695670.

It must be the (slightly) warmer weather bringing out all the creepy crawlies.

sequestering carbon, several books at a time XLII

The latest batch, all fiction.

There’s a few new series/authors we are trying out, plus some stalwarts.

Including a new Jo Walton!  Yay!

All we have to do now is find time to read them.