emoji in our digital messages is similar to the way we use gestures when we talk. … celebrate that emoji are creating a richer form of online communication that returns the features of gesture to language.
Related — this 2.5 minute video: Victor Borge - Phonetic Punctuation
Good to see local Councils asking the Government to ban private fireworks:
Local government leaders are calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks for private use. … private fireworks caused significant harm and distress - including damage to properties and worry for animals.
Ares is such a good boy. 🐈
And in other dog photos, my girl Sasha joined me in my morning selfie today. 🐶
Look, I don’t know the original source for this photo, but I found it from a link to Dana Schwartz. Since I saw it this morning though, I can’t get it out of my head. It may be one of my all-time favourite photos. 🐶 I just want to share the joy.
From the setting up of the Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association in 1974, before women were people too 😳:
Present: 27 Ratepaying residents, whose names are attached herewith, some of whom were accompanied by their wives or friends.
I have two new daily tasks that are working well so far: delete a physical item and delete a digital item. I usually delete more than 1. 😀 So far I’ve tossed out some old papers (eg receipts, study notes) and am working my way through old old Dropbox folders. Feels good. 🐌
It’s not easy to get a photo when my boy Ares is on my lap. Persistence paid off today though. 🐈 One of his eyes is dark, but at least you can see it glinting here.
Interesting about quiet fireworks:
quiet fireworks can actually be more colourful. All fireworks are a balance between “colour-producing material in the shell versus the kaboom-producing material,” … quiet fireworks don’t need as much kaboom, they have more room for colours.
Why was I surprised to learn that schools for deaf or blind people were originally set up by religious folks to ‘save souls’? I also never knew about systems other than Braille for blind folks. Heaps of fascinating discussion in this 30 minute audio: Touch This Page @dancohen
I watched the movie Full Out. It’s simple and positive, and based on a true story of Ariana Berlin, a top-level athlete injured in a car crash who then makes a comeback. It has good music and great moves. An enjoyable, feel-good 90 minutes.
Hmmm, things that are a bad idea: letting WordPress create a URL that includes an emoji. I realised just after I’d pressed Publish. Thank goodness for a .htaccess redirect.
I'm annoyed with Siri and the approach to Timers
I use Timers all the time, especially in the kitchen. I mostly trigger a timer with Siri on my watch. Yesterday I set a timer so the meal I was making could cook for 40 minutes before I added more ingredients.
Forgetting that, and after doing some cleanup, I then made a cup of tea and set a timer for 3 minutes for the tea to steep.
That second timer simply obliterated the first, with no warning. Annoying!
The behaviour I'd expect would be some feedback pointing out I already have a timer with x-minutes to run, should this new timer replace that?
Best of all, of course, would be to be able to run multiple timers on the same device concurrently.
If I ever thought about a gong it’d be to picture someone hitting a huge metal disc very hard. The Otherworldly Sounds of a Giant Gong shows a very different reality. Watch the 3 short videos and hear the amazing sounds a gong produces.
Fabulous to see local company Omeo Technology has received funding for development. If I needed a wheelchair (and had the eye-watering $$$) I’d use one of them for sure. Why oh why did Radio NZ use an old-fashioned hospital wheelchair picture on their story?
Finally did my part for the annual Garden Bird Survey. I saw or heard a dozen starlings, 2 fantails, 1 pheasant, 5 magpies, 8 ducks, 2 sparrows, 1 hawk, 1 plover, 1 grey warbler (as always, the grey warbler was heard, not seen). Plus miscellaneous birds that whizzed past.
Gorge cafe in Ōtaki had a good menu, including some locally produced meats. We had the hotcakes and they were delicious. The coffee and hot chocolate were also excellent. After this first visit we’ll be sure to eat there again.
Buttermilk hotcakes with roasted rhubarb and pear, cream, chopped walnuts and an exquisite maple syrup, plus a slice of dried apple.
Gorge on Riverbank Road in Ōtaki is a Wellington style cafe. Unfortunately it’s also large and not insulated. Needs a fire. Blimmin cold on this 8C winter morning.
Hooo. “New Zealand has been confirmed as the primary location for the $1.5 billion-production of The Lord of the Rings TV series.” Good news for our industry, I guess. Can we handle all the extra tourists? Bad: “an incredible opportunity for NZ to become Middle Earth forever”.