This is my 29,000th post on this site!
For some reason my flight to Amsterdam, though nothing out of the ordinary for a west—>east across-Pond flight, was exhausting. Perhaps it was the Person of Size next to me in the middle seat, who tended to ooze over the armrests (I was in the aisle seat) preventing me from sleeping after dinner and two movies: Past Lives (quite good) and the documentary “Being Mary Tyler Moore” (surprisingly good). But my attempt to get three hours of sleep was a dismal failure, doomed by encroaching avoirdupois.
But Amsterdam is lovely, and I’ve never been here at this time of year. It’s sunny and warm (78°F, 26°C) with blue skies and sun. A generous local humanist and skeptic is putting me up for the week, and I’m on a quiet, leafy street near the Museum District. Here’s the view from my bedroom):
Right now I’ll try to recover my energy and; have a look around; I’m told there’s a good Balinese restaurant nearby.
Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day; there’s a Google Doodle; click to see where it goes.
Today’s Masih: The Iranian Morality Police are at it again, but the tee-shirt wearing girl was saved from their clutches.
So called Morality Police in Iran violently assaulted a teenager for not wearing a hijab in the city of Borujerd, Iran.
The citizen who filmed this incident told me that a hijab police officer attempted to brutally arrest the teenage girl for wearing a T-shirt. However, because… pic.twitter.com/gLd77cERpt
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) May 12, 2024
Speaking of which, this is Iran before the Revolution, when women could wear what they want (tweet sent by Matthew):
Iran. Before 1979.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 10, 2024
From Malcolm; a cat with a video on its collar chasing another cat:
Point of view of a cat chasing another cat.
[📹ih.gcj]pic.twitter.com/IQYhBkU6NX
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) April 26, 2024
From Barry; the Peacemaker. As he says, “Such a stern look. “Guys! Cut it out! Behave!”
The peacemaker 🐈
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) May 11, 2024
And from my feed. You’d think the bees would go sleep in the hive, but some apparently don’t:
When bees get tired of flying and carrying pollen, they can fall asleep in flowers this way. pic.twitter.com/V536SAq5V0
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) May 11, 2024
“Doomed by encroaching avoirdupois” is great!
Amazing cat chase!
Have a great time in Amsterdam!
Seatmates in Business or Premium Economy are thinner and farther away from you, a win-win. In Business you don’t even have to look at them.
Higher educational attainment and higher socio-economic status seems to be associated with less obesity. My Greatest Gen parents grew up in a time when poverty meant going without meals and being thin. This absolutely reversed by the time they were old.
If one can’t fall asleep by encroaching avoirdupois, imagine trying to sleep next to 10,000 buzzing neighbors. I’d sleep on a flower, too.
I’ve read that bees due this when they’re about to meet the big beekeeper in the sky, saving the caretaker bees the job of disposing their body outside of the hive. This is a caretaker bee’s sole job in their short life.
Whenever I manage to get out in the early morning, which is not often, I can find sleeping bees on plants. They often clamp down on a stem with their jaws.
Happy Mother’s Day y’all! We shall have the oldest offspring and the daughter in law over, and I will cook a barbecue.
Is that a piece of fur- perhaps with some flesh attached- hanging from Video Cat’s mouth after tussling with the dark tabby? Wonder how that turned out.
My wife was hoping it was just a dead leaf stuck in the collar…but we hear you.
The film “Persepolis” presents a great view of Iran leading up to and after the revolution, told from the point of view of a young girl. Well worth watching.
I, too, experienced people “of size” intruding into my space. While I was in an aisle seat a woman with a gargantuan posterior came toward my section of the cabin. Her backside was so large that the seats on either side of the aisle compressed it as she passed them. Then, after she squeezed through, it would “pop” back into the voids between seat backs…and right onto the right side of my face.
I can’t unsee that. Vivid description!
I have heard that flying from the U.S. to Europe is more tiring than the return trip. My personal experience is that I feel horrible when I arrive in Europe even though I leave the U.S. at about 5 pm with the hope that I will sleep on the plane and will be feeling OK when I arrive. Not so. But I feel fine when I get back home. I can’t say that this proves that flying east is harder because of the time zone change, but my experience has been consistent. Enjoy Amsterdam!
Congrats on the round number
29000.
A few of the most (IMHO) interesting facts about 29000 :
29000 = 2^3 • 5^3 • 29
29000^2=841000000
Previous prime: 28979
Next prime: 29009
… not excessively interesting, but more facts about numbers can be found here : http://www.numberempire.com/