nocto

a wonderful children’s (??) book that i’ve never come across before: the gashlycrumb tinies by edward gorey.

a is for amy who fell down the stairs

b is for basil assaulted by bears….

[found via boing boing]

i was out and about with my camera last weekend and took some pics of places i’ve been to before. the first lot of photos are of the victoria tower on, and views from, castle hill in huddersfield and they show the view off a lot better than the last lot of pics that i took up there.

the second lot of pics are of holme moss and around abouts which is the highest point in these parts. i don’t believe it ever gets warm on holme moss and have pencilled in a date with it on a baking july day to check out this hypothesis. the last photos i took up there were snowy though, at least it was green this time!

i’ve always had idle day dreams of building my own house some day and watch grand designs religiously to see what they’re going to come up with next. one thing i’ve realised, mostly since buying and moving into a home built in about 1850 with a modernised interior, is that i really like new insides on old buildings.

what i’m trying to think of now is what would be the perfect outside to convert into a home. this series has seen a barn conversion that was a step forward in time from the usual barn conversion thing but i liked the water works better as a building – i didn’t care for the decor but what a great space. i also liked the textile mill in a previous series (that’s actually only a handful of miles away from me).

there’s a library in chicago that’s been sold as a home conversion project which sounds ace but i’ve a feeling a library is likely to be a bit town-centrish for a home. so i’m still thinking of what interesting building i can seek out and convert….

i’m watching this ebay auction to see how much enigma machines go for. more money than i’ve got that’s for sure as it’s currently going for $7 427 with over two days of the auction to run.

update: the closing price was $12 102.

[found via boing boing]

this should be a simple road to navigate when it’s built:

In principle, the route is simple: just head south. Or rather, east from McMurdo Sound then traverse the Ross Ice Shelf, ascend the Leverett Glacier and turn due south for the Pole.

just don’t forget your flask of tea and a warm blanket. oh, and watch out for crevasses.

a day late i find out about the mathematics of pancake tossing. but i’m not convinced it would make any difference to my turning them over with a fishslice method anyway.

and seeing as i spent seven years studying university level maths and haven’t got a clue how the formula would help i don’t see many other people finding it illuminating either. it’s not my maths skills that are lacking, it’s just that even if i know exactly what the angular velocity of my pancake should be how exactly am i going to get it right? my pancakes don’t come with speedometers. perhaps i’m not making them right.

[there's much better maths and science of cooking featured in the how to dunk a doughnut book.]

kris has made one really cool shoulder bag. whenever i’m not wearing my jeans i miss all my pockets and this is just what i need. i already know my sewing machine is rather unkeen on sewing through denim though, i might have to investigate further and get some tougher needles.

knowing me though i’d make a bag out of some old black jeans and then wear it with my new black jeans just for the extra pocket space. i’d probably look like i’d gone a bit over the top.