by Six days ago I picked up a cold and I’ve been on go-slow mode ever since. I’ve managed another 31-hour teaching week but that’s all I’ve managed. Wash, cook, feed Kitty, give my lessons, but everything else has gone by the board. Today I’m taking things as easy as possible before my five lessons tomorrow. (Kitty makes my lack of energy seem even more acute.)
Because I haven’t been feeling well, there’s not a lot to report. Trump didn’t win the Nobel peace prize. I’ve been reading about butterflies losing their bright colours to better blend in with their environment which is doing the same (ugh) and how the internet is becoming crappier by the minute thanks to enshittification and AI slop. This morning I watched a YouTube video from the brilliant RobWords about the (badly named) NATO phonetic alphabet. The familiar Alfa Bravo alphabet is extremely well designed. My brother must have used it extensively; I remember he once he described someone with undesirable olfactory qualities as having a Bravo Oscar problem. Another time I remember trying to use the NATO alphabet when ordering flowers after my uncle Mick had died. I wanted to include a message. “Sorry, is that Mick or Nick?” Mick, I said, with an M as in Mike. Adding a third name didn’t exactly clarify matters.
My parents are generally good, though when I last spoke to them they were reeling from a strong nor’wester. The forecast here is set fair for the next few days. Plenty of sun, with highs in the mid teens. Pretty much ideal.
