Monday, June 26, 2006
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Can't really remember what else I was planning to blog about, so, umm...
For a couple of reasons, I've been thinking a lot recently about the impact of rising sea-levels. It occurred to me that it would be cool to have a UK map with contour information such that it would be possible to see how the coastline would change with different sea-levels. Alex Tingle has produced a map similar to the kind of thing that I was thinking of. According to this, it would take a rise of 10 metres to put Milton underwater, but only 3 metres to make Ely an island again. There are two ways, however, in which Alex's map is not quite what I was looking for: first, the underwater bits of the map are still visible, which makes it hard to visualise the new coastline; second, he only allows for a rise of up to 14 metres (and doesn't allow for any decrease (this, I suppose, is because he's sticking to the more plausible scenarios).
One of the things that had got me thinking about sea-level changes was that I'm reading Will Self's new book, The Book of Dave, set in a future England after a catastrophic deluge. It's a bit of a challenge (as Self's novels, in contrast with his short stories, usually are), but worth it so far.
For a couple of reasons, I've been thinking a lot recently about the impact of rising sea-levels. It occurred to me that it would be cool to have a UK map with contour information such that it would be possible to see how the coastline would change with different sea-levels. Alex Tingle has produced a map similar to the kind of thing that I was thinking of. According to this, it would take a rise of 10 metres to put Milton underwater, but only 3 metres to make Ely an island again. There are two ways, however, in which Alex's map is not quite what I was looking for: first, the underwater bits of the map are still visible, which makes it hard to visualise the new coastline; second, he only allows for a rise of up to 14 metres (and doesn't allow for any decrease (this, I suppose, is because he's sticking to the more plausible scenarios).
One of the things that had got me thinking about sea-level changes was that I'm reading Will Self's new book, The Book of Dave, set in a future England after a catastrophic deluge. It's a bit of a challenge (as Self's novels, in contrast with his short stories, usually are), but worth it so far.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Note: don't read this post while eating!
It's been an odd few weeks. Our cat Pixie became very ill a fortnight ago, with diarrhoea and vomitting, which became more or less continuous seepage. We took her into the vet's, where she stayed, kept in isolation for eight days, while they tried to work out what was wrong with her. We got her home, considerably thinner, on Wednesday, after her condition had stabilised, but still with no diagnosis. Finally, yesterday, they said that they'd concluded that she has pancreatitis. Bouts of illness are likely to recur, and her lifespan will probably be reduced by it. We'll have to start regulating her food intake to four small meals per day, and probably keep her indoors permanently (or only let her out under supervision), which she'll absolutely hate... She currently seems content enough, but she's only eating when we hand feed her, and then hardly anything.
Monday was a busy day. I took the day off work, but no holiday for me—oh no!—I sat my M263 exam from 10 till 1, then had a checkup at the dentist's, and, finally, to round it all of nicely, my first driving lesson in over a year. It all went well, though (or, at least, I think that the exam went well), and so I felt rather accomplished by the end of the day.
I've started work on my family tree again, and, as a result of Fate's nifty weaving, the day after I'd restarted my research I had an email from a hitherto unknown third cousin. She's been very helpful, and I've been able to fill in a few blanks and extend my tree back a couple of generations on one branch.
Blimey. That was a long post. Perhaps I'll inflict more of my ramblings on you, dear reader, tomorrow.
It's been an odd few weeks. Our cat Pixie became very ill a fortnight ago, with diarrhoea and vomitting, which became more or less continuous seepage. We took her into the vet's, where she stayed, kept in isolation for eight days, while they tried to work out what was wrong with her. We got her home, considerably thinner, on Wednesday, after her condition had stabilised, but still with no diagnosis. Finally, yesterday, they said that they'd concluded that she has pancreatitis. Bouts of illness are likely to recur, and her lifespan will probably be reduced by it. We'll have to start regulating her food intake to four small meals per day, and probably keep her indoors permanently (or only let her out under supervision), which she'll absolutely hate... She currently seems content enough, but she's only eating when we hand feed her, and then hardly anything.
Monday was a busy day. I took the day off work, but no holiday for me—oh no!—I sat my M263 exam from 10 till 1, then had a checkup at the dentist's, and, finally, to round it all of nicely, my first driving lesson in over a year. It all went well, though (or, at least, I think that the exam went well), and so I felt rather accomplished by the end of the day.
I've started work on my family tree again, and, as a result of Fate's nifty weaving, the day after I'd restarted my research I had an email from a hitherto unknown third cousin. She's been very helpful, and I've been able to fill in a few blanks and extend my tree back a couple of generations on one branch.
Blimey. That was a long post. Perhaps I'll inflict more of my ramblings on you, dear reader, tomorrow.
