Finding the chase and cutting to it

A drought has been declared here in the UK. At least officially. What does that mean, when do such declarations get made and is there an end in sight? There is no definition of what a drought is. A sustained period of no rain, seems vague. Yes, we have had several ‘heat dome’ situations in […]

Unusually, I got thermodynamics in physics. Heat is all about vibration of molecules rubbing together or hitting each other. Small amounts of friction taking and giving off energy. Which brings me to today’s subject. It is inspired by a throw away comment my husband made this morning. Would the recent heat waves would change the […]

We have a rule in our house since 2020: if you buy another kitchen gadget, something has to be given to a charity shop or sold. So much to unpack here, don’t you mean stakes in the ground? No, I don’t, we’re talking about food. Let me continue. OK, but wait, you have a ginormous […]

I’ve had my own website since 2008 (long story, not relevant here). It was compromised in 2009. I was away from home, and while I had backups, there was no way I could get to them. It taught me a few things though: the compromise was completely my fault, so my website had to survive […]

It’s a lazy, sunny Saturday in May and I have opened our patio door wide to shelter from the sun. The shadow from our sun shade is covering the settee facing the courtyard perfectly, so it makes perfect sense. Honestly. A splash of light cloud drifts across the pale blue sky. There are insects buzzing […]

One of the big benefits of having a heat pump that doesn’t provide cool air in the house, is the ability to stand in front of the fans while it rips the heat out of the air to heat our hot water. Yes, dear readers, this is what I have been doing in sunny Ipswich […]

Before Covid 19 and lockdown, we spent an eye-watering amount on ready meals and eating out. It wasn’t just speed to table but energy levels. It was just easier – less washing up, less time to table, less effort. Like many, my home cooking repetoire was pretty limited. I don’t blame anyone for doing that. […]

I have spent the past four years of my career helping teams understand their cyber risk. I would say, first and foremost, many of the established ways of doing business fundamentally introduce vulnerabilities into code. I love open source, but there are libraries I do not touch because I only “need” a couple of functions […]

It wasn’t a terrifically warm or sunny Easter, but the week after it was. Time to erect the sail shade I had bought last year. You waited eight months before putting it up? When you put it like that, it sounds like a missed opportunity. However, there were reasons, not limited to the fact I […]

Mothering Sunday was not originally about celebrating Mother’s Day – it’s an old age tradition where people returned to their “mother church” – the main parish church or cathedral where they were baptized or raised. This act of returning home is the original meaning of “going a-mothering”. It is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in […]