#zenmischief — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #zenmischief, aggregated by home.social.
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Today on the blog: my Monthly Links to items you didn't know you'd missed.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/07/monthly-links-85/
#history #July #medicine #photography #science #blog #zenmischief
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Today on the blog: my Monthly Links to items you didn't know you'd missed.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/07/monthly-links-85/
#history #July #medicine #photography #science #blog #zenmischief
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Each month on my blog I offer you something to think about to get the brain working. This month …
"An origami flower is fake vegetation made from real vegetation."
https://zenmischief.com/2026/07/something-to-think-about-this-month-19/
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On my blog today, this month's collection of quotes.
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From my blog yesterday: Answers to this month's Quiz Questions (which were on General History).
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From my blog yesterday: Answers to this month's Quiz Questions (which were on General History).
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July Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
General History
- In what year did the Battle of Waterloo occur? 1815
- Which ancient civilization built the city of Machu Picchu? Inca
- Which famous historical document begins with the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident”? The Declaration of Independence
- The Aztecs even used cocoa beans as what? Currency
- In what year did the Berlin Wall fall? 1989
- What event marked the beginning of World War I? The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2025.
#blog #history #July #quiz #zenmischief -
From my blog today, this month's poem is
"Ariel’s Song" from The Tempest (Act 5, Scene 1)
Where the bee sucks there suck I:
In a cowslips bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry,
On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. -
Today's contribution on my blog is this month's self-portrait: "No Clothes Needed" because it is over 30°C.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/07/july-self-portrait-2/
#photography #selfportrait #July #personal #blog #zenmischief
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Today's contribution on my blog is this month's self-portrait: "No Clothes Needed" because it is over 30°C.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/07/july-self-portrait-2/
#photography #selfportrait #July #personal #blog #zenmischief
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Yesterday from my blog: this month's "Ten Things" on words ending in "-ene".
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Today from my blog: this month's quote:
"Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by incompetence."
[Napoleon Bonaparte] -
Yesterday on my blog: quiz questions, this month on General History.
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Yesterday on my blog: quiz questions, this month on General History.
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July Quiz Questions
Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month.
As always, they’re designed to be tricky but not impossible, so it’s unlikely everyone will know all the answers – just have a bit of fun.General History
- In what year did the Battle of Waterloo occur?
- Which ancient civilization built the city of Machu Picchu?
- Which famous historical document begins with the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident”?
- The Aztecs even used cocoa beans as what?
- In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?
- What event marked the beginning of World War I?
Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.
#blog #history #July #quiz #zenmischief -
Today on the blog, a quick look at a few of the things that happened this month 100 years ago.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/07/july-1926/
#1926 #July #otd #blog #zenmischief
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Last evening on my blog: Unblogged June: some things, and thoughts, from June which I didn’t otherwise write about.
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Today on my blog, this month's list of link to items you didn't know you didn't want to have missed...
https://zenmischief.com/2026/06/monthly-links-for-june-2/
#links #drink #history #June #sexuality #medicine #science #blog #zenmischief
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Today from my blog this month's "Something to Think About" ...
"We pass the anniversary of our death every year without knowing."
https://zenmischief.com/2026/06/something-to-think-about-this-month-18/
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A couple of (probably unpopular) thoughts on the current political state of affairs now on my blog ...
https://zenmischief.com/2026/06/thoughts-on-the-political-system/
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My monthly collection of quotes is now available on my blog -- and it's a bumper bundle this month!
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Earlier today on my blog: teh answers to this month's quiz questions which were on Geography.
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Earlier today on my blog: teh answers to this month's quiz questions which were on Geography.
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June Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
Geography
- In which country is Angel Falls, the world’s largest waterfall? Venezuela
- Switzerland is made up of how many cantons? 26
- Which continent has land in all four hemispheres? Africa
- In what country is the Chernobyl nuclear plant located? Ukraine
- What’s the capital city of Tanzania? Dodoma
- Area 51 is located in which American state? Nevada
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2025.
#blog #geography #June #quiz #zenmischief -
June Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
Geography
- In which country is Angel Falls, the world’s largest waterfall? Venezuela
- Switzerland is made up of how many cantons? 26
- Which continent has land in all four hemispheres? Africa
- In what country is the Chernobyl nuclear plant located? Ukraine
- What’s the capital city of Tanzania? Dodoma
- Area 51 is located in which American state? Nevada
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2025.
#blog #geography #June #quiz #zenmischief -
On this day, from my blog, a poem for June:
"All in June" by WH Davies
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On this day, from my blog, a poem for June:
"All in June" by WH Davies
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From my blog: This month's self-portrait, "Listening".
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From my blog: This month's self-portrait, "Listening".
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From the blog: This month's Ten Things is words ending "-va".
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From the blog: This month's Ten Things is words ending "-va".
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Ten Things
This year our Ten Things column will present a selection of words (of five or more letters) with a different ending each month. This month …
Words Ending in -va
- baklava
- balaclava
- bodhisattva
- conjunctiva
- guava
- supernova
- vulva
- yeshiva
- zelkova
- zyzzyva
So how many of those words did you know? And how many do you use?
#blog #language #tenthings #words #zenmischief -
Ten Things
This year our Ten Things column will present a selection of words (of five or more letters) with a different ending each month. This month …
Words Ending in -va
- baklava
- balaclava
- bodhisattva
- conjunctiva
- guava
- supernova
- vulva
- yeshiva
- zelkova
- zyzzyva
So how many of those words did you know? And how many do you use?
#blog #language #tenthings #words #zenmischief -
This month's quote from my blog:
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so."
[Bertrand Russell] -
This month's quote from my blog:
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so."
[Bertrand Russell] -
From my blog: This month's quiz questions are on Geography.
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From my blog: This month's quiz questions are on Geography.
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June Quiz Questions
Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month.
As always, they’re designed to be tricky but not impossible, so it’s unlikely everyone will know all the answers – just have a bit of fun.Geography
- In which country is Angel Falls, the world’s largest waterfall?
- Switzerland is made up of how many cantons?
- Which continent has land in all four hemispheres?
- In what country is the Chernobyl nuclear plant located?
- What’s the capital city of Tanzania?
- Area 51 is located in which American state?
Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.
#blog #geography #June #quiz #zenmischief -
June Quiz Questions
Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month.
As always, they’re designed to be tricky but not impossible, so it’s unlikely everyone will know all the answers – just have a bit of fun.Geography
- In which country is Angel Falls, the world’s largest waterfall?
- Switzerland is made up of how many cantons?
- Which continent has land in all four hemispheres?
- In what country is the Chernobyl nuclear plant located?
- What’s the capital city of Tanzania?
- Area 51 is located in which American state?
Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.
#blog #geography #June #quiz #zenmischief -
Our usual notes on things that happened this month 100 years ago.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/06/june-1926/
#1926 #blog #June #otd #zenmischief
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Our usual notes on things that happened this month 100 years ago.
https://zenmischief.com/2026/06/june-1926/
#1926 #blog #June #otd #zenmischief
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June 1926
Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
1. Birth. Marilyn Monroe, American actress (d.1962)
3. Birth. Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d.1997)
4. Death. Fred Spofforth, Australian cricketer (b.1853)
5. Birth. Paul Soros, Hungarian-born American mechanical engineer, inventor, businessman and philanthropist (d.2013)
10. Death. Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect (b.1852)
28. Birth. Mel Brooks, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
#1926 #blog #June #otd #zenmischief -
June 1926
Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
1. Birth. Marilyn Monroe, American actress (d.1962)
3. Birth. Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d.1997)
4. Death. Fred Spofforth, Australian cricketer (b.1853)
5. Birth. Paul Soros, Hungarian-born American mechanical engineer, inventor, businessman and philanthropist (d.2013)
10. Death. Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect (b.1852)
28. Birth. Mel Brooks, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
#1926 #blog #June #otd #zenmischief -
This evening on my blog "Unblogged May", being a few notes about stuff that I didn't otherwise write about.
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This evening on my blog "Unblogged May", being a few notes about stuff that I didn't otherwise write about.
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This morning on my blog, a very quick thought about the usefulness of AI.
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This morning on my blog, a very quick thought about the usefulness of AI.
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Is AI Useful?
Is there any good use for AI? Yes, of course there is.
For example, this is what we should be using AI for …
New protein-folding AI predicts the structures of 1 billion proteins
[paywall]… not writing stupid stories, making fake videos, or doing kids homework for them.
There are an increasing number of medical and scientific applications from assisted note-taking to analysing complex CT scans. And then, of course, there are applications like industrial & medical robotics.
There are many ways in which AI can be useful, but sadly most of what it appears to be being used for (or at least that which is getting the most media attention) is at best pointless and at worst dangerous. Please let’s concentrate on the useful applications.
This is what we should be using AI for!
#AI #blog #medicine #science #thoughts #zenmischief -
Is AI Useful?
Is there any good use for AI? Yes, of course there is.
For example, this is what we should be using AI for …
New protein-folding AI predicts the structures of 1 billion proteins
[paywall]… not writing stupid stories, making fake videos, or doing kids homework for them.
There are an increasing number of medical and scientific applications from assisted note-taking to analysing complex CT scans. And then, of course, there are applications like industrial & medical robotics.
There are many ways in which AI can be useful, but sadly most of what it appears to be being used for (or at least that which is getting the most media attention) is at best pointless and at worst dangerous. Please let’s concentrate on the useful applications.
This is what we should be using AI for!
#AI #blog #medicine #science #thoughts #zenmischief -
On my blog: one council rejects the government's "new town" development programme.
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On my blog: one council rejects the government's "new town" development programme.
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No New Town Here
So the London Borough of Enfield – just a couple of boroughs away from me, and close to my home town – has withdrawn from the government’s “new town” programme. Basically the council, which has recently changed from Labour to Conservative run, has told the government there will be no “new town” building on the proposed sites at Crews Hill and Chase Park.
I know the Crews Hill area (although not recently) and it is an open, relatively unbuilt area which is a nationally important horticultural centre, including garden centres and plant nurseries; plus pet shops with reptile and bird specialists; and a popular equestrian centre. Consequently there has been significant local opposition to the government’s plans.
London Borough of Enfield, showing the planned “new town” development areas.
See the Station marked “Grove” at top right: that was where I spent my childhood.
Source: LB EnfieldMost of the two areas is designated Green Belt land, and should therefore be protected from development to ensure a green, environmentally friendly, area around the capital.
Around Crews Hill Golf CourseThe Enfield council now says that the commitment to increase housing (required by the government, and the London Plan) will now concentrate on using brownfield sites and redevelopment of existing facilities.
I strongly believe this is something which needs to be exhausted before there is ever consideration of building on Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land – which councils are overly prone to chip away at; this little bit won’t matter; and then this bit; and this bit; until the whole is gone, which I’m seeing locally. There seems too little concern for the environment; just more and more development – because it brings in money for the council.
[Aside: I also believe that any building which is less than 50% occupied for, say, three months should be required to be converted into housing. This would not only increase housing but also clamp down on speculative build.]
Enfield’s stance is not (just) a question of NIMBY-ism or party politics, but a strike for common sense, respect for existing communities, and the law.
More power to a council – any council regardless of political persuasion – with the guts to stand up to, and call out, the government. We need more of this if we are to keep the place pleasantly inhabitable and environmentally sound.
There are a number of media reports on the decision, including this from The Guardian.
#blog #environment #government #houses #zenmischief -
From my blog: this month's "Something to Think About" ...
"If anything is possible, then is it possible that nothing is possible?"
https://zenmischief.com/2026/05/something-to-think-about-this-month-17/
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Something to Think About this Month
Each month I offer you something to think about to get the brain working. This month …
If anything is possible, then is it possible that nothing is possible?
#blog #logic #thoughts #zenmischief -
There's another mini-rant on my blog this morning: "On the Sexing of Toilets".
https://zenmischief.com/2026/05/on-the-sexing-of-toilets/
#currentaffairs #law #morals #privacy #thoughts #blog #zenmischief
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On the Sexing of Toilets
Unisex toilets? I’m not sure that shouldn’t be uni-gender toilets!
The powers in this country are getting their collective knickers well tangled over the Equality & Human rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on the use of single sex toilets, changing areas, hospital wards etc. which is now before Parliament. This follows on from the April 2025 ruling by the UK Supreme Court that sex in the Equality Act means only biological sex (as defined at birth). This means ipso facto that single-sex toilets etc. end up excluding transgender people. (That in itself seems daft in the extreme, but that’s the law as presently laid down.)
I’m not going to spell out the details, partly because it looks a mess largely created by conflicting self-interest groups. If you want more background then there are countless media reports including from The Guardian and BBC News.
FFS guys, get a life! And grasp the nettle! There’s a very simple solution which I’ve been advocating for years, and which we know works. (See for example the last paragraph of my post from February 2013 and this longer post from May 2018.) What is this solution? …
Make every facility unisex. Yes, toilets, changing rooms, student accommodation etc. At the end of the day, as I’ve said before, where’s the problem: we all know what’s under each other’s t-shirt and jeans. But no, it doesn’t have to be quite that open – and yes, I do understand why some people feel the need for privacy.
My local swimming pool has had one single sex changing room for over 15 years to my knowledge. It is a single space used by men, women and children. For privacy there are lockable cubicles (of varying sizes to accommodate single people, parents with kids etc.) to change in, and lockers (in the open area) for your belongings. That way no-one should be blocking a cubicle for more than a few minutes while changing. So anyone can arrive dressed, choose any free cubicle, get changed and put their stuff in a locker; on return pick any free cubicle etc. etc. There are more lockers than cubicles, and cubicles can’t be locked from the outside, so you can’t block the cubicles.
It works. No-one in my experience even considers walking around the open area clad in anything less than a towel or swimsuit. There’s a choice of showers, either “open” or in cubicles – but all cubicles would be easy. And toilets can be easily arranged with just cubicles. Everything can have floor to ceiling partitioning if felt necessary.
Oh, and by the way, most accessible toilets are already unisex. So you can do it!
The one place it might be difficult is hospital wards; but then there’s a question of medical privacy to consider as well. A mix of alcoves with two to four beds and single rooms would seem doable – and if properly designed probably no less space efficient.
So, guys (of all sexes and genders), stop having conniptions and get a life. The solution is easy and it could/should have been universal decades ago.
#blog #currentAffairs #law #morals #privacy #thoughts #zenmischief -
HS2
I’m deeply sick of the vanity project called HS2. And today Simon Jenkins has a piece in The Guardian also decrying the project.
I’ve been saying this, or something like it, since the outset. This money could have been (and still could be) much better spent on upgrading the existing rail infrastructure across the whole country and likely at half the cost. Instead we have a Tory party (from recollection it was George Osborne) vanity project, which has conned every successive government, and for which IMO there was never a business case. It’s not too late to pull the plug and avoid an even greater waste of money and environmental destruction for something we don’t need.
Moreover we must be the laughing stock of the world when it takes us 30+ years to build a railway line.
I despair of this country!
#blog #currentAffairs #HS2 #railways #thoughts #zenmischief -
"Quotes in May", my collection of recently encountered quotes, now on my blog ...
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The answers to my May Quiz Questions on "People" are now on my blog ...
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May Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
People
- Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? Marie Curie
- Who is often credited with creating the world’s first car? Karl Benz
- The name of which British prince is often used to describe a pierced manhood? Albert
- Who was married to John F Kenedy and was first lady from 1961 until 1963? Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Name the author: He was born in Dublin in 1854, and died in Paris in 1900. Oscar Wilde
- Although more well-known for his fiction and character creations, what famous author was also an ophthalmologist? He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh in the 1870s, was a determined supporter of compulsory vaccination, and partially based his most famous character on a former university teacher. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2025.
#blog #May #people #quiz #zenmischief