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Richard Walker

New Job

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I’ve recently got a job rating refrigerators. That makes me a refrigerator rater.

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Richard Walker

Some Silly Languages

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Clockwise from left: Rubbish, Slapstic, Banshi, Ruffian, Zombese.
































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Richard Walker

Lungwort

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I was pleased to see this morning that my lungwort is blooming. I only acquired it last summer and didn't know that it is an early flowering plant.


Lunwort, of which many species exist, has the Latin name pulmonaria and gets both names from the fact that it was traditionally supposed to be good for lung complaints.

The basis of this idea was the doctrine of signatures (see https://learn1.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=161437 for more on this), which held that for any given disease providence has supplied a natural remedy which can be recognised by its resemblance to an organ affected by the disease. The spotted leaves of lungwort look like a diseased lung, hence the belief that it is good for lung complaints.

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Richard Walker

Knowledge and Doubt

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Everyone thinks they know about stuff

But I don’t think they know enough

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Richard Walker

A Sign Of Spring

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Edited by Richard Walker, Tuesday, 22 Feb 2022, 15:54

These jonquils are out early!


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Richard Walker

Dad Joke

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What do runners have for breakfast? Joghurt!

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Richard Walker

A Friend Of The Stoned Olive

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Richard Walker

Bears in Residence

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You might like this story about polar bears occupying an abandoned meteorological station

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/31/polar-bears-move-into-abandoned-arctic-weather-station-photo-essay

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Richard Walker

Lapwings

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My brother Simon photographed these attractive little birds. Lapwings used to be much commoner. In England numbers have declined by 80% since 1960.


The bird is also known as the Green Plover, or Peewit from its plaintive cry. These birds nest on the ground, and the name Lapwing seems to come from the bird attracting potential predators away from its nest by dragging its wing to appear an easy target.

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Richard Walker

One Liner

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I went on a vintage train excursion with an all-day breakfast thrown in. The Frying Scotsman.

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Richard Walker

Dad Joke

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Would Pa eat yeast extract? No, but Ma might.

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Richard Walker

My Amphibian Pets

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I once had a pet newt who I taught to do things like sit, beg, stay and so on. He really was amazing. Sadly he died eventually and I looked around for another amphibian companion. All I was able to find was a frog, who never showed any warmth towards me and never really learned anything that his predecessor had been able to do. I guess this just shows: you can’t teach a cold frog newt tricks.

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Richard Walker

The First Celandine

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 13 Feb 2022, 22:47

To the ancient Greeks the celandine was the harbinger of Spring. Its name derives from the Greek chelidōn, for Swallow, another sign of Spring. Our Swallows will not be here for a while, but the birds arrive earler in Greece.

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Richard Walker

Wordle

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Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Richard Walker, Thursday, 10 Feb 2022, 10:37)
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Richard Walker

A Natural Debugger

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Edited by Richard Walker, Wednesday, 9 Feb 2022, 13:19


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Richard Walker

Civil Weddings

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 6 Feb 2022, 21:13

Civil weddings. They beat rude weddings any day.

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Richard Walker

Garden Path Sentence

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“The man charged by the police to catch the train.

Not a newspaper headline, but my first attempt at a garden path sentence, a sentence which leads you astray and needs a second take to understand. A classic example, which mine owes a lot to, is 

“The horse raced past the barn fell.”

These sentences are of interest to wordplay merchants, linguists, psychologists, those who study eye movements of readers, and AI researchers. From the earliest study of AI in any form hard-to-interpret and ambiguous expressions have been and still are are a challenge for machine intelligence.

See here for more leads on GPS, don’t get lost,

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Gill Burrell, Monday, 7 Feb 2022, 21:24)
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Richard Walker

Dad Joke

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Why shouldn’t you stir alphabet soup? Because it might spell disaster.

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Richard Walker

Dad Joke

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If your tap is stuck, be careful. Don't faucet.

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Richard Walker

Smew

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My brother Simon photographed this pretty little duck. It's a smew. I believe it is quite an abundant species but on the Red list in the UK.



According to Wikipedia it nests in tree holes, which is rather interesting.

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Richard Walker

Slept like a top

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Why do they say “Slept like a top”? I mean, tops spin round all the time, that’s not restful.

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Richard Walker

For E.E.Cummings

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when I know springs

Coming

It  a l w a y s 

Takes me

by

Surprise 


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Richard Walker

Doctor, Doctor

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I went to the Doctor, I said I keep thinking I’m in a soap. She said, we all go through these episodes.
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Richard Walker

A Dad Joke set in Wales

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In Portmeirion they don’t like the Flintstones. But Aberdovey do.

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Richard Walker

Dad Joke

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My cat Tiddles in very assertive. He’s a pushy cat.

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