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Picture credits

1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nietzsche187a.jpg

2. Self-portrait but with more hair.

Artificial alloys of gallium have even lower melting points and are used in applications such as thermometers, as a non-toxic liquid metal substitute for mercury.

Gallium was predicted before it was discovered. Mendeleev, who first formulated the periodic table more or less as we know it, identified a gap that would be filled by “eka-aluminium” and deduced some of its properties. In less than five years Lecoqde Boisbaudran had proved it by spectroscopy, from two characteristic violet bands in the spectrum, and shortly afterwards isolated the metal itself; a scientific triumph.

Although gallium is not toxic to humans, it's highly corrosive to aluminium. So I was careful to keep it away from my iPhone and took the photograph above with the other hand, a bit tricky.

“Must... make... that... soft toy... look the... other... way”, murmured Tom, distractedly.

Some one said,

Here are some similar wake-up calls.

"If you kip, you slip."

"If you snail you fail."

"If you delay, no way."

"If you nap, take a slap."

"If you wait, it's too late."

"If you snuggle, you juggle."

"If you ain't fast, you won't last."

"If you aint't quick, you ain't slick."

"If you're a slug then you're a mug."

and

"Don't be dozey. Mosey!"

I went in for a flatfish race. I didn't win, but at least I was placed.

What's the diffence between an Oxford Eight and the River Thames?

One is a Rowing Team and the other is a Flowing Stream!

I often read Paul Simon's Weather Eye column in the Times, anf generally learn something I had no idea of before. Yesterday's piece was about Sirius, the brightest star in the sky after the Sun.

We see stars twinkling, caused by atmospheric disturbances, but when they are low down near the horizon they twinkle in rainbow colours. We probably miss this with most stars (I've certainly never noticed it) because they are less bright and so harder to see whan they are low down in the sky. But Sirius is very conspicuous and its many-coloured twinkling is well-known and has often been photographed. A good example is here

https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-sirius-in-many-colors

I looked Sirius up in the Oxford English Dictionary and was suprised to find this quote from Tess of the D'Ubervilles, seeming to suggest that Thomas Hardy might have been aware of the Sirius' multicoloured twinkling.

"Each gem turned into an Aldebaran or a Sirius—a constellation of white, red, and green flashes, that interchanged their hues with her every pulsation."

In the morning

At the dawning

I want only one thing

To hear a robin sing

There is a Harald Sohlberb exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. I don't think I will get there for physical reasons, but looking online at Sohlbrg's work I wish I could.

Roughly the same era as Munch, but less well known, Solhberg seems to be described as "Neo-Romatntic" or "Symbolist". I'm not sure these labels fit, I can't understand why Symbolist. Neo-Romantic is there perhaps in this archytypal vision of a lonely homestead seen at dusk.

But this example seems more Expressionist.

Other paintings by Sohlberg defy simple categorisation and show how individual a painter he was. See here for some examples.

One of my favourite quotes is from Nataniel Lee, an 18c playwright. Confined for some time in the Bedlam asylum, he said, according to Coleridge in "Biographia Literaria"

"I asserted that the world is mad, and the world said, that I was mad, and confound them, they outvoted me."

Ist Elf: Why is bricklaying difficult?

2nd Elf: I dunno. Why?

1st Elf: Cos there's mortar it than you think!