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And we'll both sit down together, love, to hear the nightingale sing
Hello, nightingale! Goodbye, sleep! Shut up, Keats!
Thanks to a broken water main in Weston, none of the tap water in Lexington is drinkable unless boiled. The same if you want to wash your hands—although apparently you can shower in it. I am not sure how this fine distinction is supposed to work, but as I spent my day faring forth on errands and returning to yardwork, I think I'll just shower very quickly and try not to osmose.
Can anyone recommend a good biography of the Duke of Wellington?
Thanks to a broken water main in Weston, none of the tap water in Lexington is drinkable unless boiled. The same if you want to wash your hands—although apparently you can shower in it. I am not sure how this fine distinction is supposed to work, but as I spent my day faring forth on errands and returning to yardwork, I think I'll just shower very quickly and try not to osmose.
Can anyone recommend a good biography of the Duke of Wellington?
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Thanks. It'll certainly be better than the internet.
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Are you meant to shower wearing waterproof gloves?
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That's what we worked out; also our faces.
"Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air . . ."
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Hm. The political career was one of the things I wanted to know more about. But I'll check it out!
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Tomorrow's a bank holiday and the library is closed; Tuesday, I could scout the shelves and see what else is there? (Apart from his own despatches, which I know about: if you want to check the catalogue for yourself, you'll find it here, and I can take a look at anything on your behalf...)
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You are amazing. Thank you so much!
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Heh. Thank you . . .
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What prompts the interest in the Duke of Wellington?
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It's great timing . . .
What prompts the interest in the Duke of Wellington?
Wikipedia:
"Another time, after the Battle of Toulouse, when an aide brought him the news of Napoleon's abdication, he broke into an impromptu flamenco dance, spinning around on his heels and clicking his fingers."
I realized I must have been missing all the weird bits of his life, and then I realized I didn't even know that much about the non-weird bits. Do you have any recommendations?
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Now I want to read up on him too!
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Welcome back to the Middle Ages...
Actually, I developed a system for showering in less than drinkable water while in the third world. The trick is to make it quick, keep your mouth absolutely closed, and then wash your face, particularly your lips, with bottled water and soap for at least 20 seconds afterward. I think the reason they don't want you to wash your hands is the same reason you should wash them to avoid a cold or flu, since your hands often make inadvertent contact with your nose and mouth after exposure to cooties.
And my advice on this matter is worth exactly what you pay for it, of course.
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It's still appreciated. That's kind of what we worked out anyway.
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Pity about the nightingale that inspired this, but I'm amused. And I hope Keats would be, also.
I'm sorry to hear about your water problem. It made the news last night, even down here, and I had wondered if you might be affected, although I'd hoped you might have escaped.
I hope the day goes well, swift and careful shower and all, and that you've safe water again soon.
I've no advice on the subject of Wellington, unfortunately.
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Nah. Everywhere east of Weston but Cambridge is exempt. Any day now we'll invade them and take their water, thus triggering the ultimate fragmentation of Boston into the numerous warring city-states whose territorial and political battles comprised most of the first half of the twenty-first century.
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Somehow, I can't see Menino playing the role of Clovis.
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Ah, that's too bad. I just did a google to see how Cambridge escaped.* Sneaky of them, having their own water department.**
Any day now we'll invade them and take their water, thus triggering the ultimate fragmentation of Boston into the numerous warring city-states whose territorial and political battles comprised most of the first half of the twenty-first century.
Sort of like a Massachusetts version of The Napoleon of Nottinghill, only darker and edgier? Would I were living in the 23rd century--I'd probably enjoy reading the histories.
So, I suppose this means we can expect a flood of refugees into neighbouring states? Even if CT is a bit far for refugees from the Former Boston, I'd not be surprised to see a resultant Völkerwanderung causing populations displaced from southern Massachusetts to spill over the border into northern Connecticut.
*Well, more to see if I was understanding the geography involved, but it wound up serving two purposes.†
**And Fresh Pond's involved? Every time I hear of that place, part of me says "Wait, that's where the House of Lord Monboddo, the Interrogator of Boston, is located." I'm glad I didn't read Alexander Jablokov's Carve the Sky until I was in my twenties--if it had sunk any further into my psyche, I might be in real trouble.
†Which is, needless to say, much better than serving two porpoises. After all, there's two possible interpretations of the latter, one of which involves eating cute and friendly cetaceans and the other of which combines all the usual problems of serving two masters with the added difficulty of deciphering their squeaks, chirps, pops, and whistles.
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I think the "rolling boil for at least 1 minute" is to guarantee that the water stays upward of 160° for those few minutes. I have no idea what temperature water in the average boiler is allowed to reach; I've been assuming it doesn't get anywhere near actual boiling point in order to safeguard residents from accidentally blanching themselves in the shower. It would probably be simple to go downstairs and find out.
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