Thu 25 Apr 2019 09:08:40 AM EDT Slept from ten-thirty to six-thirty. Woke briefly around one-thirty. High of sixty today, with a 20% chance of rain. Work: - 10 AM manager meeting Done. - Deploy new version of inventory server Done. Ten-minute walk at lunch after grocery shopping at Meijer. Home: Watched some iZombie on Netflix. https://boingboing.net/2019/04/21/hobbyhorse-revolution.html > A once-underground movement of Finnish girls who conduct elaborate dressage routines with toy hobbyhorses has gone mainstream, with coaches, competitions and trainers, and is spreading abroad. > The subculture came together through quiet internet message boards that attracted girls and young women who traded tips on routines, making their own hobbyhorses, and created an informal network of competitions and routines. https://tedium.co/2019/04/23/matrox-graphics-history/ http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190424-the-english-vegetable-picked-by-candlelight > Every detail inside the out-of-time barn carried hidden meaning. There were flickering candles elevated on spikes, all thinly spread out to help workers navigate the blackness without fear of treading on the prized crop. There were shadowy hoes propped against the brick walls to help mulch the earth. There was the outline of gas propane heaters, and a sprinkler system to intensify the heat and humidity in the dark. There were around half a million buds – all cultivated in rows and all making groaning sounds as they germinated at an unnatural speed. > A notoriously fickle vegetable to harvest, Yorkshire forced rhubarb is anything but easy to grow. It thrives in the county’s cold winters, but if the soil is too wet, it can’t be planted. If the temperature is too hot, it won’t grow; and 10 or more frosts are needed before a farmer can even think about forcing it. Only then can horticulturalists remove the heavy roots from the field, then clean and replant them inside the forcing sheds where photosynthesis is limited, encouraging glucose stored in the roots to stimulate growth. It demands patience, expertise and good fortune, and, ultimately, it is engineered for maximum taste: once deprived of light, the vegetable is forced to use the energy stored in its roots, making it far sweeter than the normal variety. Servings: grains 5/6, fruit 2/4, vegetables 4/4, dairy 6/2, meat 4/3, nuts 0/0.5 Brunch: cucumber, tomato, grapes, mandarin, migas, coffee Lunch: doughnut, carrots Afternoon snack: coffee Dinner: pizza 128/77