What Remains, What Sustains [585]

Greetings from The Borders...

I’m Christian Payne, photographer and writer. In this weekly dispatch I seek out novelty, explore the relations between things, how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be going.

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#TheAction

I’ve had an old friend visit from the US this week. Phil. Old not because of his age, but because we worked together on the same newspaper in the early 2000s. That was the start of a friendship that led us on adventures through Egypt, Sudan, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Plus more recently, rather less chaotic motorbike trips across six US states where he now lives.

I’ve mentioned him a few times in the decade this dispatch has been running. I think the last time was our Brompton bimble around the Isle of Wight.

While showing him around where I live, we bumped into a lady who was dolphin watching under the lighthouse at the end of Berwick Pier. She was looking for a particular pod of Bottlenose Dolphins that included ‘Runny Paint’ a 40 year old female who is well known in the area. She got her name from her dorsal fin markings. This listing on the CRRU website has her noted as being around 30 years old but we were told 40 and that it was the average lifespan.

So for a little while we joined her. It seemed like a pretty cool job.

As you can imagine, despite spending our days out and about, with the evenings leaking into the mornings, this last week has flown by.

Then this morning after only a few hours sleep, as the haar swept in from the sea, I dropped him off at the doors of a train to London.

It’s been brilliant… and saying that I was sad to see him leave doesn’t quite capture the mood.

But we’re planning another two-wheeled adventure, so at least there’s something to look forward to.

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#TheSeen

Here are a few snaps from our meanderings.

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I’m almost as excited as the kids that there’s a new series of Adventure Time out.

It’s called ‘Side Quests’ and flashes back to a younger Fin and Jake. It was a little weird having a new voice actor for Finn but we soon got used to it and are ripping through the series.

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#TheWords

Wise words for Andy Burnham from John Naughton The six principles of AI – a king’s speech for Andy Burnham

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I dipped in and out of The Northumbrians for a while.

Just finished it and it was engaging enough but I need to be in the mood for history books.

Dan Jackson did a great job though. The book moves between kings, monks, miners, fishermen, ordinary families and has their lives show the region’s identity and how it’s evolved over centuries of conflict, industry and change.

It feels like there’s a few working class stereotypes, but it’s well researched and never boring. If like me you live in or around the north east, this book will certainly offer you a deeper understanding of the landscape and its people. 4/5

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#TheHeard

Now playing in the den.

Lou Reed is on a long list of musicians I regret not finding earlier in life. Musicians I was aware of, but never made an attempt to go see.

Of course there is always the music. But for me, the full visceral experience can only happen when the artist is pouring their heart out in front of you.

Don’t wait. Go see those artists who inspire you. Before either you are too old …or they are no more.

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#TheConsumed

In the perpetual mission to hone my breakfast ingredients, i’ve been digging deep into the health benefits of nuts.

If I were being selective but still wanted a healthy variety, I’d keep it simple with just walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and a single Brazil nut.

Walnuts are the top of the list because of their omega-3 fats and strong evidence supporting heart health. Almonds are second in the list for their vitamin E, fibre and magnesium. Hazelnuts (which we grow) are third in the list, offering more vitamin E along with and antioxidants. Pistachios add protein, potassium, are good for eye health and finally, I’d include a single Brazil nut a day. They have exceptional selenium content, covering most people’s daily needs.

Between these five, I’m covering pretty much everything I need.

Here are some of my sources.

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You’ll thank me for this chilli recipe. And I in turn will thank Alastair Humphreys for passing it on.

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#TheFound

While on a dog walk, my daughter hung back on a hill to look for a four leaf clover.

The belief that finding one brings good luck is older than Christianity. It probably dates back to the ancient Celts, who believed the rare mutation could ward off evil, reveal fairies or offer protection on journeys.

I went back up to see what was keeping her. When she told me, I glanced at the ground, immediately spotted one and handed it to her.

She was gobsmacked. Neither of us knew the odds were somewhere between one in five and ten thousand. I’ve only looked that up since. At the time, it didn’t seem like a big deal.

Then we tried to find another.

We searched for ages without any luck, which made the first one seem all the stranger. Perhaps luck isn’t transferable once you’ve given it away. Or perhaps finding one simply uses up all the luck you had.

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#TheThings

Top tip, if your (unlucky) child fails to cancel a Duolingo trial in time and you’re stung with a bill for £68, it’s really hard to cancel. In the end I phoned, Apple Support and they instructed me that as this was the first time it had happened with this app there was a legal ‘Right To Withdraw’ and on selecting that everything got sorted.

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I had no idea that snail’s teeth are five times stronger than spider silk.

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#TheLinks

• How a superfan made friends with Bonnie Tyler

• Greetings Balo7. Hope you are well. Thank you for adding yourself to the Documentally community map.

• It has been a while, but I might have to get myself a surf board. I had no idea that there is a popular surf spot not far from where I live. Granted it’s in the North Sea, but my friend assures me there is a wetsuit for every occasion. And temperature. Here is the surf cam of said place.

• Amazon’s Mechanical Turk is being phased out

• Anthropic built a tool that reads Claude’s unspoken thoughts. Then it caught the model scheming.

• How to decode the archive inside ancient tree rings

• Is agency, the ability to act for reasons or pursue goals, a defining feature of life? That should keep you busy.

• Some of my other places include these… Here is my Bluesky link as a QR code.

  

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#TheThanks

Thank you very much if you are one of the few who like, share and link to my posts. I’m sure it all goes some way to getting the word out to any curious folk who might find something of use here.

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Thanks for reading… All errs are signs of life.

This time next week, me and the kids will be in the wonderland that is EMF Camp. I’m really looking forward to it. Will I see you there? (…hopes for comments)

No idea what kind of post(s) I’ll manage to make over those days but I suspect they might be weird or different and so for supporting subscribers only. They are more used to the weird stuff. ;-)

Hope you have a great weekend/week. See you on the other side.

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“To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do.”

― Hermann Hesse

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Stay cool.

See you out there.

Over…

A ❤️ is a high-five, a comment is a hug. A supporting subscription earns my undying love.