Caught a tick with a surprise (LD), gobbling antibiotics. Around our parts, venturing into nature requires a spacesuit 😞 dogs have it good, pop a pill and all the ticks that bite you drop dead at the bite. Just in case, it’s probably not a good idea to kiss him on the nose now.
Today I discovered an interesting story about the name of the brand Lululemon (see below) and it turns out, not only is `ballet` pronounced in English as bal-AY (it seems everyone knows this), but also `cabriolet` as ka-bree-ow-ley, `valet` as val-AY, and even `parquet` as paar-kay. `buffet` is also pronounced as buh-FAY, but there is also the verb `to buffet` which is pronounced as BUH-fit. and `sorbet` is pronounced as sor-BAY. They are all borrowings from French.
It also turned out that aborigine is pronounced as a·buh·ri·juh·nee. `apostrophe` and `catastrophe` are pronounced as uh·po·struh·fee and kuh·ta·struh·fee respectively. `coyote` is pronounced as `kai·ow·tee`. The word `dilettante` (did you know there are two t’s together?) is pronounced as di·luh·tan·tee. Well, about recipe (reh·suh·pe) and fiance (fee-ahn-say) everyone probably knows.
I also read an interesting story about why Lululemon is called just that. Lululemon Athletica founder, Chip Wilson, shared: “The reason the Japanese liked Homeless (his former skateboard brand) was that the name had the letter “L. A Japanese marketing agency would never come up with a brand name containing “L because it isn’t in their alphabet. They find it hard to pronounce. So I thought: next time I have a company, I’ll invent a name with three “Ls and see if I can make three times the money. It’s amusing to watch them try to pronounce it.” (2004 interview with National Post Business Magazine)
Walking around the house with Yuka, it’s like a whole zoo here. But nature is treacherous indeed. Just the other day, one trail with ticks resulted in a vet visit, and now I’m off to the emergency room. We both got bitten, only Nadya got off lightly. One lesson shines through: in tick-infested places, you should march like she did with bare legs, so all those parasites are in plain sight during the assault on the fortress. I was in jeans, and they took full advantage of that.
Video with autopilot – a drive to Masha’s work, and a couple of short videos with automatic parking
Well, congratulate me 😉 I’ve finally picked the Tesla Model Y 2026, despite doubts about whether it’s worth paying Musk. I carefully analyzed all the alternatives to the “horrible Tesla,” but the new model beats all competitors, some by a significant margin. The only thing is I could have saved a bit. Tesla has finally made decent interior materials, and they and the exterior design finally match the price. And the AWD with a 4.5-second acceleration is hard to underestimate.
The level of automation from the buying process to driving is so advanced that, as an IT professional, I find it hard to rank anything above it.
I drove home for half an hour on full autopilot. Really cool, but after three months I won’t renew it; it’s pricey, although good. On some left turns, I would let more oncoming cars pass than it does, but, I must admit, it calculates very accurately.
Made myself breakfast! Well, made it, but it will still be frying for another week or two
Trump said, “Vladimir, you can pick up the phone at any time, I would gladly answer, gladly speak with you”
It seems to me it’s not about picking up, but rather figuring out
What is this crap as the last item on booking com?
It turned out that there is a forest near the house and a 12-km trail runs through it, around the reservoir. We hadn’t even reached home yet, and I had already removed 20 ticks from myself (none had attached), about five from Nadya, and at least ten from Yuki.
We didn’t quite estimate the time well and ended up returning literally at night. What I like about American infrastructure is that it’s usual to find a restroom open at night by the parking area in the forest, with hot water, where Yuki could wash his paws before getting into the car.
How intriguing. These are all shark eggs. They are also called “Mermaid’s Purses”—tough leather-like capsules that protect the embryo and often have tendrils for clinging to seaweed or rocks. The horny shells of shark eggs are made up of roughly the same materials as our nails and hair. Their sizes vary from a few centimeters to about the size of a palm, and the development of the embryo takes months. After hatching, the empty capsules can be found on beaches. At the moment the egg emerges into the world, it has enough food supplies for the upcoming period. How they hatch: as soon as the right time comes, the shark egg slightly opens at the bottom, and the young shark slowly acclimates to the conditions in which it will live. After acclimation, it breaks through the egg’s shell and enters the open world.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 