Nigel Brachi
@charliebing.bsky.social
Reader, writer (to the editor), cook, ex-pat (sort of), user from the early days, Formula 1 fan, avid cryptic crossword fan (aka, cruciverbalist) and anagram lover (as in Charlie Bing and China Gerbil)... more to come as I spend time here.
Favourite way to spend Boxing Day, doing one of Wentworth’s madly different jigsaw puzzles! Made of wood, laser cut and with all kinds of random pieces… like two pieces needed to make a corner. Definitely recommended. 🙂
December 26, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Favourite way to spend Boxing Day, doing one of Wentworth’s madly different jigsaw puzzles! Made of wood, laser cut and with all kinds of random pieces… like two pieces needed to make a corner. Definitely recommended. 🙂
So I had a letter published in the Toronto Globe & Mail today. According to the 2021 census, there are about 1148 people in Canada called Nigel.
So what are the chances that two of them would write to the same paper, on the same subject and get their letters published, on the same day?
So what are the chances that two of them would write to the same paper, on the same subject and get their letters published, on the same day?
December 9, 2025 at 4:27 PM
So I had a letter published in the Toronto Globe & Mail today. According to the 2021 census, there are about 1148 people in Canada called Nigel.
So what are the chances that two of them would write to the same paper, on the same subject and get their letters published, on the same day?
So what are the chances that two of them would write to the same paper, on the same subject and get their letters published, on the same day?
Took a cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam on the Danube / Rhine, and then made a photo-book of the trip using Mixbook’s online service. Turned out really well - such a great memento - and I really recommend their service
October 12, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Took a cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam on the Danube / Rhine, and then made a photo-book of the trip using Mixbook’s online service. Turned out really well - such a great memento - and I really recommend their service
Just saw the prospectus in the Washington Post for the so-called "Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation" or GREAT.
www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f8...
What an appalling plan, with its charts, graphs, architectural renderings and its billion of $$$.
www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f8...
What an appalling plan, with its charts, graphs, architectural renderings and its billion of $$$.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 2, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Just saw the prospectus in the Washington Post for the so-called "Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation" or GREAT.
www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f8...
What an appalling plan, with its charts, graphs, architectural renderings and its billion of $$$.
www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f8...
What an appalling plan, with its charts, graphs, architectural renderings and its billion of $$$.
So, is Trump's "Golden Dome" defence system modelled on the Israelis' Iron Dome or on his own head? Isn't iron hard and gold really soft? If it's modelled after his head then it will be impenetrable: nothing ever gets through if it doesn't make sense to him.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
Trump says space force general will lead Golden Dome missile defense project – US politics live
Funding for Trump’s missile defense shield idea to protect the US from long-range strikes included in tax bill facing opposition from some Republicans
www.theguardian.com
May 20, 2025 at 11:13 PM
So, is Trump's "Golden Dome" defence system modelled on the Israelis' Iron Dome or on his own head? Isn't iron hard and gold really soft? If it's modelled after his head then it will be impenetrable: nothing ever gets through if it doesn't make sense to him.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
Saw this Cybertruck in the neighbourhood on the weekend and since it already had a dark green wrap, I figured I'd update it... in Photoshop only, of course...🫣
May 6, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Saw this Cybertruck in the neighbourhood on the weekend and since it already had a dark green wrap, I figured I'd update it... in Photoshop only, of course...🫣
Sign seen at a TESLA protest in London:
PORSCHE: FAST
FERRARI: FASTER
TESLA: FASCIST
PORSCHE: FAST
FERRARI: FASTER
TESLA: FASCIST
March 31, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Sign seen at a TESLA protest in London:
PORSCHE: FAST
FERRARI: FASTER
TESLA: FASCIST
PORSCHE: FAST
FERRARI: FASTER
TESLA: FASCIST
When we made our mini library, I knew we’d see donated books (and some of them are pretty awful 😳)… but proselytizing? Bibles? Thinly disguised sermons in children’s books? Really?
So we politely asked them to stop.
So we politely asked them to stop.
March 31, 2025 at 5:26 PM
When we made our mini library, I knew we’d see donated books (and some of them are pretty awful 😳)… but proselytizing? Bibles? Thinly disguised sermons in children’s books? Really?
So we politely asked them to stop.
So we politely asked them to stop.
Watching/reading the White House's response to the security debacle of the past few days has been both fascinating and appalling (hard to believe how Karoline Leavitt just makes me so mad). Anyhoo, the First Dog on the Moon summed up their PR process perfectly: "next media cycle begins". Sigh.
March 27, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Watching/reading the White House's response to the security debacle of the past few days has been both fascinating and appalling (hard to believe how Karoline Leavitt just makes me so mad). Anyhoo, the First Dog on the Moon summed up their PR process perfectly: "next media cycle begins". Sigh.
According to the chief economist at the Business Development Bank of Canada, if Canadian households spent $25/week on Canadian instead of foreign goods, it would create 60,000 jobs & boost GDP by 0.7%, with a similar effect if we cut international travel by 10 per cent and spent that money here.
March 19, 2025 at 10:31 PM
According to the chief economist at the Business Development Bank of Canada, if Canadian households spent $25/week on Canadian instead of foreign goods, it would create 60,000 jobs & boost GDP by 0.7%, with a similar effect if we cut international travel by 10 per cent and spent that money here.
Australia’s First Dog on the Moon is always worth a look, and his latest cartoon - with ICE firmly in his sights - is no exception.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The US is detaining people trying to enter the country. Trump has really let ICE off the leash | First Dog on the Moon
It is so bad they are even doing these things to white people now
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Australia’s First Dog on the Moon is always worth a look, and his latest cartoon - with ICE firmly in his sights - is no exception.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
@muheggs.bsky.social
These eggs (from a local - Alberta - Hutterite farm), taste amazing and come from well cared for chickens. $10.49 Cdn. for 18 eggs, or $7.31 US… or $4.87 US a dozen. If I understand tariffs, His Trumpiness can’t slap one on eggs that don’t cross a border. Just as well.
These eggs (from a local - Alberta - Hutterite farm), taste amazing and come from well cared for chickens. $10.49 Cdn. for 18 eggs, or $7.31 US… or $4.87 US a dozen. If I understand tariffs, His Trumpiness can’t slap one on eggs that don’t cross a border. Just as well.
March 13, 2025 at 1:55 AM
@muheggs.bsky.social
These eggs (from a local - Alberta - Hutterite farm), taste amazing and come from well cared for chickens. $10.49 Cdn. for 18 eggs, or $7.31 US… or $4.87 US a dozen. If I understand tariffs, His Trumpiness can’t slap one on eggs that don’t cross a border. Just as well.
These eggs (from a local - Alberta - Hutterite farm), taste amazing and come from well cared for chickens. $10.49 Cdn. for 18 eggs, or $7.31 US… or $4.87 US a dozen. If I understand tariffs, His Trumpiness can’t slap one on eggs that don’t cross a border. Just as well.
My dad did cryptic crosswords, and years ago he taught me all sorts of conventions about how clues are written for cryptic... and all sorts of tools for solving them. The Globe & Mail's Saturday cryptic is a must-do around here… here’s a clue from last weekend.
March 10, 2025 at 11:05 PM
My dad did cryptic crosswords, and years ago he taught me all sorts of conventions about how clues are written for cryptic... and all sorts of tools for solving them. The Globe & Mail's Saturday cryptic is a must-do around here… here’s a clue from last weekend.
30A Quiet, fast plane over here! (4)
(the ! suggests some sort of witty answer…
The answer is PSST.
P, as is piano, meaning quiet in musical notation + SST as in supersonic transport (or fast plane).
Together they make PSST, as in “Hey, psst, over here!” 😎
(the ! suggests some sort of witty answer…
The answer is PSST.
P, as is piano, meaning quiet in musical notation + SST as in supersonic transport (or fast plane).
Together they make PSST, as in “Hey, psst, over here!” 😎
March 10, 2025 at 11:01 PM
30A Quiet, fast plane over here! (4)
(the ! suggests some sort of witty answer…
The answer is PSST.
P, as is piano, meaning quiet in musical notation + SST as in supersonic transport (or fast plane).
Together they make PSST, as in “Hey, psst, over here!” 😎
(the ! suggests some sort of witty answer…
The answer is PSST.
P, as is piano, meaning quiet in musical notation + SST as in supersonic transport (or fast plane).
Together they make PSST, as in “Hey, psst, over here!” 😎
Always amazes me when Apple-centric sites like Cult of Mac say that a product that Apple has not announced will be "significantly delayed"... especially when the rumour comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg (sigh)
www.cultofmac.com/news/apple-s...
www.cultofmac.com/news/apple-s...
Apple rumors Archives | Cult of Mac
Get the latest rumors and leaks about upcoming Apple products and behind-the-scenes developments, all evaluated by Cult of Mac staffers.
www.cultofmac.com
March 10, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Always amazes me when Apple-centric sites like Cult of Mac say that a product that Apple has not announced will be "significantly delayed"... especially when the rumour comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg (sigh)
www.cultofmac.com/news/apple-s...
www.cultofmac.com/news/apple-s...
Treated myself to a LEGO Ferrari yesterday since the new Formula 1 season is just one week away and Hamilton is in the red car. Can hardly wait!
March 9, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Treated myself to a LEGO Ferrari yesterday since the new Formula 1 season is just one week away and Hamilton is in the red car. Can hardly wait!
I’m not religious at all - and this is traditionally a piece for Lent - but it’s a sublime demonstration, in these dark times, of what we humans are capable of.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9...
Miserere mei, Deus - Allegri - Tenebrae conducted by Nigel Short
YouTube video by Tenebrae Choir
m.youtube.com
March 6, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I’m not religious at all - and this is traditionally a piece for Lent - but it’s a sublime demonstration, in these dark times, of what we humans are capable of.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9...
The front page of the Toronto Globe & Mail today. Brilliant work.
And not just STRONG AND FREE, but BLOODY ANGRY too.
And not just STRONG AND FREE, but BLOODY ANGRY too.
March 5, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The front page of the Toronto Globe & Mail today. Brilliant work.
And not just STRONG AND FREE, but BLOODY ANGRY too.
And not just STRONG AND FREE, but BLOODY ANGRY too.
Elissa Slotkin’s rebuttal on behalf of the Democrats
Well worth nine minutes of your time. Aspirational, at least, in these dark times. I totally got the way she never took her eyes off the camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNR9...
Well worth nine minutes of your time. Aspirational, at least, in these dark times. I totally got the way she never took her eyes off the camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNR9...
Sen. Elissa Slotkin speech: Democratic response to Pres. Trump's address | WATCH LIVE
YouTube video by FOX 5 New York
www.youtube.com
March 5, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Elissa Slotkin’s rebuttal on behalf of the Democrats
Well worth nine minutes of your time. Aspirational, at least, in these dark times. I totally got the way she never took her eyes off the camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNR9...
Well worth nine minutes of your time. Aspirational, at least, in these dark times. I totally got the way she never took her eyes off the camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNR9...
So egg prices in the US have almost quadrupled since Trump's election? Guess there's something wrong with this thinking then...
March 1, 2025 at 4:11 AM
So egg prices in the US have almost quadrupled since Trump's election? Guess there's something wrong with this thinking then...
What a disgusting performance that staged Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy was. Surely a new low for this presidency, if such a thing is possible. What is wrong with these people that they think the world is their play thing? Ukraine didn't start this!!!
February 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
What a disgusting performance that staged Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy was. Surely a new low for this presidency, if such a thing is possible. What is wrong with these people that they think the world is their play thing? Ukraine didn't start this!!!
Jony Ive on Desert Island Disks
Always fascinating to hear someone you "know" answering DID's questions... a happily mad selection of music, and Wodehouse for books.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Always fascinating to hear someone you "know" answering DID's questions... a happily mad selection of music, and Wodehouse for books.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Desert Island Discs - Sir Jony Ive, designer - BBC Sounds
Sir Jony Ive, designer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Jony Ive on Desert Island Disks
Always fascinating to hear someone you "know" answering DID's questions... a happily mad selection of music, and Wodehouse for books.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Always fascinating to hear someone you "know" answering DID's questions... a happily mad selection of music, and Wodehouse for books.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Looking at Apple Maps from Canada and Trump's favourite gulf is called the Gulf of Mexico.
In Google Maps it's called Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)... just in case there's any Americans here, I guess.
In Google Maps it's called Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)... just in case there's any Americans here, I guess.
February 12, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Looking at Apple Maps from Canada and Trump's favourite gulf is called the Gulf of Mexico.
In Google Maps it's called Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)... just in case there's any Americans here, I guess.
In Google Maps it's called Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)... just in case there's any Americans here, I guess.
That profile pic is the mini library we build last fall; the snow is Edmonton, Alberta in January 🙂 Based on the famous British K6 "phone kiosk", it's our way of moving some of the all too many books we have. So far it's getting a fair bit of traffic!
January 31, 2025 at 5:58 AM
That profile pic is the mini library we build last fall; the snow is Edmonton, Alberta in January 🙂 Based on the famous British K6 "phone kiosk", it's our way of moving some of the all too many books we have. So far it's getting a fair bit of traffic!