Tafaner66
@tafaner.bsky.social
Recovering cyberutopian.
LIKES: MUSIC (I play flutes, 7-string nylon guitar, and sing dreadfully); also LANGUAGES (En, Fr, Cat, Es) and the Great Outdoors - as long as it's not raining.
DISLIKES: Mud
LIKES: MUSIC (I play flutes, 7-string nylon guitar, and sing dreadfully); also LANGUAGES (En, Fr, Cat, Es) and the Great Outdoors - as long as it's not raining.
DISLIKES: Mud
If your old hi-fi dies, it's probably the electrolytic capacitors. These are needed to get big capacitance in small volumes, but their lifetimes (esp at high temperatures) are shockingly low, sometimes only 1000 hours! Aluminium Polymer seems to be one answer. I just needed one - but had to buy 50🙁
November 14, 2025 at 9:19 AM
If your old hi-fi dies, it's probably the electrolytic capacitors. These are needed to get big capacitance in small volumes, but their lifetimes (esp at high temperatures) are shockingly low, sometimes only 1000 hours! Aluminium Polymer seems to be one answer. I just needed one - but had to buy 50🙁
A tiny Catalan grammar thing. This Manuel de Pedrolo short story has lots of examples of LLUR, the possessive "their", which in modern Catalan has largely given way to SEU.
But LLUR is still popular in the North, because it matches the French LEUR and the Occitan LOR.
(OK, I'll see myself out🙁)
But LLUR is still popular in the North, because it matches the French LEUR and the Occitan LOR.
(OK, I'll see myself out🙁)
November 14, 2025 at 8:40 AM
A tiny Catalan grammar thing. This Manuel de Pedrolo short story has lots of examples of LLUR, the possessive "their", which in modern Catalan has largely given way to SEU.
But LLUR is still popular in the North, because it matches the French LEUR and the Occitan LOR.
(OK, I'll see myself out🙁)
But LLUR is still popular in the North, because it matches the French LEUR and the Occitan LOR.
(OK, I'll see myself out🙁)
Is this normal? By the time you've carried the baguette back home, it's significantly shorter? 🤔
November 13, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Is this normal? By the time you've carried the baguette back home, it's significantly shorter? 🤔
A quick plug for KAGI which I started subscribing to recently! One of the "cleanest" browsers / search engines around, with some surprising extras: a choice of competing AI models + a translate facility providing alternative translations and commentary on the nuances. Better then Google IMHO!
November 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM
A quick plug for KAGI which I started subscribing to recently! One of the "cleanest" browsers / search engines around, with some surprising extras: a choice of competing AI models + a translate facility providing alternative translations and commentary on the nuances. Better then Google IMHO!
Agreed - but these publications are separate from the normal subscription newspaper. Here's a example page which contains info on Exchange Rates you would struggle to find elsewhere: a distillation of the law itself, plus government answers to questions and evolved custom and practice.
November 12, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Agreed - but these publications are separate from the normal subscription newspaper. Here's a example page which contains info on Exchange Rates you would struggle to find elsewhere: a distillation of the law itself, plus government answers to questions and evolved custom and practice.
I should confess that I do get some help from the Connexion guide" It's in English - which is unnecessary from my POV - but it does a good job of breaking down and simplifying the logic, plus documenting custom and practice. Well worth it !
November 12, 2025 at 12:12 PM
I should confess that I do get some help from the Connexion guide" It's in English - which is unnecessary from my POV - but it does a good job of breaking down and simplifying the logic, plus documenting custom and practice. Well worth it !
Is it OK to leak Copper into the ecosystem ? CU does occur naturally and is seen in some lakes and water courses, but it's probably not great. Roebic, makers of the popular commercial alternative, proudly claim their product is CU-free! OTOH theirs contains Dichlobenil, explicitly banned in the EU 🤔
November 11, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Is it OK to leak Copper into the ecosystem ? CU does occur naturally and is seen in some lakes and water courses, but it's probably not great. Roebic, makers of the popular commercial alternative, proudly claim their product is CU-free! OTOH theirs contains Dichlobenil, explicitly banned in the EU 🤔
We have a cracked sewage line and tree roots have got in. It's under a public roadway, so I can't repair it myself and Veolia won't fix it - just clear it whenever we report it blocked. So I dose it with copper sulphate every 4 months, at night for dramatic effect (and cos toilets/sinks are quiet) 🙄
November 11, 2025 at 7:53 AM
We have a cracked sewage line and tree roots have got in. It's under a public roadway, so I can't repair it myself and Veolia won't fix it - just clear it whenever we report it blocked. So I dose it with copper sulphate every 4 months, at night for dramatic effect (and cos toilets/sinks are quiet) 🙄
As the only one in our area with a 3D printer and modelling capability, I get some very strange requests. This one is for a children's kitchen! The battery-powered tap is a standard unit, but comes without a surface-mount fitting. So I modelled and printed a friction-fit base for it in flexible TPU.
November 9, 2025 at 12:11 PM
As the only one in our area with a 3D printer and modelling capability, I get some very strange requests. This one is for a children's kitchen! The battery-powered tap is a standard unit, but comes without a surface-mount fitting. So I modelled and printed a friction-fit base for it in flexible TPU.
I never knew of that connection between Xérès/Ceretanum and our Céret 66400! The Catalan "Ceretà/Ceretana" is definitely used as the 'gentilici' for the valley of the Cerdanya as well as our village, but I assume it's just coincidence?
(No one has mentioned "mosto", the scrumpy of sherry?)
(No one has mentioned "mosto", the scrumpy of sherry?)
November 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I never knew of that connection between Xérès/Ceretanum and our Céret 66400! The Catalan "Ceretà/Ceretana" is definitely used as the 'gentilici' for the valley of the Cerdanya as well as our village, but I assume it's just coincidence?
(No one has mentioned "mosto", the scrumpy of sherry?)
(No one has mentioned "mosto", the scrumpy of sherry?)
Having somehow destroyed my Ebike controller, I now need a new one. To be road-legal in Europe, this has to be max 250W. Trouble is they cost EUR ~100, while the double-strength 500W ones are on sale at EUR 42. "So that's why, your honour. Am I free to go?". Anyway, the motor label still says 250w
November 8, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Having somehow destroyed my Ebike controller, I now need a new one. To be road-legal in Europe, this has to be max 250W. Trouble is they cost EUR ~100, while the double-strength 500W ones are on sale at EUR 42. "So that's why, your honour. Am I free to go?". Anyway, the motor label still says 250w
So that's me done for this year's bike tour - the first I have ever done without a bike!
A final shout out to one of the cheapest hotels we stayed in, which was also one of the nicest! Hotel Pigal in Tarragona cost us only EUR ~60 twin, but was spotlessly clean, friendly, quirky and entertaining.
A final shout out to one of the cheapest hotels we stayed in, which was also one of the nicest! Hotel Pigal in Tarragona cost us only EUR ~60 twin, but was spotlessly clean, friendly, quirky and entertaining.
November 6, 2025 at 6:44 PM
So that's me done for this year's bike tour - the first I have ever done without a bike!
A final shout out to one of the cheapest hotels we stayed in, which was also one of the nicest! Hotel Pigal in Tarragona cost us only EUR ~60 twin, but was spotlessly clean, friendly, quirky and entertaining.
A final shout out to one of the cheapest hotels we stayed in, which was also one of the nicest! Hotel Pigal in Tarragona cost us only EUR ~60 twin, but was spotlessly clean, friendly, quirky and entertaining.
So while my cycling mate rode the Rodalia into Tarragona, I hiked the 25km from Cambrils - using his GPX route, which abruptly dumped me on an urban motorway! 4 km of this were quite scary and probably illegal, but I found no way off; the ports and the railway have grabbed a lot of land here.
November 5, 2025 at 4:27 PM
So while my cycling mate rode the Rodalia into Tarragona, I hiked the 25km from Cambrils - using his GPX route, which abruptly dumped me on an urban motorway! 4 km of this were quite scary and probably illegal, but I found no way off; the ports and the railway have grabbed a lot of land here.
Explorer & broadcaster Nick Crane was mocked for his umbrella, but actually, the modern Gentleman's Tactical 1.2m is quite a thing. With its 16 GRP ribs, it laughs at the wind. Use it for instant shelter, as a Nordic pole, for duelling, rescuing baby lambs and toasting tea cakes over the campfire 🙂
November 5, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Explorer & broadcaster Nick Crane was mocked for his umbrella, but actually, the modern Gentleman's Tactical 1.2m is quite a thing. With its 16 GRP ribs, it laughs at the wind. Use it for instant shelter, as a Nordic pole, for duelling, rescuing baby lambs and toasting tea cakes over the campfire 🙂
We oldies need to sit down a lot, so a round of applause for the seafront benches of Cambrils! Some have inbuilt shelters, and some even come with or without seaviews - so you can gaze longingly at the traffic. 🤔
November 5, 2025 at 11:22 AM
We oldies need to sit down a lot, so a round of applause for the seafront benches of Cambrils! Some have inbuilt shelters, and some even come with or without seaviews - so you can gaze longingly at the traffic. 🤔
But pray, cross yonder rambla
is that a market where I might buy
my true love a goat?
Fol-di-rol
(Nah. it's just clothes and shit)
is that a market where I might buy
my true love a goat?
Fol-di-rol
(Nah. it's just clothes and shit)
November 5, 2025 at 10:09 AM
But pray, cross yonder rambla
is that a market where I might buy
my true love a goat?
Fol-di-rol
(Nah. it's just clothes and shit)
is that a market where I might buy
my true love a goat?
Fol-di-rol
(Nah. it's just clothes and shit)
Last day of our bike tour today. With 0.1 mm of rain forecast, my cycling companion has thrown in the towel and is getting the train from l'Ampolla straight to Tarragona. Me, I plan to walk from Cambrils, through the holiday-scapes of Salou. Hotels, campings, water slides, and screaming children 🤔
November 5, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Last day of our bike tour today. With 0.1 mm of rain forecast, my cycling companion has thrown in the towel and is getting the train from l'Ampolla straight to Tarragona. Me, I plan to walk from Cambrils, through the holiday-scapes of Salou. Hotels, campings, water slides, and screaming children 🤔
A flock of goats. I reasoned with them and they let me through 🙂
November 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A flock of goats. I reasoned with them and they let me through 🙂
I'm no agriculturalist, but I've worked out that the principal resource in the Deltebre is MUD. Vasty fields of the stuff. Mud in biblical quantities. Mud so malign that if you ventured upon it in your new trailing shoes, it would swallow you in an instant, gurgling with laughter.😳
November 4, 2025 at 12:27 PM
I'm no agriculturalist, but I've worked out that the principal resource in the Deltebre is MUD. Vasty fields of the stuff. Mud in biblical quantities. Mud so malign that if you ventured upon it in your new trailing shoes, it would swallow you in an instant, gurgling with laughter.😳
Me. I'm off hiking across the Ebro Delta finishing at Ampolla, with my cycling mate catching up from behind. Land of rice paddies and wading birds. Sadly, they are mostly to the east, and that will be too far for me to comfortably hike 🙁
November 4, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Me. I'm off hiking across the Ebro Delta finishing at Ampolla, with my cycling mate catching up from behind. Land of rice paddies and wading birds. Sadly, they are mostly to the east, and that will be too far for me to comfortably hike 🙁
At l'Aldea, our train does a handshake with a Renfe regional bound for Barcelona (train geeks will undoubtedly recognise the distinctive graffiti 🤔). Then it shunts back up a branch line to finish at Tortosa (with basically nobody on board). We are now in Barcelona's gravitational field.
November 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
At l'Aldea, our train does a handshake with a Renfe regional bound for Barcelona (train geeks will undoubtedly recognise the distinctive graffiti 🤔). Then it shunts back up a branch line to finish at Tortosa (with basically nobody on board). We are now in Barcelona's gravitational field.
Barcelona / Valencia Rodalia tickets have to be purchased from machines or at a booking office. But for Renfe regionals, I'm finding the Trainline app easiest, as it has your ID details and cards built in. My 30km ride from Benicarló to Aldea comes to £2.90 incl £0.59 booking commission.
November 4, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Barcelona / Valencia Rodalia tickets have to be purchased from machines or at a booking office. But for Renfe regionals, I'm finding the Trainline app easiest, as it has your ID details and cards built in. My 30km ride from Benicarló to Aldea comes to £2.90 incl £0.59 booking commission.
Trains are not allowed in the Serra d'Irta parc natural, so the rail head for Peniscola is Benicarló to the North. Local bus L1B makes the connection - and it's there on time, with a friendly driver who understands my 'Valenglés'. EUR 1.45 for the 30 min ride and you can play on a card.
November 4, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Trains are not allowed in the Serra d'Irta parc natural, so the rail head for Peniscola is Benicarló to the North. Local bus L1B makes the connection - and it's there on time, with a friendly driver who understands my 'Valenglés'. EUR 1.45 for the 30 min ride and you can play on a card.
So this must be Peniscola. Looks worryingly Dubrovnik/Santorini. Candlelit restaurants. Gypsy violinists. I just want some fish and chips 🤔
November 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
So this must be Peniscola. Looks worryingly Dubrovnik/Santorini. Candlelit restaurants. Gypsy violinists. I just want some fish and chips 🤔
Halfway across the Serra d'Irta and time in hand. Côntrole Technique ... 🌞
November 3, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Halfway across the Serra d'Irta and time in hand. Côntrole Technique ... 🌞