Toots for dan@danq.me account

Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-22 at 12:17

My 8-year-old asked me "In Spanish, I need to use an upside-down interrobang at the start of the sentence‽" (I assume the answer is yes!)

A little while later, I thought to check whether Unicode defines a codepoint for an inverted interrobang. Yup: ‽ = U+203D, ⸘ = U+2E18. Nice.

(And yet we don't have codepoints to differentiate between single-bar and double-bar "cifrão" dollar signs...)

[#]note #unicode #spain #language #languages

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/22/invertobang/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-21 at 19:16

Last year, a colleague introduced me to lazygit, a TUI git client with a wealth of value-added features.

Somehow, though, my favourite feature is the animation you see if you nuke the working tree. 😘 Excellent.

[#]note #git #sourceControl #technology #programming

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/21/25565/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-19 at 23:51

A picture is worth a thousand words.

This is why it's really important to write good alt text.

[#]a11y #AltTxt

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-19 at 16:43

The final weekend of my sabbatical was spent, like the first one, at a Three Rings event. As a side activity to the volunteer work, everybody was asked to put their name on a paper plate and leave it on a particular table, allowing others to semi-anonymously add compliments, thanks, or kind words about its owner.

Comments on my plate:

• Your my faveriot [sic] brother (gee, I wonder who THAT one was from 😂)
• Always seems to be doing interesting things. A maverick! Thinks outside the box
• Awesome
• Thank you for inventing this (a) system & (b) corporate model!
• Always smiley and excited
• Thanks for always pushing lots of new features!
• Puts up with idiots willingly and patiently
• You literally dreampt this whole thing into existence!
• Quirky
• Innovative solutions!
• Helpful in all ways!

Fabulous. I might wall-mount it.

[#]note #sabbatical #threeRings #volunteering #friends

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/19/25556/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-18 at 00:05

Goodbye, Trinidad and Tobago. 🇹🇹

You were wonderful. I hope to visit you again. ❤️

[#]note #travel #trinidadAndTobago

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/18/25554/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-17 at 23:14

When you love Jesus but you're sick of Him blocking your driveway.

[#]note #funny #trinidadAndTobago #religion #christianity #joke #cars

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/17/25552/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-16 at 16:37

Yesterday, @fleeblewidget and I made the first ever attempt at a geohashing expedition in Trinidad & Tobago, successfully finding a hashpoint in Chase Village in the West of Trinidad!

🔗 https://danq.link/gh-trinidad

[#]note #geohashing #travel #trinidadAndTobago

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-15 at 14:39

My partner @fleeblewidget and I met in #Wales (where I lived for a decade) 20+ years ago.

This week, we're enjoying a romantic getaway in #TrinidadAndTobago, 7,000km (and an ocean) of #travel away.

So imagine our surprise when we book a #snorkeling / #turtle-spotting boat trip only to find ourselves aboard the "Cariad" (Welsh for "love" 💕), captained by perhaps the #Caribbean's biggest cymruphile!

Such #serendipity makes it feel like a #smallWorld.

🔗 (Much) more, plus pictures: https://danq.me/small-world-serendipity

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-14 at 18:36

After driving 300 (vertical) metres up a terrifyingly winding road, we find ourself at 'Top if the World', one of Tobago's highest points. Being able to look down the steep sides of this long-extinct volcano to the sea on both sides is quite spectacular, and the Caribbean and Atlantic horizons seem so far away that you can almost believe you're seeing the Earth curve.

My camera fails to do this view justice.

[#]note #trinidadAndTobago #climbing #travel #volcanoes

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/14/top-of-the-world-2/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-13 at 16:39

The Nylon Pool is a sandbar in the Buccoo Reef, off the coast of Tobago. Despite the distance from the shore, it's only about waist-deep. Truly mind-boggling.

[#]note #travel #trinidadAndTobago #sea #swimming #memorable

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/13/25492/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-13 at 14:11

Came half way around the world to find a surprising boat with a non-English name I understand.

("Cariad" is Welsh for "love")

[#]note #trinidadAndTobago #boats #welsh #language #languages #travel

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/13/25490/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-11 at 21:51

A couple of hours into our ferry journey, we just got our first glimpse of the island of Tobago, where we'll be staying for the next few days.

[#]note #trinidadAndTobago #water #boats #travel

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/11/25480/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-11 at 15:34

Just visited the Logos Hope, an ocean-going, volunteer-staffed floating book fair (run by a Christian charity, but it's not-TOO-religiousy inside, if that's not your jam) that's coincidentally docked for a fortnight right next door to my hotel on Trinidad!

What a strange concept. Fun diversion though.

[#]note #trinidadAndTobago #water #boats #books #shopping #volunteering #charity #charities #christianity

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/11/25478/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-10 at 10:58

My 12:55 flight is, according to this departure board, delayed to... 12:55!?

Either it's running a full 24 hours late, or this board is untrustworthy.

[#]note #travel #trinidadAndTobago

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/10/25476/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-09 at 18:57

Except to children, I don't really give Christmas presents to (or expect to receive them from) others any more.

But that didn't stop my buying myself a gift of a particularly fun Lego set to build over the festive period (with a little help from the eldest child!).

[#]note #christmas #lego #gifts #lego #videoGames #games #game

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/09/lego-zero-dawn/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-08 at 15:00

I'm pretty impressed with running WordPress on Caddy so far.

It took a little jiggerypokery to configure it with an equivalent of the Nginx configuration I use for DanQ.me. But off the back of it I get the capability for HTTP/3, 103 Early Hints, and built-in "batteries included" infrastructure for things like certificate renewal and log rotation.

(why yes, I am celebrating my birthday by doing selfhosting server configuration, why do you ask? 😅)

[#]note #nginx #caddy #web #http #blogging #wordpress

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/08/caddy/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-05 at 08:47

Compared to the children, the dog is Not So Impressed by the deep snowfall we've just received. To be fair, it's basically up to get armpits!

(leg-pits? I don't know what the right word is for a canine!)

[#]note #snow #dog #weather

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/05/25448/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-05 at 08:25

I'm staying in a lodge in the Yorkshire Dales National Park to celebrate the eldest kid's birthday and we've just received a huge dump of snow, overnight. What was grass is now a thick white carpet of fresh powder. Sounds like a great birthday present for an excited kid I can just hear beginning to wake up...

[#]note #children #birthday #snow #weather

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/05/25446/

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Written by Dan Q on 2025-01-01 at 12:59

Our family tradition on New Year's Day is to go to the Rollright Stones. Legend has it that you can't count the standing stones and get the same answer twice.

This year the younger child counted 37, the elder 67... so wide a difference that you can see how one might ascribe a mystical reason!

[#]note #family #archeology #children #parenting

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2025/01/01/25428/

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Written by Dan Q on 2024-12-29 at 19:32

This evening I used leftover cocktail sausages to make teeny-tiny toads-in-the-hole (my kids say they should be called frogs-in-the-dip).

It worked out pretty well.

Micro-recipe:

1. Bake cocktail sausages (or veggie sausages, pictured) until barely done.

2. Meanwhile, make a batter (per every 6 sausages: use 50ml milk, 50g plain flour, 1 egg, pinch of salt).

3. Remove sausages from oven, then turn up to 220C.

4. Put a teaspoon of a high-temperature oil (e.g. vegetable, sunflower) into each pit of a cake/muffin tin, return to oven until almost at smoke point.

5. Add a sausage or two to each pit and return to the oven for a couple of minutes to come back up to temperature.

6. Add batter to each pit. It ought to sizzle when it hits the oil, if it's hot enough. Return to the oven.

7. Remove when puffed-up and crisp. Serve with gravy and your favourite comfort food accompaniments.

[#]note #food #cookery #cooking #xmas #christmas #recipes

Via: 🔗 https://danq.me/2024/12/29/frogs-in-a-hollow-pt-2/

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