Greg Shaw

Just been called a "feminine man", by a nice lady, a total stranger who was very chatty, with no conversational filters. Fine by me, I'm just a bloke doing what I do, and gender is a social construct. I decided not to engage her in conversation, though. Thought it might get too deep too fast.

zazen = staring into the Abyss kensho = the Abyss stares back Follow me for more "enlightening", random, misguided, inappropriate and plain wrong thoughts about #Zen and #Buddhism

A lovely artisanal hand-crafted Zimmerit coating is now on the Tamiya Sturmtiger, #HistScaleModels. I've done most of the after-market accessory faff (tracks, photo-etched fenders, Zimmerit) now, so, with huge relief, I can relax, switch off my brain, and just follow the instructions in the kit.

Happy #Caturday! Lincoln (black and white) and Earl (grey) have their own water fountains, of course, but the kitchen tap is so tempting. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部

Welcome to Wibbly Wombat Wednesday, with Earl Cat checking out the newly-deployed blanket on top of my bed. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部

Happy #Caturday from me and Lincoln Cat, who is very enthusiastic about the possibilities of the day stretching out before him. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部

Brief convo with doorknocking Jehovah's Witnesses just now... ugh. "I've read Acts, Deuteronomy and Leviticus, and they tell me that your doctrine against blood transfusion is unbiblical, as well as brutally uncompassionate. It's abominable. And don't get me started on your lies about evolution."

Little Lincoln Cat... he's odd, and he often wees in places where I don't want him to, but he's very handsome and soft, and I love him to pieces. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部

Illness rant... Second time in a week that I forgot my shopping list for a trip to the supermarket. Seriously, f*ck post-covid brain fog. All morning my anxiety's been nagging me "You need to buy those essentials, you're going to run out!". Then I get to the shop and cannot remember the essentials.

"Achtung! Feuchtigkeitsembfindlich - vor Regen und Wasser zu schützen." Happy with the weathering on these 1:35 mortar rockets for the Sturmtiger. The figurine of the soldier is to the same scale. Those rockets were big. #HistScaleModels

I soldered together two bits of scrap brass without setting fire to myself, the cats, or any of my surroundings. It's not the messiest join ever, either. When I opened a pack of PE fenders for a model, and the instructions said "best soldered", my heart sank. But maybe it'll be OK. #HistScaleModels

#AI hits Quantum Theory, with a new a version of the "Wigner's Friend" thought experiment; does a system's state collapse to a single eigenstate when Wigner asks AI to make a measurement, and AI makes up some untrustworthy bollocks and instals malware to send user data to Palantir? #Physics #Science

Starting work on the photo-etched metal fenders for the 1:35 Sturmtiger. It's very delicate work, but I have all the right tools for the job. Should be pretty straightforward. #HistScaleModels

I use old newspaper to protect the top of the kitchen table when it becomes a crafting workbench, my place of Creative Magic. Here's the current Creative Magic, evoking the defaced textbooks of my 1980s all-boys secondary school days. Ahhh, the nostalgia...

Next door neighbour and I have agreed that we can give each other's cats treats, so that they get used to different humans and we get to tickle more cats. Her cat Bella now loves me for twenty seconds at a time, then reverts to pure hatred because I smell of enemy cats. Getting there slowly... #Cats

210 cast 1:35 scale track links, drilled and filed, soaking in soapy water. I used not to bother with washing like this, but then I noticed how tiny metal filings get everywhere, and I don't want them on my fingertips or in my eyes. Also good to clean off any gunge from the casting. #HistScaleModels

This hot weather is crazy. I'd already washed my hair once this month, yet I've had to wash it again today. It's just wrong.

Science kicks arse. I've made a basic pinhole projector, to observe the solar eclipse later. Instructions on how to view safely are here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #Astronomy is wonderful, mind-expanding science. Astrology is a harmful lie used by charlatans to exploit vulnerable people.

Lincoln Cat, AKA Potato Wombat, AKA Rinkon Potato Sama. He used to be afraid of everything, but, after seven years in my home, he is at least no longer scared of gentle tummy tickles. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部

Happy Saturday, from me and the outrageously crisp, fluffy Earl Cat, who has spotted something interesting in his garden. Just look at that fluff. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部 #Caturday

Coffee, cat, laptop. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部

The literal meaning of the name "Rita" is "small feminine letter R".

Next on the bench, #HistScaleModels - Tamiya's 1:35 Sturmtiger, a present from my brother last Christmas. I haven't built a Tiger chassis in years, so this will be fun. I've gone a bit mad with the after-market PE, and will be re-learning to solder, to assemble cool, gnarly, bent PE fenders.

Bluesky needs a new "FOAD" button, for dealing with kink posts by furries who don't bother to label them as "adult content" (for some reason it's only furries, not other kinks). One button to do "report post for unlabelled adult content" + "report user for unlabelled adult content" + "block user".

Earl Cat is so unfortunate and neglected and starved and cold and tired, that he's collapsed. Poor little Earl Cat. #Cats #CatsOfBlueSky #猫 #ネコ #ねこ部 #Caturday