1/N A request for UK readers: Thames Water has proposed building a "drought relief" system that will extract 75Ml per day from the Thames above Teddington lock, and replace it further downstream with "partially" (though, one hopes, pretty well) treated waste water further down stream. ...

Just got back from @rigb.org and an excellent presentation by Astronomer Royal Michele Dougherty on the Galileo and Cassini missions to Jupiter and Saturn respectively. What they did, why and how the did it, and some of the excitement, drama and dedication driving the missions..

Our 2026–27 lecture programme is here! 🎉 Join us live, online or in person – always free! 📅 👉 gres.hm/whats-on From our astronomical future and #AI to marvellous #medicines, global #film, #music, #LGBTQ histories & staging #Shakespeare, there's something for everyone! #GreshamCollege #EduSky

Today in 1976, 50 years ago, the Viking 1 lander touched down on Chryse Planitia, Mars, and became humanity's first long term outpost on another world (the Venera Venus landers lasted an hour or two, Viking 1 lasted over 6 years).

I've been nurturing my runner bean plants for the last couple of weeks. Plenty of foliage, lots of flowers, but virtually no beans setting. Is it too hot for the plants, do they drop the flowers too soon? Is it too hot for the bees (or other pollinators)? Aren't there enough bees around any more?

Just had the members' email from @rigb.org with their Autumn timetable - and find that I want to book 14 events Unfortunately the very first event on my list (Genetic Discoveries) collided with one I've pencilled in from the @greshamcollege.bsky.social (Results from Vera Rubin) Too much choice!

As far as I can tell I can't stop Amazon from "giving" me a month of Prime "free" with my order - but I can't find anything that says they won't start charging a monthly fee after that month is up So no orders from Amazon ever again until they make it clear that FREE means "no strings attached"

Just discovered a good use for AI searches: "Who wrote a short story about a man who borrowed a library copy of "Kidnapped" and ended up executed for kidnapping a minor thanks to computer errors?" The AI produced the right answer, with synopsis, despite various inaccuracies in the description.

Things you find when you're not looking for them. Oracle has had a "cursor_sharing_exact" hint for many versions - at least back to 11.1.0.7, but probably further. Oracle 23ai finally introduces its inverse, the statment level hint: cursor_sharing_force

Forgot to mention that I'd written a blog note about Oracle's savepoints (as in "rollback to savepoint" yesterday; to which I've add the explanation of the observed behaviour today (although several comments had already addressed that point adequately). jonathanlewis.wordpress.com/2026/06/26/s...

Savepoint Funny

Here’s an example that makes perfect sense if you know how Oracle handles data locking. It’s one that I thought I’d published years ago, but it’s not on the blog and the onl…

jonathanlewis.wordpress.com

Took the netting off the cherry tree a few days ago; harvest in and (a small amount of) jam made Now it's time to re-use the net on the Mirabelle tree which suddenly looks as if the fruit is big enough for the birds to start noticing. Have to do some thinning out, though, "June drop" didn't happen

Working early mornings at the allotment to mitigate the impact of the heatwave(s). Some watering, of course, but digging out compost heaps to use for mulch around plants that don't "self-shade"; and putting up insect nets to diffuse and reduce the sunlight that reaches the more tender plants.

And for much more on the context & the implications, here's the programme we did on extreme heat on Rare Earth just a couple of weeks ago. Everyone I speak to who works in this area is so worried that these risks are not being taken seriously enough. It's not "just summer". It's potentially lethal.

BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, Hotter Than Hell

How can Britain - and the world - prepare itself for extreme heat?

bbc.co.uk

Just discovered another reason for preferring paperbacks over e-readers. When a flying insect lands on the window I don’t really want to whack it with my iPad mini.

If you are based in, or have friends in, the UK my daughter is doing a PhD investigating what people know about hedgerows and how they benefit from them, and she would like people to answer a questionnaire about them at: rhulpsychology.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Thank you for any help.

Just booked my flights for #POUG2026 - poug.org/en/edycja/po... Next task - book the hotel

Its been a while since I posted about sourdough, and this one ca out pretty well.

Spent some time today unpacking my dahlia tubers from their winter storage; very pleased with the results. Last year they had dried out and shrivelled up but this year I'd packed them in boxes full of shredded paper and they looked as good after 5 months as the day I lifted them.

It’s wisteria time of year (for me)

Today is marmalade day (2026 / #2). Seville oranges softened up by 2 hours simmering - then scooping, slicing, boiling straining, sugaring, boiling and then bottling and waiting for the set ... tbc. Took a few minutes after bottling to refresh the sourdough starter - to bread making tomorrow.

Picked and stewed the first batch of the (main) rhubarb crop yesterday - blissful breakfast this morning. Sad news of the jam front, though: we've just opened the last jar from 2025. On the upside I think we've still got some homegrown fruit in the deep freeze.

Today’s main task: the February pruning of the mother-in-law’s wisteria. Must remember to take the before and after photos this year.

Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

I've just been prompted to look at a series of blog notes I wrote 10 years ago for redgate on "Massive Deletes". There's an index to the series, plus a couple of releated articles at: jonathanlewis.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/m...

I've just rediscovered one of my favourite philosophical misquotes (that I've used very frequently when explaining Oracle-related problems). jonathanlewis.wordpress.com/2019/08/09/t...

🪐🌍 Are planets like Earth rare, or have we just not found them yet? As we approach the discovery of our 10,000th exoplanet, Prof Chris Lintott * explores whether Earth is truly unusual... 👉 gres.hm/alien-earths * also of Department of Physics at the University of Oxford

After a decade of planning, editing, delays due to my own busyness, further editing and waiting for 23c, the release of 26ai and my pre-retirement finally unblocked the situation. I have agreed with Apress to publish the third edition of Troubleshooting Oracle Performance in 2026. #TOP3

We've got a very excitable group of long-tailed tits that are regular visitors to the bird feeder at the end of the garden - and one thug of a great tit who chases them all away whenever they show up at the wrong time.

Pulled the last of the leeks from the "big leek" bed ready for lunch tomorrow, then picked a small handful of kalettes - the first I've harvested - to eat today. Much nicer than both kale and brussel sprouts, so going to grow more this season. Purple sprouting broccoli also just ready for picking.

Today's tasks, come rain or sun: feed and mulch the fruit trees, weed, feed and mulch the killer gooseberry bush after putting on the gauntlets and giving it a ferocious pruning.