Yeah, I thought the same when I wrote the comment. I’ve read a bit more about him and what he was charged with. In the UK he wasn’t convicted of grooming - they prosecuted him for it but he was found not guilty. I think it was a consensual relationship, but of course a 19 year old having sex with a 12 year old is rape regardless of consent in the UK and he was (rightly) convicted of that. In the Netherlands however the law is different, it wasn’t considered rape but something like “morally offensive actions”. So from the Dutch pov he’s not actually a rapist, which might explain why the Dutch Olympic committee don’t seem to think it’s that big a deal. Despite that, I still think a convicted pedophile rapist should not be allowed to compete in the games, but that needs to be made clear in the eligibility requirements by the IOC, rather than the wishy-washy “role model” contract.

All Olympic athletes sign a declaration saying they’ll strive to be a role model or something similar. I’d say a convicted rapist shouldn’t be considered a role model and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

Exactly as it sounds then! Thanks for spelling it out for me!

Cool cool cool cool cool… what’s photovoltaic?

I caught whooping cough as a kid. Nearly killed me. It’s a terrifying disease.

I didn’t realise bird flu wasn’t transmitted between humans already tbh. I caught Swine flu (H1N1) from another human a decade or so ago.

I’m from the UK and our disgusting government is shipping immigrants that arrive on small boats to Rwanda for some fucking reason. None of these people seeking a better place to live are actually from Rwanda. Never mind that our own Supreme Court ruled Rwanda is not a safe country. That’s where we’re ship people off to. It’s absolutely insane.

I’m a millennial and don’t use Facebook. None of my zoomer family members use Facebook. In fact the only people I know who do use it are boomers.

I have two goddaughters, born 4 years apart. Each were due on 29th Feb, both arrived on the 1st March. I’m still disappointed by their lateness.

But in both cases the parents had decided to celebrate on the 1st of March on non-leap years, had they arrived on their due dates.

I saw photos of farmers protesting with signs specifically blaming Ukrainians, and saying they’re ungrateful/unwelcome in the country. But I also saw a headline saying that Russian agitators could be behind it. I have no idea which is more likely.

JSYK it’s “mind numbingly” not “mined numbingly”

I have well over 100 plants all planted in lechuza pon and they are thriving! It’s an absolute game changer for aroids. No soil in this household.

I used to row (in the UK) and agree. Swans are fucking terrifying and give zero fucks. I accidentally hit one with my oar once. I’ve been marked ever since. 👀

Linen trousers?

Not according to the dictionary. Conversate literally defined as “to have a conversation”. A conversation isn’t limited to interactions over 5 mins. More from Merriam-Webster:

Converse functions as a noun, adjective, and verb, and conversate is synonymous with only one sense of the verb use of converse (“to exchange thoughts and opinions in speech”). Furthermore, conversate is a nonstandard form, and widely frowned upon in formal writing.

I think it’s fair to say it’s widely frowned upon by most English speakers. It’s longer than the original word, has much more limited usage, and it immediately makes you sound like an idiot. It’s awful.

When “converse” isn’t edgy enough.

Why would the pope comment on a murder in England that has no religious motive? Has Justin Welby condemned it? Mirza Masroor Ahmad? Yitzhak Yosef? No, because it’s completely irrelevant. Stop piggybacking on this tragedy with your weird religious agenda.

Only 6% of adults are practicing Christians in the UK. It’s statistically unlikely this has anything to do with religion.

Spanish homework! My local city council offers free adult learning courses for people earning < £30k. I signed up for Spanish almost on a whim. I was nervous as hell to begin with, but three lessons in I really love it.

I have this problem when I shuffle my liked songs on Spotify. Someone suggested clearing the cache which has improved it slightly.