FINDING A TIMER

Really, how hard can this be? I started out thinking. All I wanted was a timer to encourage me to take regular breaks from using my computer.

But as I often seem to find, it was more difficult than I anticipated. I don't even want all that much really, I thought.

I'm running Linux Mint 22 so as far as Linux goes I'm totally mainstream 

To start with I was thinking I'd like an all in one app that included a repeating countdown timer, and a stopwatch.  

Maybe also with a clock, a world clock, and an alarm as well. And of course I'd like a cool looking moving analogue clock showing the time counting down. Also I'd like to be able to customise everything, and make it stylish and purple. 

And obviously I want it all free as well as ad free and open source.

But after trying half a dozen different apps that all sucked for one reason or another, I ditched all my expectations and just went for one that only did the repeating countdown timer part.

I decided upon "STRETCHLY" 

It's not flashy but it does the job, and yes it is available for Windows and Mac as well as Linux. 

Finally I found a timer that does the basics that I really need with no added stressors. But first I had to ditch any other extras and go full Swedish Minimalist.

Hovering over the logo (black & red yin yang) in the far right of my toolbar shows the remaining time until the next break.

I have it set to do a 3 min break every 30 mins. So every 30 mins it gives me a 30 second warning and then my screen changes to a plain blue notification screen telling me to take a three minute break.

At that stage I can't do anything on my computer, I can't even take a screenshot of the notification screen, so to get this picture I had to take a photo with my camera. 

And it works brilliantly. Because I have no choice, I actually do have a break! In fact I get up, bugger off and go and do other things often for a lot longer than three minutes. 

So I get other things done, and feel better after having a break as well.

When I come back to the computer my next 30 min session has started automatically, and already used up a bunch of time, so I right click on the icon and reset the session, starting it again from 30 mins.

I didn't quite grasp this before I tried it, but this basic app is exactly what I needed!

WEBSITE - https://hovancik.net/stretchly/

RANDOMS 2026 #24

 Lots of bonus random trannies this week!

 Looking for a tranny to really mess with your head? - I follow F1 racing & have long thought Lewis Hamilton was a gay Freemason covered in satanic tatts. So why would he be dating Kim Kardashian? Because Kim is a tranny! - yes those hips and boobs and lips and arse are all silicone - hell that's a lot of silicone!

 Men are always to blame...

Is this the worst transvestigation of all time? The Beatles were certainly a Tavvistock psyop, but trannies as well? No, that is utter bollocks! 

 Being a tranny himself, Mandonna would fully relate to them! 🤩

 

Racism needs to be stamped out... But isn't that a green man in a wig?

 

Sometimes it's hard to pick who is more clueless about food - "doctors" or mainstream "nutritionists" - but they are both playing for the same team 

An awesome rave 😄

 
Some days I scroll down my Facebook timeline looking for posts to like or re-post but there is just a never ending feed of mindless and depressing fudporn... Do any of those miserable numpties have a sense of humour?

Are there any royals who are not trannies? These ones are Albert II de Monaco, and Princesse Charlène - what a pair of freaks!

Back in the 80's we all knew a tranny when we spotted one 😋 

15 FACTS ABOUT NZ

ARE KIWIS REALLY ALL JUST A BUNCH OF SHEEP SHAGGERS?

1 – The human population of NZ is only 5 million, but NZ is similar in land size to Japan or the UK

2 – NZ has more helicopters per capita than any other country

 3- NZ is considered one of the more liberal nations in the world with same-sex marriage and prostitution being legal, the driving age is 16, the consensual age for sex is 16, and the drinking age is 18

4 – No place in NZ is more than 140 km (87 miles) from the sea. (NZ is quite long and narrow)

 5 – NZ has won more Olympic gold medals, per capita, than any other country (rowing, athletics, and sailing are where Kiwis kick arse)

6 – Only 5% of NZ’s population is human – the rest are animals

7 – NZ has the highest density of sheep of any country

8 – 30% of NZ’s land area is National Parks (which have no sheep or people)

 9 – Pizza Hut doesn’t really get its mozzarella cheese from Italy – it buys it all from Taranaki and uses NZ cheese on it’s pizzas globally

10 – NZ has the highest number of golf courses per capita in the world

 11 – Rugby player Wayne Shelford got his scrotum ripped open mid-game in a bad tackle. He was taken off the field with one testicle literally hanging out, got stitched up on the bench and continued the game. (Being staunch is a very desirable attribute in NZ)

12 – New Zealand has more Scottish pipe bands per capita than any other country in the world. (I have no idea why)

 13 – The most popular car in NZ is a silver Toyota Corolla hatchback. 20% of all cars in NZ are Toyota, and 70% of NZ cars are silver, white, grey, or black because most Kiwis have a fear of colours. The average NZ vehicle age is 14 years

14 – NZ has the steepest street in the world – it’s called Baldwin Street and is located in Dunedin. It has a gradient of 38 degrees.

 15 – As well as Kiwis, NZ is home to more species of penguins than any other country

AMERICANLISH

 

While trying to find the correct spelling for the word “usable” (able to be used) I read on an American website that “there are more people using American English than British English” – bollocks I thought, as the word "INDIA" repeated over and over in my mind…

So just how does the use of American English really compare to British English? Here are some rough figures:

People speaking variations of British English

Indian English (125 million)*
United Kingdom English (67 million)
Australian English (26 million)
New Zealand English (5 million)
Irish English (5 million)
Singapore English (2 million)**

Total – 230 million

*India is the most populous country at 1.4 billion people (yes, slightly ahead of China as of 2025) but it’s hard to estimate how many Indians have some degree of English literacy – 125 million is considered conservative.  **Same with Singapore (population 6 million) – estimate 2 million have some degree of English literacy

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/

 

People speaking variations of American English

US English (335 million – just the US population alone)

If we also include Canadian English (38 million) that increases the lead even further. Damn I always hate admitting Americans are right, but they got me there!

Other large countries I haven’t taken into account here include Malaysia (British English) and the Philippines (American English)

 

And how is usable spelt? – either usable or useable are both correct! (the spell checkers are wrong!)

And now I’ll make up for my anguish by including a few American memes!