16 April 2026

That old problem has come back to haunt me!

Remember back in 2022 when I used to sit on our patio and basically conduct surveillance on the post office across the street? Prime entertainment. Better than Netflix, lower subscription cost.

There was one mystery that completely took over my brain for a while. Every single mail van had this weird discoloration on the roof. Looked like rust at first glance. But here is the strange part. It only showed up on one specific area. Front right section of the roof. Always. Like the vans had a coordinated skincare issue.

Naturally, I did what any reasonable person would do. I went into the post office and asked about it.

I was promptly and efficiently shooed away.

Fast forward to 2024. A crew shows up to clean all the vehicles. Redemption arc. I walk up, ask the same question again, trying to look less suspicious this time. They actually answer me. Turns out it is not rust. It is mold.

Great. One mystery solved.

Except… they had no idea why it only appears on that exact part of the roof.

The vans stayed clean for a year or so, and I moved on with my life. Or so I thought.

This morning, 5 AM, patio, filter coffee in hand, I look over and there it is again. The mold is back. Same area. Same pattern. Mail van after mail van, like they are all following the same bizarre instruction manual.

I zoomed in just to be sure. Nope, not my imagination.

For the life of me, I still cannot figure this out.

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1 March 2026

An unfinished task from my school days – and a quick quiz for you

A few weeks back, as a next step to my madness, I decided that memorizing the periodic table would be a worthwhile enterprise. I do not think I ever went beyond 25 elements in school.

As of this morning, I can finally narrate the entire periodic table of 118 elements. Forwards and backwards, for good measure!

Now, for a couple of interesting questions, try this:

1. “Q” is a letter that no element has as a starting letter. Actually, it is not there anywhere in the spelling of any element. There is another such letter. What is it?

2. What is the most common starting letter for the elements?

3. This is for my US friends. How many elements can you name whose symbol is the same as some state in the United States?

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