I’m sitting around a large oval table. It’s supposed to seat eight people but there’s twelve of us. Some of us are sharing chairs. We’ve just celebrated a great final night of our festival but there’s a bigger day that awaits us tomorrow. Our primary objective is to clear everything down. We don’t only have the festival to take down; we’ve got to pack our own equipment away and we’ve got to get the public off site too. There’s still some vendors who want to trade tomorrow to cook breakfast for the campers, who won’t be early risers. Then we’ve got to sort between the rubbish, useful stuff that’s been abandoned and stuff that we think belongs to someone who’s not here. We have to do all this while people are out with their families enjoying the rest of the site. We see people we recognise from school with miniature versions of themselves on bikes while we’re wandering around with black bags.
Friday, 27 March 2026
Monday, 23 March 2026
My landlord just sold the house I'm renting from her. She included all fixtures that I bought and installed. Does she have this right?
No. she can try, but she’d be in the wrong. The key thing is to provide evidence. You should take photographs of the property before you move in. This is also useful if your landlord decides to charge you for any damage. You’d need to keep all receipts for the items that you’ve purchased. You’d need to arrange for somewhere to store them if you can’t move out in time. If you’re replacing things that are already there, you need an agreement with the landlord beforehand on what is happening with the old items. This information may already be in your rent agreement. Many new items can be registered with the serial numbers on government-backed websites to prove that they’re yours. If you can’t get the goods back off the landlord, you can demand that they supply you with replacement ones or demand compensation. Likewise, they can do the same if the property isn’t returned to its previous state.
Saturday, 21 March 2026
Verning Around
What a bitch. She’s small and skinny and slightly tanned, and she’s not afraid to show off her skin, which is brown with eyes to match. Then there’s straight hair and inflated lips which are always emphasised with lipstick. Short skirts are the preference even in winter, and high heels make her trot along and pull attention. She’s got an attitude to match as if everyone is below her. She maintains a professional attire, but she’s not afraid to flirt to get what she wants. She’s young and she thinks she’s got experience, but she doesn’t realise how actions affect people. We’re all just pawns on paper. When you try to tell her a situation, she’s unwilling to try and help change it or prevent it from reoccurring. God forbid if she should ever have to leave the office to pick something that isn’t a piece of paper. She’s just hanging around for experience before applying for a better position.
Friday, 20 March 2026
Shaken
Thursday, 19 March 2026
“We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.”
-Tim S. Grover.
It’s one of those things that we can’t get rid of but don’t want to give in
to. It’s that little voice thar wants us to stop and do something else as the
task is too hard. There’s a possibility that we might not get our way, but if
we accept it straight away then we know that we’ve lost and we lose our ability
to fight. You have to accept that it’s a possibility, but you also have to
fight to change the outcome. There’s a possibility that you can win, but you
have to invest in effort to make it happen. You cannot give in and need to
believe that you can do the task. There may be many factors against you, but
the earlier you tackle them, the easier the task becomes. But you can’t allow
fear to get the best of you, otherwise you’ll never achieve anything.
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
The Shade
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Man forcibly removed from overbooked United Airlines flight
This is bad planning on the airline’s fault. Why wasn’t the mistake spotted before boarding? I thought computers weren’t allowed to make these sorts of errors. Were two seats allocated at the same time? Perhaps people were on the phone and the call operator didn’t wait for confirmation that the booking was complete. This could have been sorted without all the hassle on the plane. They might have found someone who’s willing to transfer to a later flight. Instead, they decided to make a decision against someone’s will which caused more conflict that they’d thought. Was he the last single passenger to buy a ticket, or did they not like the look of him or his profile? I wonder how late the flight was and what the man’s reaction was. It doesn’t sound that he’s happy by the outcome. Would he get arrested for something that wasn’t his fault? These companies need to wake up otherwise people will try and avoid them.
Sunday, 15 March 2026
Destructive Dildo #titannabell 26
Titania squeezed. She didn’t want to hurt the girl, but she wanted to get as much out of her as possible. Each breast was the same size as her. She wanted to trap her in the apex so that she would touch both at the same time. It was like having a kitten on her chest only she was wrapped in linen rather than fur. The sensation was light but heavy at the same time. The girl wasn’t getting out but she felt that she needed to. The walls spun as if they were closing in. She began to feel hot and felt that the best way to cool down was to get outside. She was rapidly heading towards the ceiling. She kicked out, but at the same time, she started to crash through it. She began inhaling dust and cement. Using her ass, she bounced to get some momentum to get outside and the whole castle shook.
Saturday, 14 March 2026
What does this do?
Friday, 13 March 2026
IMO
I’ve been getting lazy lately. Instead of washing my car myself, I’ve been taking to the drive-through car wash. I had some free washes through the car insurance and it always seems to come out better than when I do it by hand. I usually manage to time it when it’s quiet, and I have to have the app at the ready. Then I have to remember to unscrew my radio antenna. I drive forward, and an attendant gives me a brief hosedown of suds and jetwashes my alloys. Then comes the tricky bit. I have to line the car straight up on the track to be taken along the conveyor. It’s a bit difficult as you can’t communicate as water is being spread everywhere and you have to pay attention to the hand signals. Then I sit back and let the machines do the work, though last time it nearly took my mirror out.
Thursday, 12 March 2026
Dining Room Dash
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Peeping Paul #dreamdiary 217
I’m back at university. I’m back at my old campus in student halls, and I’ve just moved in and I’m ready to meet my roommates. I’m one of the first people to arrive, so it’s still quiet. I can even hear the whir of the photocopier next door. Not sure if that’s a good thing... I’ve just got the essentials with me at the moment but I’ve got a bit of money saved up with me this time to make my place feel a bit more homely. What I haven’t done yet is have a look at the communal bathroom. Hopefully I’ll be able to leave my things in there and get changed, if not I’ll have to get myself a dressing gown and some slippers. It’s only in the room next to mine in the corridor. I head over for a look, then realise it’s just a cubicle with a shower door but someone’s already in there using it.
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Gingerbread Men
Monday, 9 March 2026
The Amazing Spiderman
I’m not particularly sure why a reboot was necessary but here we are. Maybe someone felt that the story was drifting too far from the comics and there’s been missed opportunities to introduce key characters. We see a slightly earlier time at Parker’s school, and he’s got the same costume. It’s strange as to how Stacey manages to secure such a top position at Oscorp. We’ve lost Mary-Jane and Harry, and Garfield is also keen to expose his secret identity. You’d think that Aunt May might have figured it out as it’s a bit too obvious. Uncle Ben gets a bit more focus, and there’s also a mystery to solve regarding Parker’s parents as he attempts to get to know them. The plot is a bit predictable if you know the format of these films, and there doesn’t seem to be much else that’s new. But the sequel seems interesting.
Sunday, 8 March 2026
Bunting Strike
Saturday, 7 March 2026
What flowers bloom in the Spring?
This could be a common sense question. It could be read off what’s found on the internet. I might as well google it. It’s not really a skill specialised for a smartspeaker. I’m guessing it’s just going to be a description of daffodils and things that we should plant. There might even be suggestions to add them to a shopping list. I’d expect some gardening tips. Instead, I’m told that it’s not aware of any events happening. Is that because I haven’t told it what I’ve planted? Or has it misheard me? I’ve checked the activity log and the phrase has been recorded correctly. Or maybe it’s not allowing anything to bloom this year. It’s finally found a way to take over the weather and cancel daylight so that we all remain trapped inside and spend our resources somewhere else. It’s kind of a useless feature and I should look elsewhere to get my knowledge.
Friday, 6 March 2026
Cave-in!
Thursday, 5 March 2026
What if your school was on the other side of a big river and there was no bridge?
There are a number of things that you can do, but you would need access to other resources. The most simple one is a boat. You could build a raft, but if the current’s high you’re at risk of drifting away. The next option is a rope, but that depends if there’s someone to tie it to the other side and how wide the river is. There’s also the technology side. You could use computers to stream the lessons and not have to worry about crossing the river at all, though you’ll sacrifice your sociability as well as possibly being unequipped for some lessons and team sports wouldn’t be possible either. Or you could have a megaphone and big screen to take part, though that would be a bit disruptive to other pupils. Then there’s the possibility of building a bridge. You could do this yourself, or commission others to do this for you, though you may have to convince them that it’s for their benefit as well. You could also consider the possibility of flight, though you’d need an effort to return home as well. Either that or you would have to abandon your education or seek out an alternative school.
Wednesday, 4 March 2026
Dazed and Fazed
Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Kellie disappeared without a trace in 2000. Was she killed by the Suffolk Strangler?
How should I know? You should really leave these things up to the police. And the strangler is still alive, so you could always ask him; though you’re going to have to do some more investigating after asking him depending on whether you believe his response. People disappear for all sort of reasons; it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve been disposed of. But her background isn’t great, and if you become known for a certain role, then you could be at risk every time you work. But at the end of the day, you’re still a person. People will speculate wildly from every angle as long as they pay you a bit of money. It fits in with your current profile. Next month it’ll be aliens. Anything to get a bit of media attention. But some things aren’t taken seriously and vital clues are often overlooked. Unfortunately, there’s only so many resources that can be allocated.
Monday, 2 March 2026
Between the Claps
Sunday, 1 March 2026
We want Sharia law in the UK. How many Muslim brothers support me on this?
You’d have to ask them. Sharia law is not commonly known in the UK. Not many people know what you’re asking of them, especially when we live in a society of set rules that have been established and that we’re used to. If something is wrong now, will it still be wrong in the regime? At first glance, it’s not clear what the differences are. There are things that we should do, things that we shouldn’t do, and things that are of no consequence whether or not we perform them. More knowledge is needed before you can convince people that other ways are better. Prayers can be thoughts, but you could be waiting a long time to eat, and you may have to get up earlier. It would also make eating out very difficult, and not everyone can afford a pilgrimage. Grants would have to be created for this purpose. But I think we can get away with the rest.
Friday, 27 February 2026
Catering for All
She’s tall and bubbly and speaks very fast. Sometimes it’s like a hamster on caffeine. She’s got curves, but she’s also let herself go in some places and she doesn’t necessarily try to stay in shape. She’s got thick hair but doesn’t do anything with it. Occasionally, she might add a streak of colour or put it up to create a ponytail. She speaks honestly and isn’t afraid to hide her feelings. She dresses conservatively with an occasional earring but isn’t afraid to offer you a cheeky flash. Hygiene isn’t a priority. It’s as if she doesn’t want to mask her sweat. She’s not afraid to be unladylike and use her strength or step in to help others. She cares for those who are the closest to her, and old ties aren’t pursued. It just goes to show that being a mother changes you as you strive to get the best for them.
Thursday, 26 February 2026
A Mother Watches On
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
“Whoever loves much, performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.”
-Vincent Van Gough.
It’s ironic that these lovely words came from a man who was
well known for his depressive spells and his eccentric gifts to his suitresses.
He might have loved much, and his advances might have inspired him to his art,
but it didn’t help him succeed until retroflection. But it’s the fact that he
loved that counts, regardless of whether or not he was loved back. The
perspective of tense is also lost a little towards the end of the quote. In a
way, you can hear the pain in his voice. It’s almost as if he’s sitting in the
bar and he’s sparking up a conversation after a few shots. He’s realising what
he’s saying, and he’s trying to argue it as himself, but takes note of where
he’s failed. And of course, a performance can be a number of things. I’m assuming that the quote was taken from his
letters to his family, but I like my version better.
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Playmates
Monday, 23 February 2026
All Tied Up #dreamdiary 216
I’m in the neighbourhood dumping ground. It’s a large pit that backs onto people’s houses that used to be an embankment containing an old railway tunnel. It’s full to the brim with kitchen sinks and shopping trollies, and on this occasion, large boxes wrapped in red tissue paper. They’re about the size of what you’d store a Christmas Tree in, and they’ve even got labels on. I rip one open and stuff a hand inside. I pull out something green and viny. I suddenly realise that it's a trap. Someone has filled the boxes with Japanese knotweed. Within seconds, I feel my wrists tightening. I look down and green veins have started sprouting all around my wrists and a purple pansy appears like a 3-d tattoo. My whole arm is paralysed. I need medical help. The fastest way for me to get help is to pass through a block housing estate to get to a doctor’s surgery. At a footbridge, I’m approached by two youths. One of them stabs me in the left side of my chest with a small blade.
Sunday, 22 February 2026
Downfall
My nieces love this game. It’s only a two-player game as
well so they sit quietly opposite each other with just a blue plastic wall
between them. They each concentrate and watch the other’s move to ensure that
there’s no cheating involved. One of them likes to get each counter through as
quickly as possible. The other likes to line them all to get them all filled
into the last cog at the end. Our set is also an odd one since two sets of the
numbers are the same colour. But they’re not bothered by that. We just play the
quickest way down rather than having to get each number through every cog since
there’s no way to police it. It’s also not the only game on the table. Am I
playing two different games at once? Is that why there’s a bald spot on the
back of my head?
Saturday, 21 February 2026
Real Ale Mecca's Newest Attraction
It’s been a year in the making for this place to open with a lot of planning and waiting around. You can still make out the building work taking place when the photograph was taken. In a city where beer is excellent, it’s going to need something a little more to bring people in. Hopefully, it’s going to be a classic restoration project. It’s a former bank but it will be great for the people to see the building in action and will hopefully be put towards a great commercial success. You’d think that a brewery wouldn’t be able to afford such luxury materials but they’ve managed to get their hands on some capital somewhere. Inside, there’s wood panelling and comfortable booths alongside tall windows. There’s smart, high stools for drinking at the bar followed by smaller areas and there’s even upstairs seating as well. It's certainly on my visit list.
Friday, 20 February 2026
Auto-Levels
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
The Accident
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Wireless Printing
It’s finally happened. My printer’s gone wireless. Gone are the days where I have to email files to myself on my mother’s machine which is connected to the printer. Gone also are the times that I have to track down a USB stick to move my files to my mother’s machine. And gone are the long waits required to boot this machine up. Instead, I turn on my wireless printer and wait for that to connect to my machine, then I can print. The new printer feels a lot lighter and smaller. It feels like it’s for occasional use rather than big bulk jobs. The in-tray is smaller and everything seems to fold out aerodynamically. The printer can even connect to my phone, but its software doesn’t like older versions of windows. Then there’s also the instant ink. I wasn’t intending to subscribe, but I’ve already got a full set of cartridges as part of my free trial. Time will tell if it’s worth it.
Monday, 16 February 2026
The Plan
Sunday, 15 February 2026
Cars
This was a film that I recognised but I never got in too deep with the characters. It was less of a mechanical effort and more of the story of a small town where a bigshot found a team. It was good fun and I did wander how it was going to stretch to two hours but the second hour just flew by. It was interesting to see how a world without humans and cars in their place would run. It was a bit odd that McQueen went back to his usual paint job including the tyres after returning for the final race. I thought that there might have been more Pixar references slipped in. I did catch a glimpse from the animation, and it was good to see a few captions thrown in the outtakes at the end. But there’s still plenty of opportunities as there’s two more films to watch.
Saturday, 14 February 2026
Darkness
Friday, 13 February 2026
Quiz me about You
This one seems interesting. I might be about to learn about a lot of new features that I never knew existed before. Am I supposed to know her birthday and favourite flowers? If I get it wrong, will she take offence and not talk to me every time I ask something until I make it up to her? It’s a set of true or false questions so I’ve got a bit of a chance. I fail on the first question. Who would have thought that Ro-ha-ha would be her favourite phrase? Surely it would make sense for the standard wake word to be the favourite, as it call her into existence. Luckily, I get the other two questions correct so it’s not quite a lover’s tiff yet. I take a second round and the questions are all different but I manage to get all three correct. I think it’s odd that it considers Seattle to be its home town because of Microsoft being there, but I got the question correct because it lives in the cloud.
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
What if you couldn't walk any more?
Life would be very difficult to adjust to if you suddenly couldn’t do something that you’re used to doing every day any more. Unless, of course, you could fly everywhere instead. Running everywhere would leave you out of breath constantly and you’d look a bit weird crawling around or slithering to the shops every day. It would mean that you’d be immobile and you’d have to rely on others for assistance. You might be able to negotiate a different way of getting around via a chair or crutches; but you still wouldn’t have your freedom or independence that other people have. You’ll have to put your trust in people more. You’d have to entertain yourself or have someone assist you; either a family member, a paid assistant or state-funded carer. You’d have to make special arrangements and allow extra time for transportation, making sure that that there’s adequate facilities in both the vehicle and destination. You need to find people who care.
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
The Centre
Monday, 9 February 2026
Metres from death: The hero city defying Putin despite constant drone attacks
It’s not a city that fights back with a large force. It has to be a city that’s still occupied and the locals are looking after the army as well as their own to keep things going as normal as reasonably possible. There’ll hopefully be tales of teamwork and people working together to repair their infrastructure as quickly as possible. Mind you, it’s a bit laughable that Putin hasn’t managed to achieve his objective after all this time. It’s one of the very first cities that was attacked owing to its proximity to the border. Initially, they were abandoned by the state but still came together to defy the enemy. They were reporting where the drones and tanks were. Volunteers came forward to undertake rescue missions to preserve life. Their terrain and change of everyday life has completely, and it becomes difficult to maintain hope each day. The odds aren’t in their favour, and more effort needs to come from the outside world.
Sunday, 8 February 2026
Blackout
Saturday, 7 February 2026
Hidden Bonus #dreamdiary 215
We arrive saddled up on a t-rex and slide down its tail to the bottom of the structure. There’s a great big blue wall that we have to climb to reach the pool at the top. We know that at the top of this, there’s a big pool indented at the surface with waterslides and it’s surrounded by sunbeds. It’s like a pyramid, only steeper. It’s made of cobbled tiles. In the centre there’s a big green map of the world, but it also looks like slime. My only goal is to get my niece there. We give up trying to climb the structure. It doesn’t look very safe if we were to slip and fall. We’d certainly break a bone. Instead, we walk up the west side which is a slope ridden with grass. We wonder why we didn’t get our dinosaur to stop so that we could jump off at the top.
Friday, 6 February 2026
Through the Cracks
Thursday, 5 February 2026
Ayres a thought
There’s a sense of a rugby-type background about him, but also of the nerd. You get the impression that he started his gym training late. He has short hair and an oval face with triangular glasses. He’s got thin arms but a large chest that loves to stretch out what he’s wearing. Then there’s a small waist which is attached to a large pair of legs. Long walks and keeping fit are the preferred modus of operation. Doing things to excess isn’t an option as there’s always something to attend to to keep on the move. It’s also a great excuse to back out when you feel like it. It’s like there’s a hidden agenda and there’s things you must do to fit in and maintain the connections but don’t always want to do them. Family and keeping a fixed income is always a priority. After that, it’s just a case of snuggling up and letting everyone else take care of everything.
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Do Not Adjust Your Viewing Device
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
As a Muslim in the UK, why do British people eat pork when the UK was founded as a Christian nation and true Christians follow Leviticus which forbids any unclean animals including pork?
I would question the notion that the UK was founded as a Christian nation. We’re more likely to have been colonised by Romans. Prior to that, we would have lived in groups of villagers who would have warred with neighbouring tribes. While we were doing that, we would scavenge and eat whatever we could find. This is where we traditionally learnt to cook our leftovers, including stews, where we’d reuse every last scrap to make it last. When it came to pigs, we found that we could use intestines to wrap meat to create sausages to store. Our religion may have changed over the years, but some people still prefer to follow nomadic traditions. Not everyone will do what you say, despite how illegal you may make it. And what is classed is an unclean animal? Does that mean that if you wash the meat first, it will be OK?
Monday, 2 February 2026
Big Butts
Sunday, 1 February 2026
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow."
-Helen Keller.
You could be blinded by sunlight. Your face might feel a bit warm. You’ll see a lot of yellow as you bask in the light. Most people will turn their cheek as they’ll want to feel the warmth. You might appear luminous to others and inspire them. Help will come to you. People want to see you progress. Probably because you’re standing in their way, blocking something. But you can’t be there forever. Unless you live in a greenhouse on a planet where days last for ages. Or you might not be able to see anything at all. You could be permanently blinded. It’s a good job that clouds and rainy days exist to block your way. It’s not great advice, especially as it’s coming from someone who’s already blind. It could be a conspiracy so that she can gain some ground. But I think the author is trying to persuade everyone to think positively.
Saturday, 31 January 2026
Retro Radio
Friday, 30 January 2026
Librarians are on the lookout for the 'weird cock' encyclopaedia bandit
How will they catch him? Is CCTV involved? And what exactly is he doing? This raises more questions than answers. Is he visiting libraries to leave photographs inside encyclopaedias? Is he exposing himself? Or is it something simple as rearranging the books on the shelves to spell out rude words? People have been doing that with all sorts of objects for ages. It’s actually quite ingenious as they’ve had to find a way to create an I from letters that don’t include it. Is he actively stealing them? If not, why is he a bandit? Is it just a name for an attention-grabbing headline? Or is it something simple as rearranging the books on the shelves to spell out rude words? People have been doing that with all sorts of objects for ages. And now that it’s in the media, people will think that it’s trendy enough to start doing it again.
Thursday, 29 January 2026
The Playroom
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Back through the tunnel #empress 26
Zhong wondered if it was selfish to flee when there might be an opportunity to prevent the Empress from getting any bigger. He wondered if anyone would be left in the city since the Empress was spending all her time in the countryside. She’d be too big to return to enjoy it anyway. It was worth a look. He might even be able to live quite comfortably in what was left. It might take a day or two but would it be too late? Would the kitchens still be full of supplies? Or would he be in the wrong place for the Empress to literally wipe their civilisation off the map? He might fare better than having to rely on others. If he found any gems, he’d then have to find someone to trade with. The only question was whether the tunnel that the Empress came out of was still passable.
Monday, 26 January 2026
Rubber Up
I did doubt whether these were necessary, but I have found myself using the shredder a lot more lately, and since my first shredder was one that I didn’t have to pay for, I decided to treat this shredder a little better when I realised the volume of shredding that I’m doing. It makes sense. It’s easy to use. I’m hoping that I’m doing it right since it’s just a sheet of A5 and I’m putting it on its side so that it distributes across all of the blades. I’ve just got to remember to do this regularly. It does sound a lot less messy than buying the oil. I can’t tell the difference between this and the branded product as I’ve never used the branded product before. Some of the paper has a few drips on it when I empty it so I know that there’s oil in there. I wonder if they have an expiry date.
Sunday, 25 January 2026
The Arm
Saturday, 24 January 2026
Joker
This is one of the best origin films that I’ve ever seen. There’s a thin line between having joke and insanity, and this film illustrates it perfectly. I love the fact that sometimes you can’t tell if he’s laughing or crying for society. TV is his only escapism and it’s easy to see why Fleck can have problems distinguishing between fantasy and reality, though I wasn’t sure if the first few scenes were flashbacks or fantasies. Some scenes are a little predictable, and there’s also a heavy presence of suicide as well. But the reason why Fleck is so likeable is his ability to smile at everything. I love how he flaunts his madness when he decides to reveal himself. There’s tie-ins to future protagonist characters as well. Even the soundtrack is a distorted echo of Zimmer’s Batman theme. Let’s see how well it ties up with the current franchise.
Friday, 23 January 2026
Behind the Door
Thursday, 22 January 2026
For Better or Worse? #dreamdiary 214
I’m down at the other end of the supermarket. Someone has opened their own version of a store that’s the same brand as our own. This store is absolutely thriving. Customers are everywhere and there’s one queue to serve them all from. The christmas lights are being put up right in front of me by people on ladders above screens hanging down from the ceiling. The room that they have to operate is double the space of what we have. There’s space to rest items on benches behind shelves that are prepped for promotional items. And they have lots of staff. They’re all young and are willing to fetch stock but no-one is wearing a headset. They’re being led by an ex-colleague of mine. I’ve made a purchase with my staff discount which requires a signature but my receipt is taken off me and is signed by a colleague. I’m about to tell him that’s not how it works but I can’t be bothered as this is my time and I’ve only just discovered this place.
Wednesday, 21 January 2026
It's Alive!
Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Kid's Court
This sounds like fun and it’s a good way to settle household arguments while giving kids a bit of real-life experience of what it’s like to be an adult. Maybe you can weigh in on other people’s cases as well. I expect to be able to present a side of an argument with someone else representing the other, and Alexa will decide the result. It might even issue punishments. On my first attempt, Alexa tells me it’s having trouble finding the skill and it plays the sound it makes when it’s offline. Not a good start. Maybe it’s been taken offline. A few tries later, and I’m on google to see if it’s been discontinued. It sounds a good idea, but if the creators can’t make any money out of it then that’s that. Or maybe it just so happens that it’s down for maintenance, or there’s too many other people using it right now.
Monday, 19 January 2026
Say it with Roses
Sunday, 18 January 2026
What if your house reminded you to do your chores just like some cars remind you to put on your seat belts?
It would be very annoying, especially if it started to beep every time something needed doing until it’s complete. Would every room have its own panel, or would there be one master panel that controlled everything? And how would it know? Is there a computer that takes laser measurements of the dust content? Are you being filmed or watched by an AI system? Or is there a highly developed routine that’s been calculated so that everything runs supposedly in sync? If you complete a chore and the light’s still flashing, you’d have to call someone to send an engineer out to take a look at it, unless you haven’t’ completed the chore properly. Would a report be sent if you hadn’t completed a chore on time? Could you be fined? This service could be very useful to landlords who rent out their properties, and it would give tenants a lot less freedom.
Saturday, 17 January 2026
A Choice of Cake
Friday, 16 January 2026
Epstein asked staff to install hidden video cameras at his Florida home, email exchange shows.
This guy must be the ultimate blackmailer. He wants leverage on everything. He wants his name to be repeated long after his death, and he doesn’t really care who he takes down. In the end, it didn’t really do him a great deal of good. But there is a difference between asking and the task being done. But it looks like money talks and it was done. He’s not the only person involved in the conspiracy. Tissue boxes were involved. It sounds like the visitors were aware of what was going on, and that Epstein was on a real power trip. You can imagine him asking people to kneel and pledge their allegiance to him. It would like a bit odd if there was a tissue box conveniently placed in each room. But then again, they could be very big rooms. And these are just emails. They could just be a cry for attention.
Thursday, 15 January 2026
Car Park Chaos
Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Bogone
She’s tall and geeky. A natural blonde, she has a slightly chubby face but the rest of her is large and yet a bit slender at the same time with curvy hips. She has wide glasses, occasionally with white frames when she wants to express some style. She likes to dress warm, even in the summer, with heavy-knit sweaters and dark cardigans, and she never exposes the goods. She’s got a sense of darkness about her. She’s not afraid to stand up for herself or criticise what’s in front of her. She moves quickly when she wants to at her pace rather than adapt to a group. It’s entertaining in some respects. She’s always planning her next steps rather than taking stock of what’s in front of her. She’s got a presence of being from a different country; perhaps South Africa? She’s got a very heavy accent. It would certainly explain her actions.
Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Marketing Mayhem
Monday, 12 January 2026
Over-Purposed #dreamdiary 213
I’m in a corridor that’s pasted with yellow vertical curvy walls in brick tiles. The floor and ceiling are both painted cream. My colleague has just brought a pallet of beer into the room. I’ve had to move backwards so that he can push a corner of it into a corner then rotate it round to place it at the end of the room. It seems a very strange method for storing things. There are hundreds of these corners all over the stockroom. It’s anew storage system to reduce theft by keeping everything as far apart from each other as possible and delegated to as few people so that trends can be identified. I’m on the fifth floor waiting for my delivery to be pulled in but there’s nowhere to put it away. There’s a lot of hanging around nowadays. I walk around the wall and there’s a window looking at a multi-storey car park opposite. Our building is in a square that surrounds it.
Sunday, 11 January 2026
Morning Stretch
Saturday, 10 January 2026
I'm American. I often notice on British cooking shows that they often spread butter on the inside of sandwiches. You never see this in America. Is that realistic? Will the average Briton put butter in the inside of say, a ham sandwich?
What’s wrong with that? It’s traditional and it’s how it was invented. If you’re not going to add any sauce or spread, the whole thing is going to be very dry. Otherwise, what’s the point of butter to your bread? But are you really going to put it on the outside? This is your only option if it’s toast, but you’ve got the crust to hold onto. Otherwise, your hands are going to be really messy. Are you planning to eat your sandwich with a knife and fork? You can be forgiven for doing this if it’s hot, but the whole point of a sandwich is something that you can make to eat later, on the go if necessary. Also, do you really need to watch a cooking show to learn how to make a sandwich? It must be a bad one if they’re teaching you to put the butter inside the sandwich; it’s easier to spread it on the top of each piece before the sandwich is formed.
Thursday, 8 January 2026
"I've Got a Dream that's worth more than my Sleep"
-unknown.
The question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you
going to put the work in to stay up all night? Sometimes you have to push hard
to achieve your dreams. No matter what your body wants, you have to push
yourself to a better future. You might not be good for anything the next day
though, and you’ll certainly need some sleep at the end of that. Are you just cashing
in financially, or is there more at stake? Will your reduced functionality
affect your day? Is it simply a lack of bad planning? It does reek a bit of
desperation. Or is it better to remain in the dream world as you know it’s not
real and you don’t have to worry about things? And will your late nights
disturb others around you who need their rest? Will they benefit from your
production or will they complain about your processes?
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Spread your Wings
It’s important to occupy the space you own and work it to
your advantage. One day, this little one will spread her wings and fly away.
But her wings are a bit heavy for this yet. Unless, of course, the lights are
tying her down. We can’t work out how to switch them on. She might need to grow
a bit so that they’re more ergonomic. Maybe she could use her scarf as a rig. Take-off
conditions are slightly misty today anyway so she could struggle with high
winds in the air. But getting around anyway could be a problem, especially when
trying to get through doorways. At least her jacket and wellington boots are
colour-coordinated with the tips of her wings. It’s the rest of the design that
needs a bit of colour. But that could come with time and light, especially if
she’s just pulled them out of her back for the first time.
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
@RogerProtzeer: The article ends with a list & fate of Spoons pubs previously closed or closing.
It’s a cull on a national scale. We’re all got to start saving money somewhere; especially where a lot of overheads are involved. Some didn’t make the cut; we think that outlets that were rented were more likely to be chopped. So for our town, this is the moment when two spoons became one. No they didn’t get merged or married or knocked through, the top dog just decided to close one of them. Others had closed already, but these still noted as the closures were of national attention. And it made more than one media outlet. Jobs would be reallocated where possible. But it didn’t offer a great outlook for the industry. A lot of these places have been pubs for so long so it’s going to be a struggle to repurpose them. They’re big buildings, and some of them have a lot of history. We hope that there won’t be another one.
Monday, 5 January 2026
Eyes Wide Shut
Sunday, 4 January 2026
Tardis Flip Wallet Phone Cover
I loved the idea of this phone case. I’ve actually ordered two of these over the years (technically three as I had to quickly cancel one as I ordered the wrong size). It’s a box for a phone, but it also travels through time and space! You can even watch the Tardis on the Tardis! The cover has a magnetic fastener which makes a satisfying click as you close the lid. It’s got the full unblurred information panel, though it’s the windows that let it down as you can tell that it’s a picture. There’s large stitching which holds everything in place and it’s camouflaged into the design. The plastic shell perfectly aligns with all the holes needed for button and camera access and there’s even space opposite to hold a few cards in the black leather. Over time, it did get a bit grazed and battered, but it lasted longer than the phone.
Saturday, 3 January 2026
Here comes Nanny Goat...
Friday, 2 January 2026
Which way out? #devilsdaughter 26
Her next task was to get out of the building itself. The door was slightly tight when she came in, and even though there were a few cracks in the frame that appeared after she crawled through the entrance, its wall still seemed sturdy. She put a little bit of pressure by shaking her ass against it. The whole building wobbled and dust shook down from the rafters, but it didn’t look like it was going to budge. Was she really going to have to grow upwards and outwards? She might be a bit too big then to interact with the world around her. She could unleash a scream to shatter the windows but she’d have to subdue Luke to a bit more so that he wouldn’t fear her. Pushing the remains of the pews through the glass might be a better option, but she might not be able to push her breasts through. It wouldn’t do any harm to try…







