Updating this website with what's playing in Plex

yesterday at 12:03 PM

I've had this idea kicking around in my head for a while, and when I looked at Luke's latest homepage, and how much cool stuff he has going on, I had to make it.

Clingy puppy is clingy

yesterday at 10:29 AM

Not complaining, it's actually quite sweet, but sometimes it'd be nice to move from where I'm standing, and not nearly trip over a dog.

Pizza in the Dark

last Monday at 10:10 AM

The last couple of times I've made pizza, it's been quite cold and the dough hasn't proved very nicely. This time was no different but still managed to get some OK pizzas out of it.

New Shoe Day!

10/27/2024

I saw the LeBron Witness 8s and liked the design of them, but didn't go for it. Glad I didn't because they just released these ridiculous ones and I love them.

Obstructed Views

10/25/2024

Charlotte and I went to see The Horne Section live last night, but I found out about it too late and our seats were described as "obstructed view".

I've just used Cloudflare's Under Attack Mode for the first time, and it stopped a Denial of Service within about 10 seconds. I'm so impressed. I don't know why - Cloudflare's stuff usually Just Works, but I don't think I was expecting it to work that well/quickly.

We don't deserve Cloudflare. I don't even mind it being the basket I put all my eggs in.

The feature of iOS that I hate the most is developers being able to have web URLs open in a little browser within their app. I never want that. I don't want to have to log in in a little browser in your app. I want to use the browser I use which is actually already logged in at the URL I'm trying to open. I hope Apple gets rid of this one day because it makes me cross every single time.

Bird Saturday

10/19/2024

I've seen this guy (I think it's a kestrel?) a lot lately but I never have the right lens on me. Today I brought it and was rewarded.

The way my brain handles and compartmentalises anxiety makes me a walking, self-sabotaging anxiety factory.

This year I've been helping Sussex Badminton Juniors organise courts for their matches. This is everything I hate in a task - it's time-sensitive, there's money involved, there's many people's time involved. It's totally wrong for me, but I was asked and I am pathologically incapable of saying no to things I could do. I even try on a regular basis and I just can't do it - I always end up acceding.

Two fixtures for this season have been driving me up the wall. I've lost sleep. Last night I was Googling badminton courts in Hampshire for a fixture that I just have not been able to place, because I couldn't sleep worrying about it.

Today I've been phoning around every open tab on my phone, and finally managed to find somewhere with availability for the date I need, got it booked and it's all sorted. And immediately my brain says "don't know what you were worrying about - it's all fine". Why am I like that? I have none of that visceral fear that I had two hours ago; that I'm a total failure. It all just evaporated immediately. I get how compartmentalising can be good for self-preservation, but at least leave me some residual memory to protect me from repeating my mistakes!

Sunday morning cartoons

10/17/2024

Spent pretty much every Sunday before I was 10, up before anyone else and watching cartoons.

F-words

10/12/2024

Couple of weeks-worth of fluffies.

Having a puppy is bonkers. Why do they learn everything you wish they wouldn't immediately, but things you want them to learn take forever?! I gave Forest a treat before bed to get him into his crate three nights ago, and every night since then he thinks there's something delicious in my hand. But trying to get him to pee outside has taken two weeks! Dogs are annoying.

F1 Exhibition at Excel

10/11/2024

Took the day off to go up to London to see the F1 exhibition with one of the F1 dads.

Dogs are annoying

09/28/2024

Meet Forest. He is a 15 week old Labrador puppy who now lives in our house and chews our feet.

I'm done with social media. I may live to regret it, but I've deleted my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky (don't think I ever opened it once!). It's all such a manipulative time-sink, and I'm just done with it. Feels weird, but good.

Saturday

09/14/2024

Tabitha had to go to school today for an open day. Charlotte and I went for breakfast, then we all went for a walk. Making the most of the beautiful weather.

I've been a moderate fan of Death Cab for Cutie for a long time; have always said that I could make one great record of tracks I select from each of their albums. I prefer The Postal Service.

This week, I'm not really sure why I say that. I've been going back through their discography because Summer Skin got stuck in my head and these records (Plans, Transatlanticism, Narrow Stairs, so far) are all total gems. Why have I spent so many years thinking these records only have four tracks? I'm annoyed with myself but there must be a reason.

It's true that there's some incredible standout tracks; Transatlanticism, in particular, has "We Looked Like Giants" which has a vocal melody that makes me want to do a little cry. It also has what sounds like a super smart rhyme - "we looked like giants / in the back of my grey sub-compact / fumbling to make contact" that reminds me of "even the sturgeon and the ray / get the urge and start to play" (which, I think, is my favourite rhyme ever). These are all brilliant records, though, and I feel remiss for having sold them short for so long.

Still I have some nice stuff to listen to so weirdly feels like I'm being rewarded for being stupid.

Also I know I'm terrible at writing about music. Once upon a time I thought I could be a music reviewer; wrote one review and gave up. I am bad at that but I still love music and talking about it and I have nowhere else to do that!

JLW Bruce the Keyboard

09/11/2024

I know it's been ages since I built a new keyboard. I've been very excited about this one.

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