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Mar 18, 2025: Two more to add to the pile…

Mar 2, 2025: Test. We were just in time for the organ recital at Kelvingrove on Friday. I do love that big sound.

Mar 1, 2025: Visited Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum yesterday for the first time in a while. I’m always amazed at the amount of great art on display there and …

Feb 16, 2025: I’m not sure if it’s possible to be 100% Google free on the net but I’ve just deleted my account at last. I downloaded a few photos that were still on …

Jan 3, 2025: Started to read: Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford 📚

Jan 2, 2025: I’ve just noticed that Mail on iOS 18 now has “select all’ for bulk deleting messages. A bit late but welcome all the same.

Jan 1, 2025: Read: 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left by Robyn Hitchcock 📚 Can I count this as my first read of 2025 despite starting it a couple of days …

Dec 20, 2024: The Allander Record Fair was in town again today. I always feel obliged to buy something but I was happy to get these for a decent price. All seem in …

Dec 19, 2024: “Difficult decisions” never seem to have any effect on the people that are making them.

Dec 18, 2024: Photo collections are nice but it looks like any alt text is getting removed which is not so nice. I can’t see a way to add it back in. Unless I’m …

Dec 18, 2024: Testing photo collections in a post.

Dec 17, 2024: Impressive Christmas reindeer.

Dec 13, 2024: Giving this app a try. I’m a pen/paper person when it comes to todo lists but if I was going to use an app full time then I think this would fit my …

Dec 12, 2024: A late entry to my favourite albums of the year. This is gorgeous. the innocence mission - Midwinter Swimmers 🎵

Dec 3, 2024: Currently reading : Syd Barrett by Rob Chapman 📚

Dec 2, 2024: I’ve lost Whamageddon again. If you go anywhere near a UK shopping centre at this time of the year you’re guaranteed to hear that darn song.

Dec 1, 2024: I got my little Christmas tree out. It’s small but it gets the job done.

Nov 29, 2024: Getting my money’s worth from the Criterion Channel sub this month. I’ve been on a bit of a Noirvember/Ida Lupino crossover binge. 🎥

Nov 21, 2024: “You may click to consent to our and our 1445 partners’ processing as described above. " …and I may never visit your web site ever again.

Nov 21, 2024: The archive stuff on BBC 4 has been doing a good job at showing what a cultural wasteland TV has become.

Nov 17, 2024: How to survive the broligarchy: 20 lessons for the post-truth world - Carole Cadwalladr This should be shared far and wide.

Nov 9, 2024: I bought one of those cheap Kodak Ektar H35 half frame cameras. It’s years since I did any sort of analog photography. I’m under no illusions about …

Nov 6, 2024: It is like democracy is a bottle someone can threaten to smash and do a bit of damage with. It has become a time of people saying stuff to each other …

Nov 5, 2024: Started to read: Mayday by Jackie Kay. I don’t read a lot of poetry but the blurb on the back cover struck a few emotional chords. 📚

Nov 4, 2024: Read: Nobody’s Empire by Stuart Murdoch. Very enjoyable debut by the Belle and Sebastian singer/songwriter. Obviously very autobiographical. …

Oct 29, 2024: We and our 854 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Nope.

Oct 28, 2024: I don’t usually like the food outlets at big shopping malls but this one place does a great calzone. I’ve had this before and couldn’t finish it but …

Oct 28, 2024: Out shopping today, in Glasgow, for a new kettle. Decided on this rather smart one….

Sep 27, 2024: Like so many of the tech titans, Mark really does offer an end-to-end service: they make the world worse, then they claim to be leading the escape. …

Sep 24, 2024: Big Big Train - Last Eleven. One of the highlight songs, amongst many, from Saturday’s show in Edinburgh. I love this band. The combination of music …

Sep 19, 2024: Reading: Neu Klang - The Definitive History Of Krautrock by Christoph Dallach. I really like the oral history style of books like this. You get a …

Sep 3, 2024: The Time Bandits “remake” is a lot of fun. Boo! to the naysayers.

Aug 6, 2024: The iOS Journal app is starting to grow on me. I don’t use it every day but I like the way it suggests places, photos, and activities from the day as …

Aug 6, 2024: Back to book shopping this week. It’s funny how Waterstones used to be the big bullies out to destroy all other bookshops back in the 90s. Now buying …

Jul 18, 2024: Paid a visit to Braehead Shopping Centre in Glasgow today. I went into the Apple Store and came out ten minutes later with an unplanned brand new iPad …

Jul 2, 2024: I’ll be up late for Thursday’s UK election results and I’m looking forward to lots of “Portillo moments”.

Jun 26, 2024: Recently Read: Golden Hill by Francis Spufford. I loved this one even more than Cahokia Jazz. It’s another historical novel but set in mid 18th …

Jun 25, 2024: Big fire to the west of Glasgow a couple of nights ago. It was well over ten miles from here and I could see the smoke from my window.

Jun 25, 2024: Recently Read: Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford. Loved this one. The setting is an alternative 1920s USA where the state of Cahokia is run by a native …

May 25, 2024: I Don't Really Like Social Media Yet, off the back of Manton’s recent posts regarding OpenAI, I read a number of responses from people on Mastodon that were needlessly antagonistic …

May 25, 2024: My usual online notebook source had a sale and I couldn’t resist. I love the Hobonichi notebooks. They’re expensive but I actually use these and fill …

May 21, 2024: Started to read: Three Rocks by Bill Griffith 📚

May 12, 2024: I found a decent frame for my Jacques Tati film poster at last. It’s big but looks pretty good on this wall.

May 12, 2024: The new version of the Sonos controller app is getting slaughtered on the App Store and rightfully so. It’s a horrible buggy mess that doesn’t even …

May 3, 2024: Almost forgot about the upcoming Yes concert in Glasgow. My ticket for last year’s cancelled show is still valid. The current lineup gets a lot of …

May 1, 2024: Logged into my old Gmail account for probably the last time time before I shut it down. I had to check that one important message source had stopped …

Apr 30, 2024: Listened to Life Of The Record - THE MAKING OF I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT - FEATURING RICHARD THOMPSON AND LINDA THOMPSON For the 50th …

Apr 30, 2024: Quick rule before signing up to any new online service - check how easy it is to find the exit door.

Apr 30, 2024: First tea of the day has great revivifying powers. Just needs a little milk.

Apr 28, 2024: The Guardian: Billy Bragg: ‘There’s nothing like going out there singing your truth. That ain’t changed’. Billy has always been a force for good and …

Apr 28, 2024: I always set up a new computer/device as a new user. It lets me get rid of all the rubbish and unused applications that have been taking up space for …

Apr 28, 2024: New MacBook I became a full time laptop user this week after years of using iMacs as my main computer. My current iMac was the last of the 27 inch Intel machines …

Apr 26, 2024: Link: Creative Good - To resist the robots, get a typewriter Nice list of reasons for why typewriters are superior to robots.

Apr 25, 2024: “The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.” Attributed to Alfred Hitchcock. The older I get the more I …

Apr 23, 2024: There’s always plenty of money for more bombs and guns.

Apr 21, 2024: I changed my working hours last month and I don’t have to work Mondays anymore. What a difference it makes not to have that Sunday night dread of …

Apr 21, 2024: Another spectacular red sky here tonight. I’m thinking about using one of my extra micro.blog sites as a daily “view from my window” photo blog.

Apr 18, 2024: Listened to the Mubi podcast. Legendary filmmaker Wim Wenders returns to the show to tell host Rico Gagliano about his Cannes-winning, …

Apr 17, 2024: Another day of very Scottish weather. Heavy rain and wind in the morning. Bit of sunshine in the late afternoon. At least I didn’t have to turn the …

Apr 17, 2024: Playing chess for the first time in years. I’m still not very good.

Apr 17, 2024: Qobuz I chose Qobuz as my music streaming service because: it prioritises albums over playlists it has good editorial articles by humans there are no …

Apr 15, 2024: Earworm of the week: Sisters Friends by The High Llamas. One of the best tracks from the new album. 🎵

Apr 8, 2024: Started to read: A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel 📚

Mar 19, 2024: Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight.

Mar 19, 2024: So It Goes A big number birthday today. I thought I might feel a bit depressed, like after the last new decade birthday, but I don’t. I feel like I’m free of …

Mar 6, 2024: Film log: watched The Daytrippers, 1996 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🎥

Mar 4, 2024: I grew up listening to Radio Clyde. That was when you could hear pop music during the day and rock, folk, jazz, and all sorts, late in the evening. …

Feb 21, 2024: “As a rule, distrust those who use the word “iconic,” unless they specialize in the art of the Orthodox Church.” Anthony Lane in a recent New Yorker …

Feb 19, 2024: I found an old Chemical Brothers minidisc album. Someone just paid £45 for it on eBay so there must still be a collector’s market for pre-recorded …

Feb 12, 2024: I switched my main domain name over to micro.blog today. I’d become a bit fed up maintaining a Wordpress site, and plugins, that I hadn’t really been …

Feb 6, 2024: Bell, Book and Candle, 1958 - ★★★★ I’ve seen this film multiple times and it never loses its charm.

Feb 1, 2024: I couldn’t wait any longer for The Criterion Channel to come to the UK so I signed up using a VPN, got the app onto a Fire Stick, and I’m streaming …

Jan 31, 2024: Started to read: Lou Reed by Will Hermes 📚

Jan 30, 2024: Inside Llewyn Davis, 2013 - ★★★ Watched on Tuesday January 30, 2024.

Jan 30, 2024: The Man Without a Past, 2002 - ★★★★ Watched on Tuesday January 30, 2024.

Jan 29, 2024: Film log: watched Le Havre - ★ ★ ★ ★ 🎥

Jan 29, 2024: Le Havre, 2011 - ★★★★ Watched on Monday January 29, 2024.

Jan 26, 2024: Fire Music, 2021 - ★★★ Watched on Friday January 26, 2024.

Jan 26, 2024: Drifting Clouds, 1996 - ★★★★ Watched on Friday January 26, 2024.

Jan 26, 2024: Film log: watched Drifting Clouds, 1996 - ★★★★. Another great film from Aki Kaurismäki. 🎥

Jan 24, 2024: I like the way micro.blog can bring in my Letterboxd RSS feed but I don’t like the large poster images that get posted. Just grabbing the url from …

Jan 23, 2024: Film log: watched Tokyo Drifter, 1966 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🎥

Jan 23, 2024: Tokyo Drifter, 1966 - ★★★★ Watched on Tuesday January 23, 2024.

Jan 22, 2024: A new doggy pal.

Jan 22, 2024: I Hired a Contract Killer, 1990 - ★★½ Watched on Monday January 22, 2024.

Jan 22, 2024: Fallen Leaves, 2023 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday January 21, 2024.

Jan 21, 2024: I always thought people were joking when they said that tower blocks can wobble in very strong winds. Well, I’m feeling it tonight. #Stormisha

Jan 16, 2024: The Lady Eve, 1941 - ★★★★ Watched on Tuesday January 16, 2024.

Jan 15, 2024: Pickpocket, 1959 - ★★★½ Watched on Monday January 15, 2024.

Jan 11, 2024: AI voices are being used in review videos on YouTube and, as expected, they’re really awful. I watched one that referred to the Cambridge Audio MXN10 …

Jan 10, 2024: There are certain ideas that don’t need the light of day to be proven wrong again and again. They don’t need debated. They cause real harm in the real …

Jan 10, 2024: The communal entrance area in my block of flats is well-kept and there are some very nice potted plants. I love the way iOS Photos has plants/flower …

Dec 26, 2023: First Christmas without my mum around and I thought I might struggle a bit. Came through it okay but still glad it’s nearly all over again for another …

Dec 26, 2023: I was given a Medinilla plant as a Christmas gift this year. I’ve read several times that growing, and looking after a houseplant, can be a source of …

Dec 15, 2023: Deactivated my Twitter account today. Thanks to @manton and micro.blog I have a nice, readable, archive of all of my old tweets. The older ones are a …

Dec 13, 2023: My WFMU t-shirt collection is small but expanding. October fundraiser swag is here.

Dec 12, 2023: It’s a bit of a cliché to overexaggerate emotional responses to films/TV shows/ etc on social media but, damn, season 2 episode 4 of Reservation Dogs …

Dec 9, 2023: Slow Horses manages to be a great TV drama despite having almost zero likeable characters. All caught up with season three. 📺

Dec 9, 2023: Recently Read: Quantum Criminals by Alex Pappademas 📚

Dec 9, 2023: Recently Read: My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee 📚

Dec 3, 2023: Snowy view from the 11th floor.

Oct 5, 2023: It’s one of those days.

Oct 3, 2023: Currently reading: Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon 📚

Oct 2, 2023: Three months living in the new flat now and the novelty is starting to wear off (a good thing). The sense of being on holiday has gone and I realise …

Oct 1, 2023: Cooked a steak in the air fryer tonight and I feel like I’ve levelled up. Pre-heated the air fryer for five minutes at 200C and then cooked each side …

Sep 29, 2023: This does not sound good. Asked whether artist revenue shares, user experience, or the editorial platform Bandcamp Daily will be affected by the …

Sep 26, 2023: I think the world might be a bit nicer if people said “I don’t know” more often.

Sep 21, 2023: I went to the cinema last night for the first time In ages and it was a nice experience. Comfy reclining seats, an idiot-free audience, and Dazed and …

Sep 15, 2023: Currently reading: Left Bank by Agnès Poirier 📚

Aug 16, 2023: This evening’s view from the eleventh floor.

Aug 7, 2023: It seems like all of the things that used to fill up your spam folder are now being advertised on British television channels.

Aug 6, 2023: Five weeks in my new place and most of my books and CDs are still packed away in boxes. I like the tidiness. I like the lack of chaos. They might have …

Jul 17, 2023: There’s something satisfying about coming home to your own place and locking the door behind you.

Jun 15, 2023: I found my old Sony Mini Disc player. It still looks shiny and brand new. I wish I could also find the recording of Alex Chilton I made with it when …

Jun 11, 2023: Here’s a bit of joyful reading for a Sunday. 🎵 Joni Mitchell review – first headline show in two decades is three hours of total joy | Music | The …

May 29, 2023: Found a dead mouse at my front door this morning. A gift from one of the local cats.

May 28, 2023: Trying out one of the ChatGTP iOS apps. It seems like the easiest way to try it without opening an account. I wont be continuing with a subscription …

May 26, 2023: 🖋 I bought these two Pilot Elite fountain pens from a seller on eBay. They’re both described as “vintage” but I’m not sure what that really means in …

May 24, 2023: 🎵 Farewell, Tina Turner. A true rock’n roll legend. Tina Turner: legendary rock’n’roll singer dies aged 83

May 23, 2023: Currently reading: One-Sentence Journal by Chris La Tray 📚

May 23, 2023: I searched for Mastodon apps on the iOS app store and an advert for “Truth Social” appeared at the top of the results. Good grief. Way to go, Apple.

May 17, 2023: I was listening to a film podcast and the hosts thought it pretty funny that someone would call a film a “picture” these days. That’s still pretty …

May 17, 2023: Logged on to Twitter for the first time in ages today. Pretty much everyone I follow is still there doing their thing. I think talk of its imminent …

Apr 23, 2023: My mum passed away recently after a short illness. Less than a year after my dad. I’ve spent the last three weeks in a bit of a daze, doing nothing, …

Apr 2, 2023: I’m testing the new Post/Update to Micro.blog Drafts action.

Mar 26, 2023: I’m not a big Nick Cave fan but this New Yorker interview really resonated with me. Nick Cave on the Fragility of Life

Mar 24, 2023: I watched The Ipcress File for the umpteenth time. I can watch it again and again despite knowing all the twists and turns of the plot. It’s also my …

Mar 15, 2023: It’s that time of the year when foxes start making their nocturnal noise. I woke up in the middle of the night to what sounded like someone getting …

Mar 14, 2023: 😳 Hello insomnia, my old friend.

Mar 13, 2023: Happy with my new desk.

Mar 10, 2023: Wearing my badge for WFMU Fundraising Marathon fortnight. Increased my monthly contribution this year because I love this station.

Mar 10, 2023: I’m always late to things and so I just finished watching the first season of Reservation Dogs. It’s publicised as a comedy but the last few episodes …

Mar 8, 2023: Clear blue sky and bitter cold today. There’s been a trend, here, over the last ten years or so for the worst of winter to come in March. Snow is …

Mar 7, 2023: I’m getting a new desk. The choice was between a nice, solid, Ikea desk with drawers or one with built-in usb chargers and legs that could be raised …

Feb 27, 2023: When you’re young ten years feels like an eternity. When you’re older it goes by in a flash.

Feb 27, 2023: A starling sitting on the roof.

Feb 26, 2023: It’s easy to say now but I always thought Dilbert was the least funny cartoon in the long history of cartoons.

Jan 13, 2023: I’ve had Covid this week. I could have cried when I saw the positive result after being so careful for the last three years. Feeling miserable but the …

Jan 2, 2023: Dead Reckoning, 1947 - ★★★½ Watched on Sunday January 1, 2023.

Jan 1, 2023: Started to read: Wyntertide by Andrew Caldecott 📚 It’s taken a while for me to get around to reading the second part of this excellent trilogy.

Dec 30, 2022: 🥂 Last work day of the year.

Dec 28, 2022: I just heard a radio advert for Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. That’s a bunch of words that don’t slip off the tongue easily.

Dec 28, 2022: I turned on the micro.blog newsletter service and sent myself a copy to see what it looked like. It’s nice. I haven’t written much here to justify a …

Dec 24, 2022: Christma Eve dinner at relatives today including a few gin & tonics and this doggy.

Dec 23, 2022: Trying to get back into the VSCO iOS app but the user interface is still awful. There’s something wrong if I have to keep reminding myself where the …

Dec 22, 2022: I never really listened to Terry Hall’s band The Colour Field that much. Which means I’d never heard their gorgeous cover of The Roches’ Hammond Song …

Dec 22, 2022: 🙁 Contemplating the first Christmas without my dad around.

Dec 10, 2022: Another Round, 2020 - ★★★★ Watched on Friday December 9, 2022.

Nov 24, 2022: I don’t like the way rich and powerful men get referred to using their first names eg “Boris”, “Elon”. They’re not our friends.

Nov 6, 2022: Detective Story, 1951 - ★★★½ Watched on Sunday November 6, 2022.

Nov 5, 2022: Ball of Fire, 1941 - ★★★★ Watched on Saturday November 5, 2022.

Oct 21, 2022: Steely Dan’s 20 greatest songs – ranked! | Steely Dan | The Guardian: With November marking 50 years since their debut album, we pick the best of the …

Oct 20, 2022: 🧐 It’s the start of a three week work break and I’m thinking about what needs to be done.

Oct 20, 2022: I watch baseball late at night here in the UK. My late dad was in the US Navy and we lived in San Diego for a while when I was very young. I would …

Oct 8, 2022: I shouldn’t still be surprised that there are people who will watch hours of a TV show they claim to be boring, and awful, just to dump on others …

Oct 6, 2022: Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks, 2019 - ★★★ Watched on Thursday October 6, 2022.

Oct 5, 2022: 🤔 Contemplating an import of old Wordpress posts to micro.blog.

Oct 5, 2022: Film log: Watched Rock and Roll’s Greatest Failure: Otway the Movie ★★★1/2 John Otway was/is the personification of punk’s DIY spirit. This fan-funded …

Oct 5, 2022: Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure: Otway the Movie, 2012 - ★★★½ Watched on Tuesday October 4, 2022.

Sep 30, 2022: Roger Waters is embarking on “his first ever farewell tour” according to an ad on the radio. If this goes well I presume there will be another …

Sep 29, 2022: Daguerréotypes, 1975 - ★★★½ Watched on Thursday September 29, 2022.

Sep 28, 2022: Free Guy, 2021 - ★★★½ Watched on Wednesday September 28, 2022.

Sep 27, 2022: 🎉 This feels like Twitter did in the beginning.

Sep 21, 2022: The Marillion show was rescheduled to the following night but at a different venue. This was my view of the stage and the reason I have a sore neck …

Sep 14, 2022: Some random finds out walking today. Early signs of autumn.

Sep 13, 2022: I expected it but next Monday’s Marillion show in Glasgow has been cancelled. It’s disappointing but understandable. I could have done with the uplift …

Sep 12, 2022: Varda by Agnès, 2019 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday September 11, 2022.

Sep 11, 2022: Film log: Watched Agnes By Varda, 2019 ★★★★. 🎥

Sep 7, 2022: The share menu in iOS is a delight. You never know what you’re going to get. I do know that the app I need is never there no matter how many times …

Sep 3, 2022: Watched Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power. I really enjoyed it. The first episode was a bit exposition-y but things really pick up steam in the …

Sep 2, 2022: WFMU: Dance With Me, Stanley with Stashu: Playlist from September 2, 2022: Dance With Me, Stanley with Stashu I love the joyful chaos of DJ Stashu on …

Sep 2, 2022: I’ve got two live shows coming up this month. Marillion and Steve Hackett. The last two shows I attended were to see… Marillion and Steve Hackett. I. …

Sep 2, 2022: Wonderful BBC Proms concert on TV tonight. Public Service Broadcasting and the BBC Symphony Orchestra performed their tribute to the BBC centenary. …

Aug 25, 2022: I’ve been trying to clear out a lot of old paper stuff and I just found these old Apple coupons. You needed them to get an upgrade to OS X 10.1. I …

Aug 16, 2022: Finished reading: Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott 📚Loved this one. It seems to divide people according to reviews I’ve read but I came to it with zero …

Aug 9, 2022: Along the Coast, 1958 - ★★★★ Watched on Monday August 8, 2022.

Aug 9, 2022: Faces Places, 2017 - ★★★★½ Watched on Monday August 8, 2022.

Aug 7, 2022: Currently reading: Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott 📚 I knew nothing about this book but at 99p for the Kindle version I decided to take a chance. I’m …

Aug 6, 2022: I’m a fan of Wes Anderson’s films but, gosh, The French Dispatch is hard work. The premise is interesting but the execution is very dull. It looks …

Jul 30, 2022: I found an old notebook. There’s a page in it that has a list of old software license codes. Virtually none of the apps still exist. Does anyone …

Jul 30, 2022: Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021 - ★★★★ I never expect much from these things but this one had quite an emotional punch in the last third. Maybe it’s just my current state of mine but I was …

Jul 29, 2022: Film log - watched Spider-Man: No Way Home. I never expect much from these things but this one had quite an emotional punch in the last third. Maybe …

Jul 29, 2022: I’ve read lots of good things about the Pilot iroshizuku inks. I could have bought more ink in a full bottle for less than the cost of this little set …

Jul 15, 2022: Currently reading: Sound Within Sound by Kate Molleson 📚🎵 I haven’t been able to concentrate on any reading over the last few weeks due to the major …

Jul 15, 2022: Finished reading: The Sound of Being Human by Jude Rogers 📚

Jul 9, 2022: Trying to make the best of the first decent summer day here. A heatwave is heading for the UK according to the forecasts but, as the old joke goes, …

Jul 8, 2022: Tough week. It was my dad’s funeral on Monday. I find myself almost getting back into a “normal” routine and then I remember something and everything …

Jul 1, 2022: Another uninvited guest.

Jun 13, 2022: Nice clue in today’s Guardian cryptic crossword. Solving it will require knowing a bit of British slang. “Initially looked in toilet for online …

May 30, 2022: Moonrise Kingdom, 2012 - ★★★½ Watched on Sunday May 29, 2022.

May 30, 2022: The Hot Rock, 1972 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday May 29, 2022.

May 20, 2022: I started watching Better Call Saul but then my brother said I’d need to finish Breaking Bad for it all to make any sense. So I’m back watching …

May 6, 2022: I had to pay for a digital copy of the WFMU documentary but it was worth the money. It made me feel even better about my recent decision to become a …

May 3, 2022: Nobody, 2021 - ★★★½ Watched on Monday May 2, 2022.

May 2, 2022: Film log - watched Nobody, 2021 - ***½ 🎥

May 1, 2022: Dropping everything to read : The Sound of Being Human by Jude Rogers. I’ve had this on order for a while. 📚

Apr 27, 2022: Medicine by Momma. I love this. If you like 90s alternative stuff you probably will too. 🎵

Apr 26, 2022: My decision to go default with the DuckDuckGo browser was a little bit rash. Too many little annoyances are popping up already. I imported a large …

Apr 26, 2022: I got my beta invite for the DuckDuckGo mac browser. Initial impression: it’s very fast but there are no extensions installed yet so that might …

Apr 24, 2022: I set up a new domain and theme for micro.blog this week. Wordpress is like a big machine with multiple parts that need oiling, and maintenance, for …

Apr 22, 2022: Marillion have released a special edit, and video, of the song Reprogram The Gene for Earth Day - A Friend Of The Earth (Youtube). Have a listen. …

Apr 22, 2022: New pen. It’s the Yookers Gaia fibre-tipped pen that takes fountain pen ink cartridges. I don’t know what fountain pen purists think but I already …

Apr 21, 2022: I’ve become a big fan of WFMU over the last few months and having unlimited fast broadband means I can listen in for hours everyday. Knowing that the …

Apr 20, 2022: Currently reading: The Horse’s Mouth by Joyce Cary 📚

Apr 20, 2022: The final season of Brooklyn 99 comes to the UK tonight. I’ve managed to avoid any talk about the episodes so I’m looking forward to it. I just hope …

Apr 19, 2022: Read: ‘They didn’t go round the corner for beer’: Lou Reed and John Cale’s Songs for Drella (The Guardian) 🎵

Apr 18, 2022: Finished reading: The Looking Glass War by John Le Carré. It took two attempts to read this gloomy installment of John Le Carré’s espionage series but …

Feb 16, 2022: Preparing for Storm Dudley to hit later on. Storm Eunice is due tomorrow. I think British storm names are being picked to cause the least amount of …

Feb 15, 2022: Can a person have too many sets of headphones? I’m hoping the answer is “no”.

Feb 9, 2022: The Challenge, 1960 - ★★★ Watched on Tuesday February 8, 2022.

Dec 20, 2021: Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019 - ★★★ Tom Holland as Spider-Man is hard to dislike and this film is hard to dislike.

Dec 18, 2021: Cry of the City, 1948 - ★★★½ Watched on Thursday December 16, 2021.

Nov 21, 2021: A week of highs and sad, sad, lows. It started with a tremendous Marillion gig and has ended with the tragic death of Big Big Train vocalist, David …

Nov 16, 2021: I saw Marillion in Edinburgh. It was a fantastic night and felt like a real celebration. They were clearly very happy to be back on tour. Lovely old …

Oct 27, 2021: Updated everything and, of course, Podcasts is broken on the Homepods. Apple should dump their crappy app and buy something better. Back to Pocket …

Oct 27, 2021: There are lots of things I like about Drummer blogging and lots of things I don’t. I’m good at following instructions but switching to https/personal …

Oct 22, 2021: This a great little story. A rock star’s favourite guitar was stolen. One of his biggest fans tracked it down in Japan. Link: Randy Bachman’s guitar …

Oct 19, 2021: Family members have had Covid over the last week. I tested negative but I’m pretty sure I’ve had a mild dose. We’ve all been double-vaccinated so no …

Oct 19, 2021: Hello from Drummer. It’s nice to have new things to play with.

Oct 18, 2021: Le Cercle Rouge, 1970 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday October 17, 2021.

Oct 15, 2021: Another MP is murdered in the UK and people are trying to score points in the usual places. Twitter and Facebook have poisoned the well and I don’t …

Oct 3, 2021: I love Steely Dan and this is a great interview. Donald Fagen is supposed to be working on a new solo album. 🎵 Talking Nabokov and Judaism with the …

Oct 3, 2021: Watched the old Hammer classic The Devil Rides Out again. It has some genuinely scary scenes but I can’t help laughing at some of Christopher Lee’s …

Sep 29, 2021: I have three more invites to literal.club.

Sep 26, 2021: Off to my first post-lockdown big indoor public event tomorrow. I got an email from the venue with a list of precautions that are going to be in place …

Sep 26, 2021: A great unreleased (as far as I know) live version of my favourite Genesis song. 🎵 Genesis Live at the Rainbow (1973) - Cinema Show (2009 Remaster) - …

Sep 25, 2021: A reminder for anyone thinking about getting the new iPad mini - your old Apple Pencil will not work. 🤨

Sep 24, 2021: Email from Blizzard re new Diablo 2 Resurrected game - “Hell’s Gates Have Opened!”. They don’t mention that those gates are closed to Mac users. I …

Sep 22, 2021: The Drafts action “Append To Obsidian Journal” is good enough to make me want to use Obsidian again.

Sep 21, 2021: I bought myself a little synthesiser to learn about synthesis and have a bit of fun. That led me to buying an audio interface and a delay pedal and …

Sep 11, 2021: The Shooting, 1966 - ★★★½ Watched on Thursday September 9, 2021.

Jul 9, 2021: Mystery Men, 1999 - ★★★ Watched on Thursday July 8, 2021.

Jul 8, 2021: The Friends of Eddie Coyle, 1973 - ★★★★ Watched on Wednesday July 7, 2021.

Jun 1, 2021: Out of Print, 2014 - ★★★ Watched on Sunday May 30, 2021.

Jun 1, 2021: Moonstruck, 1987 - ★★★★ Watched on Saturday May 29, 2021.

Jun 1, 2021: John Wick: Chapter 2, 2017 - ★★½ Watched on Friday May 28, 2021.

Jun 1, 2021: Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, 1982 - ★★★½ Watched on Thursday May 27, 2021.

Apr 26, 2021: Finished reading: Maskerade by Terry Pratchett 📚

Mar 27, 2021: I plugged in an old external hard drive and had my first iMac system crash in years. There was a loud screech, the screen went black, and the computer …

Mar 21, 2021: I found a box of the limited edition Wilco Field Notes online. Who do I start to use first? Jeff Tweedy…Nels Cline…?

Mar 21, 2021: Keep The Change by Mattiel. 🎵

Mar 19, 2021: It’s my birthday and I’m at work alone today. The good thing about lone-working is that I get to choose the radio station and I choose BBC Radio 3. …

Mar 18, 2021: I think spring just sproinged.

Mar 16, 2021: I mentioned how great it was to see the return of Hakuho to Grand Sumo this month. He’s just retired from the tournament again. Hey-ho.

Mar 16, 2021: It’s Grand Sumo Tournament time again. I’ve been watching Sumo on the NHK World Japan TV channel for a few years now and its become a bit of an …

Mar 15, 2021: The iOS app 1Writer is a very good companion for Obsidian. Notes and backlinks sync and if you set the default extension in 1Writer to “.md” you can …

Mar 10, 2021: Finished watching Pretend It’s A City on Netflix and now I want to read some Fran Lebowitz.

Mar 8, 2021: There must be something magical in Lyon, France, that makes it produce so many great bands. This is one of my favourite albums from last year …

Feb 27, 2021: I seem have escaped any of the more common side effects of yesterday’s Covid jab. I shivered with cold for a little while last night, which might not …

Feb 26, 2021: I got my first Covid jab today and also unfriended someone on another social media site. A Covidiot of course. Every post was like a personal insult …

Jan 21, 2021: I don’t want a foldable phone. I want a thin slab of plastic like the devices in The Expanse.

Nov 1, 2020: October was such a dreary month and the rest of the year is shaping up to be more of the same. I’m someone who likes to be at home but the lockdown …

Nov 1, 2020: The Trial of the Chicago 7, 2020 - ★★★★ Aaron Sorkin did a good job of boiling down the trial into a two hour drama.

Nov 1, 2020: The Personal History of David Copperfield, 2019 - ★★★★½ Watched on Saturday October 31, 2020.

Oct 29, 2020: A Scene at the Sea, 1991 - ★★★★ Watched on Wednesday October 28, 2020.

Oct 28, 2020: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, 1960 - ★★★★ Watched on Tuesday October 27, 2020.

Oct 27, 2020: Ugetsu, 1953 - ★★★★½ Watched on Monday October 26, 2020.

Oct 26, 2020: An Actor's Revenge, 1963 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday October 25, 2020.

Oct 25, 2020: Sansho the Bailiff, 1954 - ★★★★ Watched on Saturday October 24, 2020.

Oct 19, 2020: Black Angel, 1946 - ★★★ Watched on Sunday October 18, 2020.

Oct 19, 2020: The Man Who Cheated Himself, 1950 - ★★★½ Watched on Sunday October 18, 2020.

Oct 9, 2020: Added these resistance bands to my daily indoor cycle exercises. I’m not a gym/workout kind of person but I need to get those lockdown joints and …

Oct 9, 2020: It would be helpful if the Micro.blog account page told you which paid account you’re currently on. I’ve juggled a few other subscriptions around and …

Oct 2, 2020: I had to phone Apple Support today and speak to an actual human being. It was a pretty good experience as far as these things go. My problem was …

Sep 30, 2020: Bob has been on a run of fantastic albums recently. I’m looking forward to the new one very much. The former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman is back with …

Sep 26, 2020: I don’t get sleep tracking at all. Any tracker I’ve tried to use has just recorded how long I’ve lain in bed. It’s another tiny layer of anxiety that …

Aug 25, 2020: We’ve been leaving a side door open at work resulting in things like this.

Aug 12, 2020: Sound. Another dip into the past. #mbaug

Aug 12, 2020: Earworm of the day: Troublemakers by Lavinia Blackwall. 🎵

Aug 11, 2020: Transport. Train, Earls Court, London. #mbaug

Aug 11, 2020: I’d never seen Silicon Valley before so I started a binge watch. One season down and I’m really enjoying it. Mike Judge’s name on something is usually …

Aug 10, 2020: Windows. #mbaug

Aug 9, 2020: Black and white. #mbaug

Aug 8, 2020: View from car, Glasgow city centre. #mbaug

Aug 7, 2020: Daytripping. #mbaug

Aug 6, 2020: Sometimes I delete things I’ve posted. I’ll find something I wrote that sounds so badly judged or expressed that no amount of editing could make …

Aug 4, 2020: It’s been a while since I fell in love with a song I heard on the radio. Love this one. Take Back the Radio by Katy J Pearson 🎶

Aug 2, 2020: Drunken Angel, 1948 - ★★★★ Watched on Saturday August 1, 2020.

Jul 30, 2020: Currently reading: Manhattan transfer by John Dos Passos 📚

Jul 28, 2020: I grew up on buying vinyl records but I’m not wholly back into the resurgence of the format. I’ll buy the odd special edition but I just don’t have …

Jul 27, 2020: Mifune: The Last Samurai, 2015 - ★★★½ Watched on Sunday July 26, 2020.

Jul 27, 2020: Stray Dog, 1949 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday July 26, 2020.

Jul 22, 2020: Cardiacs' Tim Smith: a one-man subculture who inspired total devotion | Music | The Guardian: Tim Smith, who has died aged 59, made a bizarre kind of …

Jun 10, 2020: Deadline - U.S.A., 1952 - ★★★½ Watched on Tuesday June 9, 2020.

Jun 10, 2020: New York Confidential, 1955 - ★★★½ Watched on Sunday June 7, 2020.

Jun 10, 2020: The Mob, 1951 - ★★★½ Watched on Saturday June 6, 2020.

May 27, 2020: The Driver, 1978 - ★★★★ Watched on Tuesday May 26, 2020.

May 18, 2020: The Hidden Fortress, 1958 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday May 17, 2020.

May 18, 2020: One Wonderful Sunday, 1947 - ★★★★½ Watched on Sunday May 17, 2020.

May 14, 2020: It seems some folk are so desperate to try Roam that they’re willing to pay lots of money to buy beta accounts off other users. Madness.

May 10, 2020: Our bumbling Prime Minister is going to get us killed. I’m not prepared to sacrifice myself, family, friends, and colleagues, for the sake of a …

May 10, 2020: “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!” RIP Little Richard 💬

May 9, 2020: Winter froze the river And winter birds don’t sing So winter makes you shiver So time is gonna bring you spring Laura Nyro, Time and Love 💬

May 8, 2020: Some favourite song lyrics. Steve McQueen jumped the first one clean But the great escape He tried to make was not to be Maybe next time Steve …

May 8, 2020: Kraftwerk: their 30 greatest songs, ranked! | Music | The Guardian: From cycling soundtracks to anti-nuclear protest music, we celebrate the work of …

May 7, 2020: Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories | Netflix Official Site: Patrons of an otherwise mundane Japanese diner find simple yet profound connections with one …

May 7, 2020: Carter, tears of terror mingling with make-up and the rain, squeezed the accordion. There was the long-drawn-out chord that by law must precede all …

May 6, 2020: The Rules of the Game, 1939 - ★★★★ Watched on Tuesday May 5, 2020.

May 6, 2020: “They all laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian. Well, they’re not laughing now.” Bob Monkhouse 💬

May 5, 2020: Lots of bird activity in the back garden today. I think a robin is building a nest in one of the bushes.

May 5, 2020: Oh, won’t you stay We’ll put on the day And we’ll talk In present tenses Joni Mitchell, Chelsea Morning 💬🎵

May 5, 2020: Jenny Lamour, 1947 - ★★★★ Watched on Monday May 4, 2020.

May 4, 2020: Sad to hear that Dave Greenfield of The Stranglers has died. The Black and White album was one of the first records I ever bought and I still have the …

May 4, 2020: They were both silent for a moment, and the silence wound out around them and filled the kitchen, to be sliced into gentle pieces by the soft ticking …

May 4, 2020: Le Corbeau, 1943 - ★★★★ Watched on Sunday May 3, 2020.

May 3, 2020: La Bête Humaine, 1938 - ★★★½ Watched on Saturday May 2, 2020.

May 3, 2020: I removed and re-added my Letterboxd feed and it seems to have posted every update for the last few weeks. Apologies to anyone whose micro.blog feed I …

May 1, 2020: Paterson, 2016 - ★★★★ Watched on Thursday April 30, 2020.

Apr 30, 2020: Coffee and Cigarettes, 2003 - ★★★★ Watched on Wednesday April 29, 2020.

Apr 29, 2020: Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, 2008 - ★★★½ Watched on Tuesday April 28, 2020.

Apr 28, 2020: Sisters, 1972 - ★★★ Watched on Monday April 27, 2020.

Apr 27, 2020: Grand Illusion, 1937 - ★★★★½ Watched on Sunday April 26, 2020.

Apr 26, 2020: Love & Mercy, 2014 - ★★★★½ Watched on Saturday April 25, 2020.

Apr 25, 2020: Avengers: Endgame, 2019 - ★★★½ Watched on Friday April 24, 2020.

Apr 24, 2020: Ant-Man and the Wasp, 2018 - ★★★½ Watched on Thursday April 23, 2020.

Apr 23, 2020: Avengers: Infinity War, 2018 - ★★★½ Watched on Wednesday April 22, 2020.

Apr 22, 2020: I watched Thor:Ragnarok next in my lock-in Marvel movie marathon. The straight up comedy did not work for me at all. Big events were supposed to be …

Apr 21, 2020: Thor: Ragnarok, 2017 - ★★½ Watched on Monday April 20, 2020.

Apr 15, 2020: Vintage Ronald Searle.

Apr 14, 2020: I’m reading a book about reading books.

Apr 2, 2020: There’s a Twitter thing going around asking people to post a photo you’ve taken from a place you’ve been but you don’t appear in. “Just a pic, no …

Apr 1, 2020: Things just got serious. I’m drinking coffee instead of my usual tea! Kindle primed with books of prose poems and Japanese short stories. I downloaded …

Mar 31, 2020: I’m trying my hand at writing little lipograms. A lipogram is a piece of writing that forces you to omit a certain letter eg the letter “e” which is …

Mar 29, 2020: I succumbed to the lure of Disney+ and signed up for a few months. The first thing I’m doing is watching every single Marvel movie in chronological …

Feb 6, 2020: No trouble with “plant” today. Going for the literal.

Feb 6, 2020: Genuine small ad in this week’s Private Eye magazine. Sounds totally legit.

Feb 4, 2020: Spot the spots.

Feb 3, 2020: I needed an external drive to rip CDs to flac files to play in my new music player. After looking at all of the cheap ones available I’ve gone for …

Feb 3, 2020: Reflect.

Feb 2, 2020: A welcome sight tonight.

Feb 1, 2020: Open.

Jan 29, 2020: January, not April, is always the cruelest month. I’m very happy to see the end of this one.

Dec 30, 2019: So sad to hear about the death of Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band/The Rutles/Monty Python) today. I’m the Urban Spaceman

Dec 29, 2019: Unseasonably mild weather today.

Dec 28, 2019: I’d forgotten how great the Popclip app is. The ability to select some foreign language text on a page and have Popclip translate it is extremely …

Dec 27, 2019: My pal from yesterday.

Dec 26, 2019: We don’t usually have a family Christmas until Boxing Day so I hope everyone has had a happy festive time.

Dec 22, 2019: Just watched the very first episode of The Expanse. I think I’m going to enjoy this.

Dec 21, 2019: I’m already a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to Kindle books so £0.99 for Neil Gaiman’s American Gods quartet was an easy purchase. When it comes …

Dec 19, 2019: Last pub quiz of the year. We lost the main quiz but won £50 of drinks for the next time we visit. A good night and just what I needed.

Dec 10, 2019: Fantastic show by Dweezil Zappa and band in Glasgow tonight. Perfect antidote to the December doldrums. 🎶

Dec 8, 2019: This “mistake” is more interesting than the other photos I took at the Drygate Brewery in Glasgow last night. I was there to see the great Norwegian …

Dec 6, 2019: The amount of choice available to a non-techy Wordpress user (themes, plugins etc) can leave you a bit bewildered. I’m not clueless when it comes to …

Dec 5, 2019: I don’t know many poems by heart but I think I could recite This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin. The first line is one of the most famous in poetry but …

Dec 4, 2019: I’m finding it difficult to motivate my mind, wrist, and fingers to come up with an idea for Microblogvember (supplemental) today. Better luck …

Dec 3, 2019: A knock-on effect of doing these little daily things is that I feel the need to keep going and so I’ve enrolled for an iPad art class at Sketchbook …

Dec 2, 2019: I’m never satisfied with panoramic photos with people in them. Unless you can get all of those people to stay very still they tend to end up looking …

Dec 1, 2019: One of these days I will get the hang of Markdown URL links. Today is not the day.

Dec 1, 2019: Here’s a song for Sunday. Beloved by Firefly Burning 🎵

Dec 1, 2019: December is going to be marred in the UK due to one of the most horrible election campaigns in living memory. I’ll be voting, of course, but music and …

Nov 30, 2019: It’s coming to the end of Microblogvember. I still have the extra six days to complete due to my late start though. I’ve really enjoyed doing it and …

Nov 29, 2019: Catching up on some podcasts. If it wasn’t for Andy Ihnatko’s good sense I don’t think I could ever listen to Macbreak Weekly again. He brings a …

Nov 29, 2019: “Take me to the fantastic place Keep the rest of my life away” A highlight of the recent Marillion shows. song.link/gb/i/1328… 🎵

Nov 28, 2019: The history of Monopoly, the property trading game, is much more interesting than the game itself. This is the sort of thing you learn while idly …

Nov 27, 2019: The British political system is antiquated and needs reform but I’m very happy that no mega rich person can decide to run for prime minister just …

Nov 26, 2019: I paid for a discounted subscription to Inoreader but I’m already regretting the decision. I much prefer the simplicity of Feedbin. It’s good to mix …

Nov 25, 2019: A long-standing printer problem was fixed today. I’m still secure in my role as home IT champion.

Nov 24, 2019: I’m sure someone famous said it better but I think the world would be a lot nicer if people enjoyed their own company a wee bit more.

Nov 23, 2019: 📚 The Lark Ascending - The Music Of The British Landscape by Richard King. Enjoying this. There’s some good stuff about the “blood and soil” type …

Nov 23, 2019: I’ll be the one with the woebegone look if I can’t find a way to fit woebegone into a post. It’s an archaic word and probably sits better within the …

Nov 22, 2019: You don’t notice the background hum of household appliances until it’s no longer there. There was a short power cut in the morning recently and the …

Nov 21, 2019: It’s getting to the time of the year when I start thinking how nice hibernation could be. Like finding a warmish hollow somewhere and staying there …

Nov 20, 2019: I used to be in a pub quiz team that continually came in second place. We changed our team name to The Runners Up and started winning. “And tonight’s …

Nov 19, 2019: I think there are perfectly rational reasons for wanting to avoid all news media but it’s important not to let your concern with the bigger world …

Nov 18, 2019: I’ve managed to build up quite a bit of annual leave so guess who has nearly all of December absolutely free. I like to keep a lot of days free for …

Nov 17, 2019: Microblogvember has been a superb lure to get me posting everyday to my microblog. Whether the posts are worth reading or not is up to somebody else …

Nov 16, 2019: A 2-1 win for Scotland today against Cyprus. It wasn’t very convincing but a win is a win and they can’t really fall much lower. ⚽️

Nov 16, 2019: I’d describe myself as selective when it comes to using my time but I also recognise that being selective can be an underlying excuse for doing …

Nov 15, 2019: It would have been be easy to talk about how murky social media has become but instead I’m going to raise a glass to Murky, the young murloc, that …

Nov 14, 2019: Currently reading: These Are My Rivers: New and Selected Poems 1955-1993 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti 📚

Nov 14, 2019: Two big issues have so distorted all of politics in the UK, and specifically Scotland, that I rarely stick my neck out and make any comment. There is …

Nov 13, 2019: I’m not able to stand for long periods of time in one place anymore so it’s really nice to see a favourite band in a nice theatre with nice comfy …

Nov 12, 2019: Fantastic Marillion show in Glasgow tonight. Seasons End, their climate change song written in 1989, was spine-tingling with the addition of live …

Nov 12, 2019: 🎵 The Blue Nile - Stay. Yes, I’m resorting to a song for today’s Microblogvember prompt but it is The Blue Nile after all.

Nov 11, 2019: Someone mentioned the nancy comic strip a while back and I became a big fan. It’s nice to have this new collection of them.

Nov 11, 2019: “Please Don’t Touch”. Put up a sign with those three words and it’s guaranteed to be ignored.

Nov 10, 2019: Species of Space and Other Pieces by Georges Perec is one of my favourite books. The main essay is about the different kinds of space humans use and …

Nov 9, 2019: There’s a ten percent chance of snow according to the weather channel. It has been quite cold for a few days but the temperature hasn’t really dropped …

Nov 8, 2019: Alice Cooper said on the radio that people in rock bands don’t make the effort to be stars anymore. I think he’s right. Most modern bands look like …

Nov 7, 2019: I think it’s frightening how quickly the days and months of this year have passed. It’s supposed to be a normal thing as you get older but I think …

Nov 3, 2019: 🎵 I’ve been smitten by this band. Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Asking For A Friend

Oct 18, 2019: Nancy by Olivia Jaimes for October 18, 2019 www.gocomics.com/nancy/201…

Sep 14, 2019: I watched the Bob Dylan/Rolling Thunder Revue documentary on Netflix. Wonderful stuff from start to finish. The bit where Joni Mitchell, Dylan, and …

Sep 7, 2019: Dazed and confused... Another very funny bit of writing from Marina Hyde. She makes this whole shambles almost bearable. Dazed and confused, Johnson stumbles into the …

Aug 16, 2019: Louis Cole & Genevieve Artadi of KNOWER feat. by WDR BIG BAND: Gotta Be Another Way | REHEARSAL. KNOWER plus big band. This is great. 🎵

Aug 8, 2019: I have a few fountain pens. This tiny Kaweco pen is one of my favourites.

Aug 7, 2019: Wind power.

Jun 8, 2019: I’ve reinstalled TiddlyWiki after getting my new computer. The old wiki was backed up in Time Machine so it only took a couple of minutes to get going …

Apr 27, 2019: The last of the chocolate eggs.

Apr 25, 2019: Part of my attempt to eat a healthier lunch.

Apr 20, 2019: 🎶 Alive. Really loving the new song from Big Big Train.

Mar 20, 2019: Essential Jacques Tati Blu-ray collection. A little birthday present for myself.

Mar 20, 2019: I love all the new iMac “reviews" on Youtube based on just the reported specs.

Feb 25, 2019: Reports coming in that Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) has died. I haven’t seen any confirmation yet but very sad if true. 🎶

Feb 18, 2019: I don’t expect the streaming Criterion Channel to come to the UK anytime soon but I’ve noticed, while using a VPN, you can sign up with a UK credit …

Feb 16, 2019: Bruno Ganz, actor who played Hitler in Downfall, dies aged 77 | Film | The Guardian A great actor who will probably be best remembered for a silly …

Feb 9, 2019: Re-uploading a lot of old photos to Flickr. This is one of my favourite bits of public sculpture in Glasgow.

Feb 9, 2019: I’ve given the Apple HomePod enough time to get better. Back to Sonos with its built in support for Mixcloud, Bandcamp, Tunein, Pocket Casts, …

Feb 9, 2019: Bob Mould has a great new album out. You can always depend on Bob. 🎶

Feb 2, 2019: Currently reading: The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow 📚

Feb 2, 2019: I just noticed that web pages on mobile Safari can be “handed off” to Firefox on the mac desktop. I find this quite surprising.

Feb 1, 2019: I’m trying to put a link at the top of the Marfa theme to a category. The new category links on the archive page have the address "/categories/topic". …

Feb 1, 2019: I watched the Fyre Festival thing on Netflix. It’s a fairly dull documentary about a bunch of horrible people. The only time I felt anything was when …

Jan 25, 2019: I’m really enjoying messing around with TiddlyWiki. Currently transferring in my saved Kindle quotes from Evernote.

Jan 16, 2019: Some late Christmas gifts. Looking forward to reading these. 📙

Jan 14, 2019: Is anyone still buying hipstapaks for the Hipstamatic iOS camera app?

Jan 14, 2019: This has been the mildest Scottish winter for a long time. There hasn’t been any lowland snow and I could count the number of frosty mornings on one …

Jan 12, 2019: I’ve grown to really love Mixcloud. It’s not just about DJs and dance music. You’ll find something there no matter what your taste in music is. 🎵

Jan 2, 2019: 🎶 This guy is amazing. Chassol - Big Sun Apple or Spotify

Dec 23, 2018: Christmas Time Is Here - Khruangbin. I love this version. 🎶 🎄

Dec 21, 2018: I think we might be overdoing the Christmas decorations at work.

Dec 15, 2018: Ten days to go and I haven’t been hit by #Whamaggedon yet.

Nov 23, 2018: I used to like imore.com but it’s just a shopping site now as far as I can see.

Oct 8, 2018: Google+ shutting down after users' data is exposed - BBC News Google is shutting down much of its social network, Google+, after user data was left …

Oct 8, 2018: I’ve seen Steve Hackett quite a few times now but tonight’s show in Glasgow was extra special. 🎶

Oct 1, 2018: Carlos Ezquerra 1947-2018 2000 AD 2000 AD is profoundly saddened to confirm that artist Carlos Ezquerra has passed away at the age of 70. Very sad …

Sep 30, 2018: It’s that time of the year again.

Sep 26, 2018: It turns out that you need to give the Launchbar app “Full Disk Useage” under the new MacOS Mojave privacy settings. I thought I had lost nearly …

Sep 3, 2018: Garcia Peoples - Cash Crisis #vinyl #onmyturntable

Aug 16, 2018: I pay a subscription for Bear Notes but I’ve found myself just throwing stuff into the Apple Notes app recently. Not caring about tags or formatting …

Aug 7, 2018: There’s a baby gull on the roof at work. The mother sits on this pole all day to protect it and flies around, making a noise, if you walk past.

Aug 7, 2018: Is there any real advantage to using a WordPress optimised hosting setup? What does that really mean?

Jul 22, 2018: 🎵 Sunday afternoon tunes. Primrose Green by Ryley Walker (iTunes). Recommended for all you John Martyn/Nick Drake/Pentangle/Tim Buckley fans.

Jul 21, 2018: I cancelled my Adobe Creative Cloud account today because I just wasn’t using it enough to justify the cost. They don’t like you leaving, do they?

Jul 6, 2018: This updating stats page for my web hosting company is really nice.

Jul 4, 2018: I was quite adamant that I wasn’t going to install the iOS 12 public beta this time but that lasted about a week.

Jun 27, 2018: I don’t think I’m doing this meditation thing right when the sound of a small bell makes me jump out of my skin.

Jun 20, 2018: Your government is taking children from their parents and putting them in cages. Stop lecturing the world about human rights. www.bbc.co.uk/news/4453… …

Jun 8, 2018: The warm weather always acts as an invitation for the neighbourhood cats to wander around the house.

Jun 8, 2018: Ice Creams #icecream

Jun 7, 2018: Today’s escapee from the heat. It did a tour of every room in the house and then lazed around for a bit on the carpet. #cats

May 29, 2018: Cable and broadband has been down for a couple of days. It’s amazing what you can get done in its absence.

May 18, 2018: Pub quizzing.

May 17, 2018: I walked out the front door this morning to be confronted with a mass of feathers and the remnants of a pigeon. Urban foxes must outnumber those found …

May 15, 2018: “Please register the app in order to view the User Manual”. Really?

May 14, 2018: New iPhone set up and old one restored for my elderly parents today. Job well done.

May 13, 2018: Interesting clouds.

May 12, 2018: Accidental Portrait Of A Knee

May 11, 2018: Scary #dog

May 10, 2018: I was looking to register a domain name today. The price range at various companies for the same name was pretty big. My usual place wanted £30/year …

May 10, 2018: 🎶 I love The High Llamas.

May 7, 2018: I downloaded all my Flickr photos and shut down my Yahoo account just before the recent Smugmug takeover. Maybe I’ll move them back again when a new …

Apr 28, 2018: Added the BFI Player to my Fire TV Stick so with that, and MUBI, I’ve got good films to watch every day now.

Apr 23, 2018: I set a reminder to cancel Drafts 5 at the end of the seven day trial but I’ve cancelled the reminder and I’m subbing. I think I’ve reached my …

Apr 22, 2018: Catching up on some #records. Trembling Bells - Dungeness. #vinyl

Apr 20, 2018: Jetpack for Wordpress gets a lot of stick but the VaultPress plugin is really very good. Restored a blog to a new host yesterday quickly and …

Apr 19, 2018: Moved to a new host today and my web site address is defaulting to “www.” at the start of the url. This is causing problems with some Wordpress …

Apr 19, 2018: Headline of the day: ‘Very angry badger’ causes part of Scottish castle to be closed.

Apr 18, 2018: It has probably been there in previous versions but I really like the “Append to journal…” action in Drafts. I can see lots of uses for it.

Apr 17, 2018: One for Seinfeld fans. George Costanza’s idea becomes reality at last.

Apr 14, 2018: Gosh. My host, Tsohost, is really going downhill. The amount of downtime on cloud hosting is getting ridiculous. Frustrating day.

Apr 13, 2018: I don’t think I’ll doing any microcasting soon. I still hate the sound of my own voice and I think it’s much harder to speak about things, …

Apr 11, 2018: A warning from within The Archive app. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of bad taste now and again.

Apr 10, 2018: It’s just a tangerine peel but I like the contrasting colours.

Apr 10, 2018: Very pleased to be dipping back into the world of the late Terry Pratchett. The first few pages of The Fifth Elephant have been a joy. 📚

Apr 9, 2018: Just witnessed the most intense and full rainbow I’ve seen in a long time.

Apr 9, 2018: Just witnessed the most intense and full #rainbow I’ve seen in ages.

Apr 9, 2018: I’ve been getting multiple emails from Wordpress Jetpack Support saying that my site has been offline. It’s happened the odd time over the last few …

Apr 6, 2018: I can see Twitter forcing developers to allow their ads in timelines or be forced out of business. I’m surprised Tweetbot has been ad-free this long …

Apr 3, 2018: 🎶 THRAK by King Crimson was released 23 years ago today.

Apr 3, 2018: I always print off these Guardian cryptic #crosswords and forget to do them.

Apr 3, 2018: It’s usually starting to warm up a little by now but snow is still falling here. The last few weeks have been full of cold and coughing and I can’t …

Mar 31, 2018: Has someone turned off the iCloud email spam filters again? There’s a load of rubbish getting through here.

Mar 27, 2018: Bought with birthday money. #zappa

Mar 25, 2018: 🎵 Fantastic Steven Wilson show in Glasgow last night. Excellent sound, visuals, and set list. www.setlist.fm/setlist/s…

Mar 17, 2018: I’ve been feeling run down after a bout of flu but made it out to see Yes tonight on their 50th anniversary tour. Really enjoyed it. I’d managed to …

Feb 26, 2018: This winter has outstayed it’s welcome. My favourite times of the year are when you can feel the seasons changing. No sign of spring yet.

Feb 26, 2018: Thanks to blog commenters I’m using the Workflow app and TinyPNG to shrink image sizes on the move now.

Feb 18, 2018: Time to accept that whenever The Producers is in TV listings it’s going to be the inferior remake and not the classic Zero Mostel/ Gene Wilder …

Feb 16, 2018: One of the many things I like about micro.blog is the lack of animated gifs in the timeline. I hope it stays this way.

Feb 14, 2018: 📚 Finished a couple of Le Guin novels. Now on to the Philip Glass autobiography/memoir.

Feb 9, 2018: I’ve been using Feedbin for a couple of years. Just noticed that if you go into settings you can see a graphical representation of how often a feed …

Feb 8, 2018: This image on the cover of the Wonderous Stories book could be a metaphor for being a progressive rock fan in the late 70s.

Feb 8, 2018: Just watched a really good history of the Sunset Strip. Lots of music and bad behaviour. When I visited in 2004 on holiday the place was deserted.

Feb 6, 2018: A little project. I’m #drawing the same mug every morning for a month. I won’t be sharing them all here though.

Feb 6, 2018: James Woods - there’s a good example of having to separate the work from the person.

Feb 6, 2018: 📚A Tribute to John Mahoney, an Actor We Thought We Knew - The New Yorker

Feb 5, 2018: I’ve never tried dictation on my phone before. Doing it right now and it seems to work flawlessly. Even with my Scottish accent and speaking at my …

Feb 5, 2018: You can tell a new social network is maturing when you find discussions on the ins and outs of the musical career of Steven Wilson.

Feb 4, 2018: It’s time to turn off auto-renew for Evernote premium. I only use it for importing Kindle highlights from Clippings.io now and free is good enough for …

Feb 3, 2018: 🎵 I’ve been listening to this wonderful Norwegian band a lot recently. knekklectric.bandcamp.com

Feb 2, 2018: I can’t remember who posted about doing a morning sketch of their teacup/coffee mug but I’m going to do the same for all of February.

Feb 1, 2018: Bob’s Burgers is such a joy compared to lazy and cynical stuff like Family Guy. 📺

Jan 31, 2018: 📚 How I Met My Wife. This old New Yorker piece makes me gruntled.

Jan 30, 2018: The Sunlit app seems fabulous already. I can see it replacing a couple of other things.

Jan 29, 2018: Old Timer

Jan 28, 2018: I bought this Japanese fountain pen years ago based entirely on its look. Unfortunately it’s too small in my hand to be used comfortably for any …

Jan 27, 2018: I’ve started to read The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It’s a shame that her passing has finally spurred me into doing so. 📚

Jan 26, 2018: I hope the HomePod is a success but silly phrases like “the experience of moving to a Retina screen… for your ears” are not going to convince me to …

Jan 26, 2018: Rush: a band who sparked the teenage imagination like few others. Nice, fair, piece in The Guardian about the retirement of Rush.

Jan 25, 2018: Sunlit test. “View from the office” today.

Jan 18, 2018: #snow #slowmo

Jan 16, 2018: Current forecast…

Jan 10, 2018: I’ve been reading Detroit 67: The Year That Changed Soul It’s an excellent bit of popular music and social history centred on the tensions within the …

Jan 9, 2018: First day back at work and plenty of this is needed.

Jan 8, 2018: 📕 Tim Smith, the Cardiacs singer hoping to overcome brain injury to make music once more

Jan 5, 2018: I ordered a keyboard from Amazon UK today and was asked at the order page if I wanted to conceal what was in the package. It’s maybe not the best of …

Jan 4, 2018: I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t like bezel-free phones. I need thumb space.

Jan 3, 2018: I got some cartridges for my slightly battered Lamy Al-Star fountain pen. Planning to use it a lot this year.

Dec 29, 2017: I might get the hang of Markdown links someday.

Dec 27, 2017: Thanks to Instagram I get to see eleven day old photos at the top of my timeline.

Dec 27, 2017: #dogsofinstagram

Dec 27, 2017: The Big Thaw

Dec 22, 2017: I’m no good at this…

Dec 9, 2017: 🎧 The Tower by Motorpsycho is a phenomenal album. I want to go and buy everything they’ve ever recorded now.

Dec 9, 2017: One of the nice little bonuses of Amazon Prime is having every season of Seinfeld at the touch of a button. I still love it but wonder how today’s …

Dec 8, 2017: I’ve had my new phone for a couple of days now and haven’t logged into Facebook yet. It feels good.

Dec 5, 2017: I tried to hold off but I’ve just ordered an iPhone X. The O2 Recycle price on my 7 meant I could pay off the contract and get a 64GB space grey …

Nov 28, 2017: I’m not doing that a third time. It’s a mixing up brackets kind of day :)

Nov 26, 2017: New camera.

Nov 20, 2017: Tyding up and I found this. Another exhibit in my old tech museum. You plugged it into an iPod and it transmitted music to a nearby radio.

Nov 19, 2017: I’d forgotten how great Popclip is until today. I bought and used it a few years ago but must have missed reinstalling it after an OS update.

Nov 17, 2017: Photo Challenge Day 7 - “Shadow”

Nov 16, 2017: Photo Challenge Day 6 - “Seasonal”

Nov 15, 2017: Photo Challenge Day 5 - “Liquid”.

Nov 14, 2017: Photo Challenge Day 4 - “Up Close”

Nov 13, 2017: Photo Challenge Day 3: “On the Move”. The chunky old watch I don’t use anymore.

Nov 12, 2017: Day Two of @douglane’s Micro.blog Photo Challenge - “Tasty”. No work tomorrow.

Nov 11, 2017: Micro.blog Photo Challenge Day 1: #squares. Ceiling lights, Argentum app, double exposure. I had to go a bit abstract for this one.

Nov 4, 2017: I have over twenty iOS app updates waiting and every one is for iPhone X compatibility which I don’t need.

Oct 29, 2017: Another good leaf. #leaves

Oct 26, 2017: Autumn #leaves

Oct 19, 2017: The people who recorded my favourite music have been leaving the planet at an alarming rate. Sad times. Canterbury Legend Phil Miller Remembered

Oct 11, 2017: Great show by Dweezil Zappa and band in Glasgow tonight. I don’t think the set list had any Zappa songs beyond the mid 70s which was fine by me.

Oct 9, 2017: I’m getting errors using OwnYourSwarm on my site. Checkins with a photo are posting to Wordpress with a 1970 date and linking to non-existent pages. …

Oct 9, 2017: The common cold I thought I had seems to have been a bit more. I’ve had no energy for about a week and I just feel like I’m getting my strength back …

Sep 29, 2017: Cadogan Hall. One more night to go. #bigbigtrain #cadoganhall

Sep 19, 2017: There’s a problem with my UK host, Tsohost, tonight. Lots of web sites down.

Sep 17, 2017: I’m not sure if it’s connected but since updating to iOS 11 GM the Sonos app has become a real battery hog in the background. Battery settings show …

Sep 12, 2017: I hope it’s not called iPhone Pro. My heart sinks whenever “Pro” is added to the name of anything now.

Sep 8, 2017: #vinyl #brianeno

Aug 24, 2017: If Micro.blog posts can have more than 280 characters then the iOS app could become a great little blogging client.

Aug 19, 2017: “Flickr and Yahoo are now part of “Oath” and are members of the Verizon family of companies. Beginning 15 September 2017, we plan to share some user …

Aug 10, 2017: More windmills.

Jul 27, 2017: Decided to nuke my site and restore to a new Wordpress installation and database.

Jul 27, 2017: Just spent the last couple of hours cleaning up a hack in my Wordpress installation. Someone had managed to inject a pile of crap into my file system. …

Jul 21, 2017: Okay let’s do this … #gameofthrones

Jul 17, 2017: Nice bit of weather today. Will it last till I’m on holiday?

Jul 17, 2017: Rolled back to iOS 10 on my phone after trying the 11 public beta. It was NOT easy this time.

Jul 8, 2017: I understand the arguments against ad-blockers but if you have those “15 shocking celebrity pictures” type ads on your site then I have little …

Jul 7, 2017: I’ve managed to get OwnYourGram and OwnYour Swarm working on my site today. Goodbye to extra plugins and IFTTT recipes.

Jul 2, 2017: There’s a load of spam getting through to my mac/icloud email address today. It seems like someone has turned off the filters.

Jun 29, 2017: I spent some time today learning a bit about Hugo after several mentions here. I managed to download and install it on my mac all via the terminal …

Jun 28, 2017: Switched themes temporarily to Sempress and it doesn’t send the gravitar image to Twitter with Bridgy. It must be some code in the Independent …

Jun 28, 2017: A question for anyone who uses the Bridgy plugin for Wordpress. How do you stop it sending the website icon/image as part of tweets?

Jun 19, 2017: MotionX Poker. This was one of the first and best apps I ever bought for iPhone. It hasn’t been updated in years but still plays without any warnings. …

Jun 12, 2017: Just got the “Dispatched” email for my new iPad Pro. Should be here tomorrow.

Jun 5, 2017: The official Twitter iOS app is now 203mb in size. My app of choice, Twitterific, is 10.6mb.

Jun 4, 2017: Farewell Walt Mossberg, the scourge of Silicon Valley Sad to see him go when you consider the state of most tech journalism.

May 30, 2017: Masashi Wakui on Flickr: these photos of Tokyo are wonderful.

May 28, 2017: It’s not often I’ll share something from The Daily Telegraph but this Iron Maiden gig review is pretty great.

May 26, 2017: Much enthused by IndieWeb ideals but I wouldn’t know one line of code from another. If there isn’t a Wordpress plugin for something then I’m at a bit …

May 19, 2017: Word Of Mouth - Cucks, snowflakes and virtue signalling: the new US political lexicon Excellent edition of the BBC Radio 4 show about language.

May 17, 2017: It’s 25 years since the release of Buffalo Tom’s Let Me Come Over album. Wow!

May 17, 2017: I think it’s time to get rid of Instagram. It gets worse with every update.

May 12, 2017: The Post Kinds plugin effect looks fine in Safari but adds ugly grey lines in other browsers which I only noticed tonight. I’ve deactivated it again.

May 12, 2017: A quick test of TodayPoster.

May 11, 2017: The fearlessness of the people in these old photographs amazes me. The Dapper Daredevil who Documented America’s Skyline in the Making

May 6, 2017: I’ve just about had it with third party complications on the Apple Watch. They work/don’t work, appear/don’t appear. Totally unreliable.

May 5, 2017: Nice blue skies on the way to work today.

May 4, 2017: It’s local election day here in the UK and I’ve cast my vote without much enthusiasm. The local campaigns were a bit overshadowed by the looming …

May 2, 2017: Philip Glass Buddha Machine.

May 2, 2017: What’s to stop anyone using my domain to log into a site using IndieAuth? Am I missing a link here?

Apr 29, 2017: I’ve replaced two old and broken down chairs in the last couple of weeks. My back is very grateful.

Apr 28, 2017: The new album by Big Big Train, one of my favourite bands, is out today. Check out Grimspound.

Apr 27, 2017: Spent a big part of my childhood reading comics drawn by Leo Baxendale. RIP.

Apr 26, 2017: I can’t wait to read the new Mike Nesmith autobiography. He had the most interesting career of all the ex-Monkees.

Apr 25, 2017: There seems to be a lot of layers to micro.blog that I haven’t quite got to grips with yet. I look forward to finding out what I can do here.

Apr 25, 2017: I want to point a .blog domain to my new micro.blog site but the interface needs three name servers. I might have to transfer the domain out to my …

Apr 25, 2017: My first post. Sticking to default settings right now so let’s see what happens.

Dec 26, 2016: “Sorry, you can’t have any ice cream”. #dogs

Sep 21, 2016: Outside the Assembly Hall in #Edinburgh.

Aug 28, 2016: #Glass

Feb 22, 2016: There are worse places to do training courses. Staircase detail at Eastwood House.

Sep 18, 2015: Usher Hall, #Edinburgh for #KingCrimson #early

Aug 16, 2015: Waiting to leave a very quiet King’s Cross station.

Jun 9, 2014: #vscocam

Jun 2, 2014: I think that’s quite enough of those for now.

Jun 2, 2014:

Apr 24, 2014:

Mar 3, 2014: #vscocam