LOTRO: Reaching the New Level Cap
The latest expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, Kingdoms of Harad, launched on December 3rd. With this release the level cap was raised from 150 to 160. It should also be noted that the cap for virtue traits was also raised from 96 to 100. Naturally these changes meant that there is a requirement to replace all armour and jewellery once the new cap is reached. Similarly Legendary Items have to be reforged and any traceries upgraded or replaced. If you follow the Epic Story it will lead you from quest hub to quest hub. The main quest rewards, along with those from side quests will provide adequate gear as you slowly progress towards the new level cap. The new raids, instances and missions/delvings then provide a means to acquire higher quality level 160 gear. LOTRO and indeed, many other MMOs are consistent in this methodology.
The latest expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, Kingdoms of Harad, launched on December 3rd. With this release the level cap was raised from 150 to 160. It should also be noted that the cap for virtue traits was also raised from 96 to 100. Naturally these changes meant that there is a requirement to replace all armour and jewellery once the new cap is reached. Similarly Legendary Items have to be reforged and any traceries upgraded or replaced. If you follow the Epic Story it will lead you from quest hub to quest hub. The main quest rewards, along with those from side quests will provide adequate gear as you slowly progress towards the new level cap. The new raids, instances and missions/delvings then provide a means to acquire higher quality level 160 gear. LOTRO and indeed, many other MMOs are consistent in this methodology.
The only problem with this approach is that it is at odds with my own personal gaming philosophy. I don’t like the concept of getting the best items at the end of your progression, when from my perspective, I don’t really benefit from them as I usually cease playing at this point. I do not participate in raids or any of the endgame group content, so rewarding me at this point seems redundant. I would like to acquire better quality gear as I progress towards the new level cap so that I am robustly equipped to deal with the PVE content. By default I like my characters to be “overpowered” when playing through new regions. Other players may prefer a more challenging approach and want to be evenly matched against landscape mobs, but I favour being prepared, as powerful as possible and playing on my own terms.
Rather than just playing through the various PVE quests featured in the last two expansions (as I have yet to complete them) to reach the new level cap, I decided upon a different approach. As soon as the Yuletide Festival started on December 11th, I began running all events on a daily basis to gain easy XP. I used various consumable items that provide XP boosts as well as spending destiny points for similar benefits. I also began a rotation of the following offensive skirmishes which can be completed quickly. Trouble in Tuckborough. Thievery and Mischief, The Icy Crevasse, Strike Against Dannenglor and Battle in the Tower. Hence, after a week of fairly casual gameplay, I reached the new level cap of 160. An added benefit of this focused approach was that I also made significant progress in the Legendary Item Reward Track.
Upon reaching level 160, I had to replace all my existing gear. To do this I followed the same method that I used when the cap was raised to 150 back in November 2003 when the Corsairs of Umbar expansion was released. I bought 40 Black Steel Lockbox Keys with the LOTRO points I earned through subscribing all year. The resulting Embers of Enchantment I gained from opening lockboxes were sufficient to replace all my armour and half of my jewellery from the barter vendor. Furthermore it is mainly Teal quality gear. I also replaced all the traceries on my Legendary Items with my supply of Ancient Scripts that I had earned from the Reward Track. I filled the remaining outstanding items with older gear from reputation traders. This new gear may not be the best available in LOTRO, as that is gated behind raids and delvings but it is superior to crafted items and standard quest rewards.
I can now begin playing through the latest two expansions knowing that my primary character in LOTRO, a Lore-master that I’ve played since December 2008, is as robust and well equipped as they can be. By negating future concerns about gear, I can focus on the story and playing the content. I don’t feel the need to rush to level cap because I have already reached it. Furthermore, apart from levelling the traceries on my LIs over the next year or so, I do not have to worry about replacing my armour or jewellery for a long time. If circumstances provide me with a superior item, I will happily replace the existing one as it can be disenchanted in Ember of Enchantment. This recyclable quality is very beneficial. I recognise that how I play LOTRO may not suit others but the fact that the game is flexible enough to accommodate such differing approaches is one of its greatest strengths.
A Year in Gaming
It is customary in a post such as this to list the various games that I’ve played over the last twelve months and share my thoughts on them. Wider analysis of the video game industry is also de rigeur. Unfortunately, I don’t really feel disposed to do either of those two things. My thoughts on the games I’ve played have already been published and can easily be accessed via the links at the bottom of this post. As for the video game industry, it suffers the same flaws as music, TV and cinema. There is creativity and innovation out there but it is often drowned out by mainstream products which are demonstrably inferior due to their inherent mediocrity. As for the business side of things, we once again clearly see the failings of the corporate management class. Sadly, they do not face the consequences of the mistakes that they make.
It is customary in a post such as this to list the various games that I’ve played over the last twelve months and share my thoughts on them. Wider analysis of the video game industry is also de rigeur. Unfortunately, I don’t really feel disposed to do either of those two things. My thoughts on the games I’ve played have already been published and can easily be accessed via the links at the bottom of this post. As for the video game industry, it suffers the same flaws as music, TV and cinema. There is creativity and innovation out there but it is often drowned out by mainstream products which are demonstrably inferior due to their inherent mediocrity. As for the business side of things, we once again clearly see the failings of the corporate management class. Sadly, they do not face the consequences of the mistakes that they make.
I once thought that being a relatively new creative industry, there was something “special” about the video game industry. I had a naive notion that the commercial imperatives were somehow kept in check by the artistic vision of those working on the creative side of things. Nope, that conceit quickly fell apart like a cheap suit upon exposure to the facts. There are game developers that strive to balance their business needs along with their creative ideas, while trying to look after their staff as well as they can but it is not the norm in any way. The video game industry is just as greedy, exploitative and unethical as any other and those who work in it suffer the same iniquities as employees from any other industry or sector. Low pay, shitty terms and conditions and sociopathic bosses are a universal constant it would seem.
Sadly, another aspect of video game culture that is a regular source of eye rolling are “militant fans”. What can I say about this demographic that hasn’t been said already? Not much. The usual suspects are exceedingly wearing with their lack of objectivity and self-awareness, gatekeeping and reactionary demeanour. Sadly, for those who view pop culture from the sidelines, these individuals are often misconstrued as being the default “gamers”. I was watching some YouTube videos by Josh Strife Hayes recently and he has started prefixing his content with multiple caveats in a vain attempt to calm the furiously hard-of-thinking who confuse subjective criticism and analysis with a personal attack. It seldom works though, so I favour simply telling them to fuck off. It is a waste of time to even engage with these fools.
Reflecting on 2025, playing video games still brings me pleasure. Especially when I find those that have good writing and contain challenging ideas. Hence I got a great deal of mileage out of Atomfall and finally completing Disco Elysium. MMOs such as The Lord of the Rings Online have also kept me busy and in a good way. But a lot of games that I play are just “filler”. The same way that some books or films are just okay and serve their purpose of occupying me in an acceptable fashion. Once you’re done, you move on. The fact that I own somewhere in the region of nearly 1,000 video games but have possibly only bought 10% of those says a lot about the ephemeral nature of the video game industry. It also raises the question of sustainability. The myth of infinite growth has already greatly harmed triple A gaming. Will the industry contract further in 2026? Feel free to make your predictions in the comments.
A Year in Blogging
I began 2025 with a fairly strong writing streak, publishing posts about games, technology and even air fryers. Sadly, this burst of enthusiasm gradually tailed off between April and June. I can’t even recollect if there was any particular “real world” reason for this or whether it was just a case of I wasn’t especially motivated. Fortunately, I started writing again in July in preparation for Blaugust: Festival of Blogging and subsequently wrote throughout the entirety of August. Revamping my blog in September and moving it to the latest version of Squarespace proved a positive move and since then I have kept up a writing schedule of posting to Contains Moderate Peril every second day. At present I have a lot of draft posts pending and I am not struggling to come up with ideas and write in general. I intend to nurture this positive approach and see if I can build upon it in 2026.
Cake is an important part of my writing process
I began 2025 with a fairly strong writing streak, publishing posts about games, technology and even air fryers. Sadly, this burst of enthusiasm gradually tailed off between April and June. I can’t even recollect if there was any particular “real world” reason for this or whether it was just a case of I wasn’t especially motivated. Fortunately, I started writing again in July in preparation for Blaugust: Festival of Blogging and subsequently wrote throughout the entirety of August. Revamping my blog in September and moving it to the latest version of Squarespace proved a positive move and since then I have kept up a writing schedule of posting to Contains Moderate Peril every second day. At present I have a lot of draft posts pending and I am not struggling to come up with ideas and write in general. I intend to nurture this positive approach and see if I can build upon it in 2026.
I have been part of a wider, informal blogging community for fifteen years. During that time a lot of people have come and gone. However, a core group of habitual writers still regularly post their thoughts. Something that I find immensely reassuring. Although I only know them through their writing, exchanging comments on each other’s blogs and conversations on social media, I am immensely fond of our community. I actually gain creative strength through reading their work, their comments online and their general good nature and amiable disposition. Although we’re quite an eclectic bunch from various parts of the world, we all have a common interest in sharing our thoughts online, along with our bemusement of the current state of the world. I feel I should make some sort of Bilbo Baggins quote here about liking people. I’m sure you get the point.
As I mentioned earlier, this year’s Blaugust: Festival of Blogging was very well attended and I discovered a lot of new bloggers. I have hundreds of active blogs in my feed reader and I find it very encouraging that so many are still writing online, rather than using other mediums. I was also reminded this year that things change and that there isn’t a “one size fits all” approach to writing online. Hence I feel I should be fully supportive of microblogs, or those who choose not to have comments on their posts. The important fact is that they’re writing and sharing with the wider community. Also let us not forget that bloggers are people and behind the text there are folk dealing with the day-to-day bullshit of real life and that sometimes life is hard and unkind. Hence a kind word and some human empathy is important. Unless it’s Colin. He can go piss up a rope.
With 2026 fast approaching, I fully intend to keep writing and maintaining a fairly regular schedule of content for Contains Moderate Peril. I’m not sure what the Chinese bots that regularly scrape the site make of my musings but I thought I’d give them a mention, as they are the lionshare of my audience growth this year. As for this year’s ambition of increasing traffic and building a wider audience, it hasn’t been a total failure. Overall there’s been a 16% increase in visitors, which upon mature reflection and sober consideration, is better than a 16% decline. I also have a couple of projects on the go at present that I’m hoping to launch in the New Year. However, it is pertinent to remember that quote about the plans of mice and men. In the meantime, to all my fellow bloggers I would like to say thanks for all the interesting posts in 2025. Keep writing.
Digital Jukeboxes
I was in a pub last night, catching up with friends before Christmas, when I noticed on the wall something I haven’t seen in a pub for a very long time. A jukebox. In my experiences most of the pubs I go to take one of the following two approaches to background music. They either have a sound system and exclusively manage any music via personally curated playlists from behind the bar. Or they have no music at all. The Wetherspoons chain of pubs broadly follow the latter policy and actively use it as a marketing point. Quiet pubs for clientele that just want to talk can be popular. Hence finding an accessible jukebox was a blast from the past. During the late eighties and early nineties, I regularly visited my local pub and often used the jukebox there, which at the time, was operated by an ever changing store of CDs. The jukebox I encountered last night was digital.
I was in a pub last night, catching up with friends before Christmas, when I noticed on the wall something I haven’t seen in a pub for a very long time. A jukebox. In my experiences most of the pubs I go to take one of the following two approaches to background music. They either have a sound system and exclusively manage any music via personally curated playlists from behind the bar. Or they have no music at all. The Wetherspoons chain of pubs broadly follow the latter policy and actively use it as a marketing point. Quiet pubs for clientele that just want to talk can be popular. Hence finding an accessible jukebox was a blast from the past. During the late eighties and early nineties, I regularly visited my local pub and often used the jukebox there, which at the time, was operated by an ever changing store of CDs. The jukebox I encountered last night was digital.
Naturally I was curious about this device so I went and investigated. The first thing I noticed on the LED screen was that the jukebox had an app associated with it, from which I could select and pay for songs if I wanted. I was surprised to see that this jukebox still had the option to pay by coin. I have subsequently learned that some have contactless card readers as another means of paying. I also noted that it cost £1 to play one song. Being a digital device, the jukebox offered thousands of songs from multiple artists and I was quite surprised at the range of material that was available. Searching via the touchscreen was easy. You can also see the current song queue, so you know when your choice will be played. Overall the device was intuitive to use. As for the cost, a pound is not going to break the bank and simply comes out of the change after buying a round of drinks.
Because I was quite intrigued as to how such an old school institution as jukeboxes still exists in today’s world, I did a little further research today and was quite surprised by the results. Digital jukebox suppliers offer a profit sharing business model where venues get a free machine with no upfront cost. Sharing the revenue with the supplier, typically on a 50/50 split, with the venue keeping half of the earnings after music charges are deducted. This allows pubs, bars, and clubs to offer modern music without investment, generate extra income and improve customer experience (allegedly, depending upon your stance on music in pubs). The suppliers handle installation, maintenance and music updates. I couldn’t find any data on what percentage of revenues reaches the artists but I suspect it is comparable to services such as Spotify.
There are times when I go to the pub and I want some peace and quiet so I can concentrate on conversation with my friends. There are other times when I am happy to have some background music and to be able to choose something to listen to myself. It’s nice to be able to sing along with a familiar song that catches the mood. It can also be fun to put on a “crowd pleaser” and watch others get into it. I’m not averse to playing something that is annoying from time to time, just for the hell of it. Hence, I was pleased to see that jukeboxes have survived the various cultural changes of the current century and still exist in pubs and clubs. The modern iterations may not be as stylish and iconic as their fifties and sixties predecessors but they still serve the same basic purpose. I think there is comfort to be had in having access to music in pubs that isn’t exclusively controlled by the landlord.
The Passage of Time
Today is my 58th birthday. It would appear that I have existed for nearly six decades. Put another way, I am over half a century old. All of which has given me pause for thought with regard to the passage of time. A phrase that is often bandied about, but what exactly does it mean? As I understand it, the “passage of time” refers to our perception of the flow of time and how we experience its movement. This is something distinct and different from objective time as measured by clocks. Our subjective experience of time can vary due to multiple factors. Two common examples are how time can feel like it's flying by when we're having fun and enjoying something or dragging its feet when you’re enduring something dull. Other factors are whether we are applying ourselves to a task, concentrating and general activity. Such focus can make time pass quickly.
Today is my 58th birthday. It would appear that I have existed for nearly six decades. Put another way, I am over half a century old. All of which has given me pause for thought with regard to the passage of time. A phrase that is often bandied about, but what exactly does it mean? As I understand it, the “passage of time” refers to our perception of the flow of time and how we experience its movement. This is something distinct and different from objective time as measured by clocks. Our subjective experience of time can vary due to multiple factors. Two common examples are how time can feel like it's flying by when we're having fun and enjoying something or dragging its feet when you’re enduring something dull. Other factors are whether we are applying ourselves to a task, concentrating and general activity. Such focus can make time pass quickly.
Perhaps the most important consideration regarding the passage of time is our age. Current research suggests that as we age, our perception of time passing can change. Older adults often feel like time is accelerating and the passage of days, weeks and months is quick. Some argue it is because we become aware of the wealth of years that are behind us and the finite amount of time ahead of us. Conversely, young children feel that the passage of time is slow. School days drag and the Summer holidays seem infinite This time the theory is reversed. Children have only experienced a short passage of time,over their lives. They still have a substantial amount of years ahead of them and that impacts on their perception. I suspect these ideas to be true, as I certainly feel that time goes faster for me. Even though I am now retired, my week has a schedule and regular events. All of which seem to fly past.
As for my actual age, I am beginning to think that it can no longer be conveniently crowbarred into that catch all phrase, “Middle-age”. I have even given some thought as to how much time I have left. My parents both lived into their early nineties which is a very good “innings” to coin a very British phrase. However, before I consider this longevity to be an immutable family trait, I should take into consideration several Uncles and Aunts that died early, mainly through heart disease which is conspicuously inheritable. Some people consider it morbid to dwell on one’s mortality. I think it should be given some thought from time to time. Due to medical advances, I may have more time left than I think but how much of that will be of an acceptable quality? Sadly, there’s no way at present of knowing, so I simply consider myself fortunate to still be here and enjoying a good standard of life.
Does the passage of time confer wisdom by default? I think not. I know people who journey through life with their eyes figuratively closed. Something I try not to do. I think mistakes have to be made to teach some lessons, which is why I find any philosophies that eschew failure or seek to avoid it are problematic. Time is also not necessarily a healer, although it can provide a sense of perspective and allow one to grow tolerant of our hurts. The passage of time is a fundamental aspect of human experience, influencing our memories, expectations and sense of self. Philosophers have long debated the nature of time and its relationship to consciousness. Overall, I think the passage of time is an interplay between objective time and our subjective experiences. It may just be a confidence trick, created by the Swiss and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
LOTRO: Standing Stone Games Test UI Scaling
Today Standing Stone Games began beta testing Update 46.1 for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The current preview on the Bullroarer test server is mainly for the new instance cluster that comes with the Kingdoms of Harad expansion which launched a few weeks ago. However, it would appear that this latest preview has another feature or note. One that should please LOTRO players. Contrary to what a lot of people thought, myself included, SSG have been working on a scaling UI for 2K and 4K monitors and the results are now available for testing from today Monday 15th through to Friday 19th December. Until now the main workaround to the lack of UI scaling has been to use either Nvidia or AMD graphics software to upscale the game from 1920 x 1080, or a third party app such as LosslessScaling. Having an official solution is a far better option.
Today Standing Stone Games began beta testing Update 46.1 for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The current preview on the Bullroarer test server is mainly for the new instance cluster that comes with the Kingdoms of Harad expansion which launched a few weeks ago. However, it would appear that this latest preview has another feature or note. One that should please LOTRO players. Contrary to what a lot of people thought, myself included, SSG have been working on a scaling UI for 2K and 4K monitors and the results are now available for testing from today Monday 15th through to Friday 19th December. Until now the main workaround to the lack of UI scaling has been to use either Nvidia or AMD graphics software to upscale the game from 1920 x 1080, or a third party app such as LosslessScaling. Having an official solution is a far better option.
I logged into the LOTRO test server earlier this evening and had a look at this new scaling UI functionality and feel overall that it is a massive improvement. There is a main UI slider that increases all onscreen elements proportionally. There is also the option of changing the size of specific elements, such as in-game bags, item tooltips or onscreen alerts. At present this is a work in progress so there are some minor issues with icons looking a little low definition or tearing. Also the mouse arrow is not scalable at present, which is a nuisance. However, this ongoing project by SSG has other benefits. Loading screen graphics are no longer stretched, nor are the older in-game maps. Perhaps in the long run, these will all be replaced with higher resolution versions but in the meantime, having these images in the right aspect ratio is a step in the right direction.
Already there is a lively discussion on the official LOTRO forums about these changes on the test server. Furthermore, SSG is endeavouring to take on board the respective feedback. I suspect that not every suggestion will be implemented or can be but I certainly think that the end results, once they go live, will be infinitely better than what we have at present. LOTRO is an ageing game, so dissecting and tinkering with such ancient code is problematic. Hence it is laudable that SSG has started to tackle this issue. The fact that this work has been carried out quietly in the background when many LOTRO players felt that this project has stalled, is most promising. Perhaps other “quality of life” changes are also being addressed behind the scenes and will be rolled out in a similarly unexpected fashion over 2026. All of which has the potential to bring players back to the game and extend LOTRO’s lifecycle.
A Year in Technology
Looking back at my various posts regarding “technology” this year, a recurring theme has been my ongoing attempts to replace certain mainstream products with alternatives that do the job in-hand better, don’t require constant updates, aren’t bloated by superfluous functionality and are more cost effective or even ethical. Needless to say, this has proven quite hard. Hence I was unable to find a suitable replacement email client for Microsoft Outlook and end my subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal. The main problem is that most alternative software won’t support my email archive due to differences in the mailbox format. One possible work around is to install an older and therefore, non-subscription version of Outlook but this raises support and compatibility issues. It would be a lot easier to divest myself of a lot of mainstream software if I was starting from scratch.
Looking back at my various posts regarding “technology” this year, a recurring theme has been my ongoing attempts to replace certain mainstream products with alternatives that do the job in-hand better, don’t require constant updates, aren’t bloated by superfluous functionality and are more cost effective or even ethical. Needless to say, this has proven quite hard. Hence I was unable to find a suitable replacement email client for Microsoft Outlook and end my subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal. The main problem is that most alternative software won’t support my email archive due to differences in the mailbox format. One possible work around is to install an older and therefore, non-subscription version of Outlook but this raises support and compatibility issues. It would be a lot easier to divest myself of a lot of mainstream software if I was starting from scratch.
AI is currently everywhere and seems to be the biggest talking point of the year. I have mixed feelings on the subject as I feel that it can be a useful tool in some specific circumstances. I like AI tools that can be used to fix photos, as I am currently cataloguing my parents’ prodigious collection. Some of the pictures are from the start of the last century and have a lot of damage. I occasionally use AI for collating basic data. The sort of information that is not disputed or subject to political misrepresentation. However, I don’t agree with AI being used to bypass paid creativity and sadly that appears to be at the vanguard of its use. I’m sure Disney’s $1 Billion investment in OpenAI will end with negative consequences for the existing animators, voice artists and other creative employees. I look forward to an EU law that mandates that the use of AI has to be declared when buying a product or service.
Another notable aspect of 2025 has been the ongoing war between ad blockers and their respective corporate opponents. YouTube has pushed back hard against such apps and browser extensions. Although advertisements can still be blocked, there are notable delays, sometimes commensurate with the blocked adverts running time, before the desired video will actually play. Advertising has become more pervasive and invasive, even finding a foothold on my Windows 11 lockscreen and desktop. Fortunately such features can be removed. Advertising on social media also became problematic and is harder to remove or bypass. All of which indicates an advertising market that is declining, or at least fragmented, hence corporations are pursuing “their piece of the cake” more aggressively. Again, shareware, freeware and companies offering a one time payment, rather than a subscription become more appealing.
A short break at the end of October served as a timely reminder of the ubiquitous nature of the internet in our life and our reliance upon it for both work and leisure alike. I found myself in an environment (a static caravan) that did not have internet access by default and I briefly lost connectivity. It certainly gave me pause for thought about how I live my life. In the meantime while grappling with this philosophical crisis, I resolved the immediate problem by internet tethering to my phone. Another recent change is how I fill “dead time”. Over this year I have pivoted from reading while waiting for a bus, train or travelling, to relying on my phone to entertain me. This is mainly via the internet, with games such as Roblox. It’s not something I’m particularly proud of and I shall try and address this in the New Year. Using the internet for leisure is fun but everything in moderation.
I bought a little new technology this year, mainly out of necessity. My phone needed replacing due to battery bulge and my ageing monitors were becoming difficult for me to see clearly. So I bought a new handset and a pair of 2K monitors. I hope that I can future proof my current desktop PC for another 24 months. Looking forward to 2026, my next technology based endeavour is to see if I can ditch Windows as an operating system for everyday use. Perhaps set up a dual boot PC with a bare bones install of Windows for running games and some variation of Linux, such as Zorin OS, for everything else. I also need to continue with locking down my phone and making web browsing via that device as good an experience as using my PC. Overall technology is losing its appeal. Too often causes just as many problems as it solves. It also tends to serve the manufacturers needs more than the customers.
A Year in Social Media
I created a Bluesky account a little over a year ago. I was initially somewhat sceptical of adopting a third social media messaging platform, because I had become quite comfortable using Mastodon as a replacement for Twitter/X. However, certain individuals that I wished to continue to follow were migrating to Bluesky, so I followed suit. It has always been my long term goal to pick one of these two newer services and make it my sole point of presence in social media terms. So far that hasn’t happened. Hence a year on I find myself juggling three such platforms. Twitter/X, Mastodon and Bluesky. I post links to my blog posts on all of these services. To be honest none of them generate any tangible traffic but this is how you promoted your website or blog 15 years ago and old habits die hard.
Twitter/X, Mastodon and Bluesky
I created a Bluesky account a little over a year ago. I was initially somewhat sceptical of adopting a third social media messaging platform, because I had become quite comfortable using Mastodon as a replacement for Twitter/X. However, certain individuals that I wished to continue to follow were migrating to Bluesky, so I followed suit. It has always been my long term goal to pick one of these two newer services and make it my sole point of presence in social media terms. So far that hasn’t happened. Hence a year on I find myself juggling three such platforms. Twitter/X, Mastodon and Bluesky. I post links to my blog posts on all of these services. To be honest none of them generate any tangible traffic but this is how you promoted your website or blog 15 years ago and old habits die hard.
One of the main reasons for moving to Bluesky was the decline of Twitter/X once Elon Musk took over the corporate reins. Although you can still theoretically control what you see or don’t see in your timeline, Musk circumnavigated these settings and so I am still seeing content I have no desire to see and things I find interesting becoming harder to find. Hence Bluesky initially felt like rolling back the clock. Sadly, a year on and despite a greater degree of control, I still find that too much politics finds its way into my timeline. Most of it hails from the US and I simply will not dignify such culture war, zero sum game, intellectually bankrupt bullshit into my life. I’m not especially keen on the same sort of shit that originates from UK politics. It is tedious and pointless, at least for me. I don’t think I’m a priority target for any lobby group seeking to sway opinion.
Therefore, 2025 has been notable for my declining participation on such social media. I promote my writing, communicate with online friends and follow a few folk who do interesting things. I like to check out what’s going on among peers but that’s more of a daily thing nowadays. It used to have Twitter/X open all the time on my PC. I think going forward, I will probably withdraw from Twitter/X in 2026, because to continue using it is questionable. I shall also review my continued use of Bluesky and at the very least mute a lot of names and keywords because I just don’t want to know about somethings. Stepping back from sociopolitical issues is good for your mental wellbeing, as is minimising your exposure to fools and the furiously hard of thinking. Overall, my plan is to focus more on Mastodon as my platform of choice. It seems to have more of a community ambience, with a focus around shared interests. I like its old school vibe.
Instagram and Facebook
I use Instagram to keep up with immediate family members. My son and daughter in-law use it prodigiously. I briefly increased my output on this platform while on holiday in Croatia this summer but overall I tend to use it to passively consume the nonsense that the algorithm feeds me. And man is that algorithm good and figuring out the trivial nonsense that appeals to me. When you step back from scrolling and consider the technology behind these platforms it is both equally fascinating and scary. Its addictive quality is also worrying. However, I’ve noticed an unpleasant trend regarding what you choose to view. If you watch such content as Fail Army or any other material that can be described as “humourous accidents” the algorithm starts feeding more extreme material. Fortunately you can filter out such content but the fact that it escalates in this way is concerning.
One of the problems with social media is that everyone favours differing platforms, hence I maintain a presence on Facebook simply to keep in touch with some friends who exclusively use it. Earlier this year my account was compromised and I logged in to find I was now Silke Kraus from Düsseldorf. Hence I created a new account. Despite providing minimal details for my user profile and expressing few interests, I started getting content recommendations from such vile and scurrilous calumniators (to coin a Dickensian phrase) as The Daily Mail, Daily Express and Reform UK, by default. These can be filtered out but seem to return regardless, proving how this platform’s owners have a clear political affiliation and agenda. Again, next year I shall see if I can encourage my friends to move to another platform because I don’t really want to be associated with this propaganda tool.
Age Verification and Social Media Bans
I wrote a while ago about the age verification requirement that has become mandatory for certain online services in the UK, due to the Online Safety Act. Although well intentioned it misses the mark and can be easily circumnavigated. Such legislation is never good in the long term as it ultimately fails those it seeks to protect and brings the law into disrepute. Any lobby that arises against it will ultimately be usurped and become a trojan horse for more sinister political forces who want a totally unregulated environment. In Australia, as of this month they’ve gone so far as to ban social media access on specific platforms for under 16-year-olds. This has impacted upon 2 million young users. I am not against protecting children but find state intervention a blunt tool. Again I ask, shouldn’t parents be the first line of defence? No doubt my “year in social media|” summary next year will show if this “bold move” has proven positive.
The Haunted Doll’s House (2012)
The Haunted Dolls House is a short film based on a story by M.R. James about a unique antique that is subject to supernatural phenomenon. Adapted by Stephen Gray and David Lilley, this is the third of three short films based upon James’ work that the pair have made. It stars Steven Dolton as Mr. Dillet, a collector of antique dolls houses, who acquires a bargain only to discover that it harbours a ghostly secret. Made on an extremely modest budget over the course of 2012 this clever, innovative and rather sinister adaptation is a fine example of short film creativity. It manages to offer a unique visual depiction of M.R. James’ classic story whilst capturing the unsettling quality of the author’s work. Like so many independently made short films it is clearly a labour of love, made with modest resources. It succinctly captures the spirit of the author’s work and is both innovative and rewarding.
The Haunted Doll’s House is a short film based on a story by M.R. James about a unique antique that is subject to supernatural phenomenon. Adapted by Stephen Gray and David Lilley, this is the third of three short films based upon James’ work that the pair have made. It stars Steven Dolton as Mr. Dillet, a collector of antique doll’s houses, who acquires a bargain only to discover that it harbours a ghostly secret. Made on an extremely modest budget over the course of 2012 this clever, innovative and rather sinister adaptation is a fine example of short film creativity. It manages to offer a unique visual depiction of M.R. James’ classic story whilst capturing the unsettling quality of the author’s work. Like so many independently made short films it is clearly a labour of love, made with modest resources. It succinctly captures the spirit of the author’s work and is both innovative and rewarding.
The Haunted Doll’s House creates an interesting period atmosphere of the early nineteen twenties and sets the scenes for the ghostly events. Professional antique collector Mr. Dillet seems very pleased with his latest acquisition and sits late into the night cataloguing its contents by dictating into a Phonograph Recorder. However, as Mr. Dilet lists the respective details, they seem to become more intricate each time he checks them. Perhaps he is just overly tired? He subsequently retires to bed for the evening, however he is woken during the night when a strange light illuminates the doll's house. It would appear that the latest addition to his collection has something to show him. A rather disturbing story plays out among the antique’s occupants; a family of dolls consisting of a husband and wife, two children and a bedridden Grandfather.
The director's use of stop motion animation is a major positive asset for this adaptation. The minimalist character design of the dolls and the lack of dialogue do not in any way hinder the narrative. The silent actions of the puppets not only clearly convey the story but embellish it with a great deal of atmosphere and pathos. In many ways it plays out like a sinister episode of Camberwick Green and I do not mean that in a derogatory manner but as the highest possible compliment. The transition from animation to live action is cleverly done and provides an appropriate codicil to this supernatural tale. The Haunted Doll’s House makes good use of its eleven minute running time making it an ideal seasonal ghost story. It is a fine example of the high quality independent short films that you can often find online, if you take the time to search them out. The Haunted Doll’s House is available to watch on YouTube.
No One Lives (2012)
A lot of people may know Luke Evans from the live action version of Beauty and the Beast or Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. With his matinee idol good looks, charming Welsh demeanour and his “smoky” tenor singing voice, he projects a sense of old school stardom. Which brings us to No One Lives; a film which is a radical departure from his previous work. His performance is disconcerting to say the least and the film is somewhat unhinged. Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, who made an interesting adaptation of Clive Barker’s The Midnight Meat Train, this cinematic outing is similarly replete with robust shocks and gore. There are some interesting ideas about the nature of violence, Stockholm Syndrome and whether one should deny or embrace one’s nature. However, these are ultimately minor asides. Philosophical musings in between bouts of surprisingly striking unpleasantness.
A lot of people may know Luke Evans from the live action version of Beauty and the Beast or Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. With his matinee idol good looks, charming Welsh demeanour and his “smoky” tenor singing voice, he projects a sense of old school stardom. Which brings us to No One Lives; a film which is a radical departure from his previous work. His performance is disconcerting to say the least and the film is somewhat unhinged. Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, who made an interesting adaptation of Clive Barker’s The Midnight Meat Train, this cinematic outing is similarly replete with robust shocks and gore. There are some interesting ideas about the nature of violence, Stockholm Syndrome and whether one should deny or embrace one’s nature. However, these are ultimately minor asides. Philosophical musings in between bouts of surprisingly striking unpleasantness.
After a burglary goes awry, a small town gang of robbers consider how to recoup their losses. Led by Hoag (Lee Tergesen), the gang consists of his brother Ethan (Brodus Clay), his daughter Amber (Lindsey Shaw), his girlfriend Tamara (America Olivo), Amber's boyfriend Denny (Beau Knapp) and the volatile Flynn (Derek Magyar). Flynn targets a couple passing through town, assuming that the expensive car and trailer means that they’re rich and easy pickings. The couple, Betty (Laura Ramsey) and “The Driver” (Luke Evans) are taken to an abandoned gas station by Ethan while Flynn searches their car. Betty, clearly distressed by events, commits suicide. Meanwhile Flynn discovers a woman held captive in the car trunk. She is Emma Ward (Adelaide Clemens) who was kidnapped 8 months ago. The gang quickly realise they’ve crossed paths with a predator and are in serious danger.
No One Lives quickly sets out its stall and keeps moving over an efficient 86 minutes. What is effectively a blending of the slasher and revenge genres is somewhat elevated above the average by an enigmatic performance by Luke Evans. The screenplay by David Cohen focuses on the dynamic between kidnapper and victim. Adelaide Clemens gives a good performance as a woman determined to survive and not become just a “victim”. Luke Evans’character remains suitably vague, with little back story. He often lapses into introspective musing about his own nature, much to the confusion of his “mediocre” prey. When asked if he’s a serial killer he retorts “A serial killer? Sweet Jesus, no. Serial killers deal in singularities. I’m a numbers guy”. When another victim states how they don’t deserve what is happening, he blithely agrees and commiserates that she is “just unlucky”.
Shot on 16mm film, No One Lives has a grimy aesthetic that suits the subject matter. Cinematographer Daniel Pearl was the DP on Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Next to Luke Evans’ compelling presence, the second standout aspect of this film are the set pieces. Japanese Australian Director Ryuhei Kitamura constructs some singularly unpleasant death scenes and knows exactly how to fish hook horror fans. He also explores some interesting themes, for those who want something a little deeper but they are presented as optional extras. No One Lives will primarily appeal to horror aficionados due to several “squishy” WTF moments. It also works as a thriller but casual viewers may find the excess of unpleasantness a little too gruelling. The film is certainly an interesting addition to Luke Evans’ resume. I hope he does more like this.
Origin Story
Have you noticed how politicians, pundits and media commentators will often throw around phrases and buzzwords when discussing the news and other major political talking points? “Cultural Marxism” and “Metropolitan Elite” are two examples that spring to mind. Often it is clear that the person using these phrases has no idea what they mean or what their provenance is. Perhaps you’ve thought that it would be useful to learn more about these terms or the background behind certain institutions or movements. If this is the case then I wholeheartedly recommend the Origin Story podcast. To quote from their website “What are the real stories behind the most misunderstood and abused ideas in politics? From Conspiracy Theory to Woke to Centrism and beyond, Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey dig into the astonishing secret histories of concepts you thought you knew”.
Have you noticed how politicians, pundits and media commentators will often throw around phrases and buzzwords when discussing the news and other major political talking points? “Cultural Marxism” and “Metropolitan Elite” are two examples that spring to mind. Often it is clear that the person using these phrases has no idea what they mean or what their provenance is. Perhaps you’ve thought that it would be useful to learn more about these terms or the background behind certain institutions or movements. If this is the case then I wholeheartedly recommend the Origin Story podcast. To quote from their website “What are the real stories behind the most misunderstood and abused ideas in politics? From Conspiracy Theory to Woke to Centrism and beyond, Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey dig into the astonishing secret histories of concepts you thought you knew”.
I discovered the Origin Story podcast a few episodes into season one. I was aware of Ian Dunt as a journalist and had read his book How to be a Liberal, which is an extremely interesting history of Liberalism as a movement and how that has changed over time. I was not familiar with the writer Dorian Lynskey but subsequently read his book, 33 Revolutions a Minute, which was an excellent history of protest songs and political songwriting. What quickly caught my attention about the podcast was how both hosts make complex and sometimes rather scholarly subjects fun and engaging, while still retaining appropriate levels of intellectual rigour. All of which helps put the listeners at ease when the show tackles such complexities as The Partition of India or Stalin’s purges.
The standout feature of the Origin Story podcast is that each episode is well-researched and informative. This is because both hosts prepare for each season of the show by reading prodigiously. They also list all their information sources which is very useful. With episodes between anything from an hour to ninety minutes running time, the topic at hand is analysed to a high level and from multiple angles. If the facts run counter to established but incorrect assumptions, then both hosts will happily highlight such points. Both Churchill and Gandhi are shown to have been flawed human beings in reality, despite their saintly contemporary reputations. The show also places a great deal of significance upon historical context while not using it as an excuse. Overall Origin Story handles the issue of balance and bias well, with both hosts acknowledging their own worldviews and politics but endeavouring to keep them separate from the discussion.
Considering how potentially dry some of the subject matters can be, both Dorian and Ian are engaging and humorous hosts. They clearly get on and have the measure of each other, frequently riffing off each other’s comments and asides. Sometimes the language can be a little ripe but this fits well within the informal style of the podcast. Both have analytical minds and have clearly thought a great deal about the subjects that they explore. The tone of the show is just right, making the discussion accessible to a wide audience. However, thinking is required. The production values are professional. Like all podcasts, over time some injokes have emerged such as Dorian’s dualistic relationship with definitions found in the Oxford English dictionary. There’s also a potential drinking game stemming from how often George Orwell is referenced and maniacal figures from modern history whose nickname was “Bunny”.
Origin Story began in May 2022 and is currently in its eighth season. During this time it has covered a broad range of subjects. This includes McCarthyism, Conspiracy Theory, Centreism, Neoliberalism, Climate Denial and Eugenics. The latest season is dedicated to a History of Socialism which has episodes about Karl Marx, The UK Labour Party and the Sixties Movements and the New Left. The show has also looked at individuals of note such as Elon Musk, Ayn Rand, Benjamin Netanyahu and Martin Luther King Jnr. There have also been some interesting pop culture analyses of Superheroes, Doctor Who and the history of the British Board of Film Censors/Classification. One of the most notable and in some ways significant episodes is a dissection of Russell Brand. It’s a far from pleasant listen but incredibly informative.
Origin Story is available free of charge with adverts from all major podcast outlets. There is also a Patreon edition which features longer episodes which are released earlier. They are also sans adverts. At present the podcast market is awash with shows about politics and social issues. Many of which are extremely partisan with a clear agenda. If you want something more factual, that explains and provides relevant background information, rather than hectoring you with alarmist propaganda, then Origin Story is the podcast for you. It offers a great way to find out about the major social and political talking points of the moment and the ideas that drive them. It does so in a fun and laid back fashion. A bit like going down the pub and being schooled by your smart friends, rather than the lounge bar bore.
LOTRO: The State of the Game in Late 2025
Kingdoms of Harad, the 13th expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, was released today. Highlighting developer’s Standing Stone Games continuing commitment to this eighteen year old game. As 2025 draws to a close, I thought it would be prudent to reflect upon the current state of LOTRO and to consider what may come next year. Two words that I associated with this MMO are stable and consistent. The playerbase is loyal and dependable. Player numbers never greatly decline nor do they notably expand. LOTRO fills a very specific gaming niche and one of the reasons it retains its players is that there is no suitable alternative game. Although there is not a great deal of data in the public domain, it is generally accepted that LOTRO has an older player demographic and that many are consummate Tolkien fans.
Kingdoms of Harad, the 13th expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, was released today. Highlighting developer’s Standing Stone Games continuing commitment to this eighteen year old game. As 2025 draws to a close, I thought it would be prudent to reflect upon the current state of LOTRO and to consider what may come next year. Two words that I associated with this MMO are stable and consistent. The playerbase is loyal and dependable. Player numbers never greatly decline nor do they notably expand. LOTRO fills a very specific gaming niche and one of the reasons it retains its players is that there is no suitable alternative game. Although there is not a great deal of data in the public domain, it is generally accepted that LOTRO has an older player demographic and that many are consummate Tolkien fans.
This is the third expansion for the game that is set in the South of Middle-earth. Although many aspects of the MMO remain consistently good, such as the story telling and character development, I personally haven’t warmed to this area. Umbar, Harad and Khand are not especially detailed regions within Tolkien’s writing. I feel that the game developers have drawn too much from a stereotypical depiction of Middle-eastern culture. The sort you see in Western pop culture depictions of Sinbad and Ali Baba. For me it is an incongruous contrast to the established regions of Middle-earth. I’d rather these areas had just remained alluded to within the game, the same way they are in the Legendarium. However, what I am describing is a matter of taste. I’m sure there are LOTRO players who feel the opposite.
The latest expansion sees an increase in the level cap from 150 to 160. Thus there will be a need to replace all your existing jewellery, weapons and armour equipped on your alts. It may feel somewhat arbitrary but levelling remains an important element to many players, as does the gear treadmill. No doubt there will be an increase in the virtue traits level cap, so there is plenty to work towards over the month ahead. The expansion will at some point include new raids and instances but these really are a niche requirement and only a nominal amount of players playthrough such content. There are no new classes or races and Kingdoms of Harad does not include any new systems or mechanics. However, this should come as no surprise as SSG tends to work within established confines.
The most significant event for LOTRO this year was the migration to 64-bit servers and the regional consolidation. The lag issue that has plagued this MMO for years has definitely improved but has not been totally eliminated. The main issue that SSG faces is a knowledge gap, as the majority of staff that built the game have gone. It’s not a case of SSG not wanting to fix issues but the fact that they can’t. Hence the game still cannot adequately support 2K and 4K gaming. It is the main reason why LOTRO always gets “more of the same”. Quests, instances and missions are known quantities. More ambitious projects such as overhauling the deed log have proven far harder. There is also a long list of issues that SSG have said that they will “look into” that remain outstanding. Standardising event or faction based barter currency is one example. Removing outdated systems from the HUD being another.
If you pay attention to the press releases from the business side of the Daybreak Game Company, it is clear that LOTRO is financially sustainable within its existing parameters. It has a stable playerbase and yields a sufficient ROI to keep moving forward. However, it was made clear by CEO Ji Ham that the much touted graphics upgrade and console version of the game would not go ahead because of the cost. He stated that they could get a new game for the price. LOTRO players have conjectured whether the cancellation of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings based MMO, will have an impact upon LOTRO. Could it mean further investment? I think not. The video game industry is contracting at present and is extremely risk averse. LOTRO continues because it generates sufficient revenue within its operational parameters. It is not seen, in business terms, as anything more than the sum of its parts.
LOTRO players have a strong emotional attachment to the game. I also believe that the developers SSG do the best with the budgets and resources they have to work with. However, I think that it is unrealistic to expect anything more from this vintage MMO other than what it currently offers. I believe I said exactly the same thing 3 or 4 years ago in a similar post. Hence, for me the most sensible thing to do going into 2026 is be content that LOTRO still endures. At some point in the New Year a roadmap for the next twelve months will be published, although I don’t expect any surprises. A year-long content schedule will be sufficient to keep me happy. Anything else is a bonus. Due to the tumultuous nature of the video game industry at present, perhaps it isn’t wise to look any further ahead. The road may not go “ever on and on” forever.
Still Wakes The Deep
In the wake of Disco Elysium, I’ve been playing through several other games that have a focus on narrative and plot. I began with Call of Cthulhu which I shall write about in a separate post. Let it suffice to say that although I enjoyed the game, I wasn’t quite satisfied. This is not necessarily the game’s fault, as it makes a good attempt at depicting Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror. It’s just that any game following hard on the heels of one of the best RPG’s I’ve ever played, is likely to come up short in comparison. So I looked through my game library and found that I had Still Wakes The Deep, which enjoys a good reputation for having a strong story. I subsequently played through the game over two late night sessions and was left suitably impressed. So much so that I’ve bought the additional DLC, Siren’s Rest, in the hope that it maintains the quality of its predecessor.
In the wake of Disco Elysium, I’ve been playing through several other games that have a focus on narrative and plot. I began with Call of Cthulhu which I shall write about in a separate post. Let it suffice to say that although I enjoyed the game, I wasn’t quite satisfied. This is not necessarily the game’s fault, as it makes a good attempt at depicting Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror. It’s just that any game following hard on the heels of one of the best RPG’s I’ve ever played, is likely to come up short in comparison. So I looked through my game library and found that I had Still Wakes The Deep, which enjoys a good reputation for having a strong story. I subsequently played through the game over two late night sessions and was left suitably impressed. So much so that I’ve bought the additional DLC, Siren’s Rest, in the hope that it maintains the quality of its predecessor.
Still Wakes The Deep is a 2024 psychological horror video game developed by The Chinese Room and published by Secret Mode. Set in 1975, the story centres around an electrician named Cameron “Caz” McLeary (voiced by Alec Newman), who finds himself trapped on a damaged oil drilling platform in the North Sea after a mysterious drilling incident. Caz has to rescue and aid work colleagues while being hunted by various arcane monsters. He is further hampered by severe weather conditions. Played in first-person, Still Wakes The Deep has no combat as such; instead, players must use stealth and solve straightforward puzzles to ensure their survival. As you progress through the storyline, the oil rig physically changes, although the overall gameplay remains predominantly linear.
Right from the start Still Wakes The Deep reeks of authenticity. The game environment, the oil rig BeiraD, is incredibly well realised to the extent it becomes a character itself. Not only is it technically accurate but it is embellished with authentic period details. Transistor radios, CRT televisions, even the empty beer cans are of the time. The game uses authentic Scottish regional accents making the dialogue very credible. The game subtitles are not actually verbatim, effectively providing a translation for those unfamiliar with the slang and dialect. The writing is strong, tapping into themes from the time such as trade union unrest and a cavalier attitude towards health and safety. The horror elements of the plot are not explained beyond the crew observations and there is no heavy handed expository conclusion at the game denouement.
The gameplay is mainly navigating a hazardous environment to find other crew members. This often requires solving puzzles to fix devices, open doors or otherwise access a safe route. There is a stealth mechanic and running at key moments in the game. The monsters are made up of the crew members that you met at the beginning of the game. This adds a layer of poignancy as they often retain facets of their personalities. Within the story, close proximity to the monsters causes hallucinations. In gameplay, if a monster is nearby there is a visual cue, whereby “floaters” appear in the corner of your first person perspective, which subsequently grow. This and the lack of any HUD adds greatly to the ambience. It should be noted that when being pursued there is an option to look back. This may afford you a better view of the monster pursuing but you may also run into an obstacle. Use accordingly.
I completed Still Wakes The Deep in six hours. I frequently bungled quick time events triggered by the structural integrity of the oil rig failing. I also took my time exploring. Although there is a superb atmosphere, the gameplay is mainly functional. If the game was any longer, it could potentially outstay its welcome without a wider variety of things to do. Yet despite the somewhat A to B approach and a story that uses familiar tropes, Still Wakes The Deep punches above its weight due to the tremendous visuals, sound design, outstanding writing and authentic voice acting. It has a strong sense of eldritch, cosmic horror and its grown up tone as well as its attention to period detail aids its credibility. Be warned, the language is justifiably ripe as you’d expect from people in this line of work and from this era. I’m looking forward to the DLC and hope it continues in exactly the same idiom.
Thinking Out Loud
Our household has a newspaper delivered once a week on a Saturday. It is specifically for Mrs P who still likes to sit down at the weekend and catch up with the recent events via print media rather than the 24/7 rolling coverage on TV. There was a time, back in the seventies and eighties, when this delivery service was the province of children trying to earn some money. Nowadays it tends to be adults that undertake this work. Our local newsagents were bought out by a bigger chain a few years back. They in turn were acquired by Morrisons supermarket. A month ago they sacked 1700 “paper boys” nationwide and contracted the newspaper delivery service out to a specialist company, Newsteam. Today at 04:00 a large vehicle pulled up on our drive and noisily rammed a newspaper through the letterbox. This is apparently “progress”.
This post is a collection of random thoughts and eclectic ideas. Hopefully they are succinctly expressed as well as short and to the point. A few words about the various things that have crossed my mind in recent weeks. They may also be ephemeral talking points from the never-ending news cycle, or even those obscure thoughts you experience while laying awake in your bed. Either way, they are not the sort of material that requires a full blog post and in-depth analysis. A paragraph or two is usually sufficient to make a point for your consideration. All of which is collectively gathered under the title “Thinking Out Loud”, which has become a recurring blog post. Feel free to comment and offer your perspective on any point raised that takes your fancy.
Newspaper Delivery
Our household has a newspaper delivered once a week on a Saturday. It is specifically for Mrs P who still likes to sit down at the weekend and catch up with the recent events via print media rather than the 24/7 rolling coverage on TV. There was a time, back in the seventies and eighties, when this delivery service was the province of children trying to earn some money. Nowadays it tends to be adults that undertake this work. Our local newsagents were bought out by a bigger chain a few years back. They in turn were acquired by Morrisons supermarket. A month ago they sacked 1700 “paper boys” nationwide and contracted the newspaper delivery service out to a specialist company, Newsteam. Today at 04:00 a large vehicle pulled up on our drive and noisily rammed a newspaper through the letterbox. This is apparently “progress”.
Christmas Cards
December is fast approaching. Fortunately, our household has bought all the necessary Christmas gifts and cards already. Naturally, this is all Mrs P’s doing. Not mine. Now I am not a mean person, nor do I consider myself cheap. However, good quality Christmas cards, especially personal ones with fancy messages inside, are expensive. As is postage. A 1st class stamp costs £1.70 and a 2nd class is £0.87 at present in the UK. It is likely that we could spend £100 on 50 cards and their associated postage. By my estimation, I’ll send about 10 cards altogether to friends and my immediate family. Which begs the question, who the hell are all these other people that get sent cards? I asked Mrs P and she quoted several names but none of them rang any bells. Mind you exactly the same thing happens when we start receiving cards. I’ll look at a selection and wonder who the hell are you?
Anthropromorphism
Humans have a propensity for anthropomorphism. IE the attribution of human traits, emotions and behaviours to non-human entities. This can be animals, objects, or natural phenomena. It’s a common concept in storytelling, mythology and everyday life. We give human characteristics, such as speech or feelings, to things that are not human. Pets are the most obvious example. Please see “the internet” for further examples. Bearing all this in mind, please see the above picture which I am currently using as desktop wallpaper on one of my monitors. Is it me or does this Cheetah look mournful? Like some terrible injustice has been perpetrated upon them. Perhaps he went to pour himself a bowl of Coco Pops and there was no milk left in the fridge, so he had to have them dry. What do you think? Oh, so it’s not just me then.
Reaching the Limits of Your Understanding
Learning takes longer as you get older. Especially with complex subjects. If I am reading textbooks then I have to do it several times before things stick. Hence I listen to a lot of non-fiction audiobooks because the slower pace of the narration allows me time to absorb information. I can also rewind and listen again to difficult concepts. Philosophical subjects are becoming a struggle to learn as I find some too abstract. Similarly I find a lot of theoretical physics very hard to conceptualise. I find that these subjects often take me to the limits of my understanding. I am aware that Carl Sagan argued that all ideas and concepts should be able to be explained to the wider public. Yet I think that some subjects that exist primarily as abstractions to begin with are hard to convey as a metaphor or any of the other semantic devices we commonly use to convey complex things.
UK Licensing Law
I went to a local restaurant on Friday for breakfast. It was a social gathering from Mrs P’s church. The establishment in question is contemporary and informal and you go to the counter to order your food, which is then brought to the table. It was 10:30 AM and I fancied a pint of cider. However, I was politely told that due to the terms of their license to sell alcohol, I could not be served until 11:00 AM. It wasn’t a big deal so I had my Full English breakfast, sans alcohol but it did get me thinking. So I did some research. The UK Licensing Act of 2003 regulates the sale of alcohol, entertainment and late-night food and drink within England and Wales. Businesses need a premises licence to be able to provide these services. The actual hours during which a licensee can do this are negotiable. However, the standard hours tend to be 11:00 to 23:00 and this remains broadly the norm.
Your Internet Router
Our home has a 1 Gbps “fibre to the premises” internet connection. It has proven reliable since it was installed in June 2022. Our internet service provider EE (part of the BT group) are neither the best of worst suppliers. The monthly cost is not especially competitive and so we may be looking to move providers next Easter. However, that is a matter for the future. For the present there is a more immediate issue. Starting on Friday 21st November, our internet connection has started randomly dropping. Furthermore, both the Wi-Fi extender in the lounge and the wireless printer in my office have become disconnected from the network. It was as if their details had been erased from the router. I suspected that a recent firmware upgrade may be the culprit although EE denies it. However there are posts online from other customers with similar technical issues.
Our home has a 1 Gbps “fibre to the premises” internet connection. It has proven reliable since it was installed in June 2022. Our internet service provider EE (part of the BT group) are neither the best of worst suppliers. The monthly cost is not especially competitive and so we may be looking to move providers next Easter. However, that is a matter for the future. For the present there is a more immediate issue. Starting on Friday 21st November, our internet connection has started randomly dropping. Furthermore, both the Wi-Fi extender in the lounge and the wireless printer in my office have become disconnected from the network. It was as if their details had been erased from the router. I suspected that a recent firmware upgrade may be the culprit although EE denies it. However there are posts online from other customers with similar technical issues.
Like many people, I use the router supplied by my ISP. Such devices can be a lottery and I have had some in the past that have been poor. By which I mean they did not support the latest protocols and features, had limited functionality and unreasonably restricted user access. However, I do not think that is a fair description of my current router supplied by EE. The Smart Hub Plus (Wi-Fi 6) is their standard router for FTTP plans. It offers dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz & 5 GHz) across a reasonable range (up to up to 30 meters or 98 feet). It copes well with our brick built bungalow and I get a speed of 70 Mbps in the lounge where the media player, satellite receiver and TV are based. I can access and manage the router from my phone and it allows for a degree of customisation of DNS, VPN and Wi-Fi services. However, recent problems have mitigated these benefits.
In light of the recent problems, I reported the fault to EE and an engineer came to site and tested the fibre connection. He indicated to me that the fault lay with the router and a replacement was duly ordered. I have learned subsequently that there was also a fault at the junction box on the pole in the street but this was not made known to me at the time. While waiting for the replacement router, I did consider buying a third party router and using that instead of the one supplied by the ISP. There are numerous models that are compatible with UK fibre specifications which offer improved performance, better Wi-Fi coverage, and greater control over your network. A third-party router can provide advanced features, faster Wi-Fi speeds (like Wi-Fi 6 or 7), enhanced security options and far more user customization. It can also help you avoid monthly rental fees if that is part of your contract.
However, pursuing this option would present some additional problems. Although EE does not prohibit the use of third party routers, the moment you install one you will no longer receive technical support within the confines of your premises. They will guarantee the internet connection to the point of entry but no further. The purchase cost, security and ongoing maintenance of a private router all fall to you. Going forward, there may well be compatibility issues if your ISP makes any changes to their network or security protocols. Although there is a lot of information in the public domain regarding setting such a router up, none of it is officially sanctioned. I watched a YouTube video recently in which someone replaced their EE router with one made by TP-Link. It required firmware updates and a great deal of troubleshooting to work and when it did it offered no tangible benefit.
So I have decided to stick with the router supplied by EE. A new unit arrived today and it is a later model. I installed it and then set about reconnecting all devices. This proved problematic as the router crashed twice while I was logged in as administrator. Expecting the worst, I called EE who reset my internet connection, while I rebooted the router and Openreach modem (ONT). This resolved the problem and I was able to connect all remaining devices. The internet connection and router have remained stable since then. This issue has been a timely reminder that internet technology can develop faults like any other household device. Furthermore, although domestic technology designed for customer use is often restricted in functionality, it comes with contractually mandated support. Sometimes it is preferable that someone else does the heavy lifting with regard to trouble shooting.
Udo Kier (1944 - 2025)
German actor Udo Kier died on the 23rd November at the age of 81. Kier was far from a high profile star but his saturnine good looks and piercing eyes meant that he stood out. As an actor he was enigmatic, brooding and at times sinister which brought him to the attention of several notable European and American directors, such as Werner Herzog, Lars von Trier and Gus Van Sant. His early acting roles in the late sixties gained little attention and it was not until 1973 when he starred in Andy Warhol’s Flesh For Frankenstein, directed by Paul Morrissey that the right people started to take note. What followed was a career that spanned over 220 films, initially in arthouse productions but over time in horror and cult movies, until eventually he started to be cast in mainstream productions. Yet whatever role he appeared in he was always notable.
German actor Udo Kier died on the 23rd November at the age of 81. Kier was far from a high profile star but his saturnine good looks and piercing eyes meant that he stood out. As an actor he was enigmatic, brooding and at times sinister which brought him to the attention of several notable European and American directors, such as Werner Herzog, Lars von Trier and Gus Van Sant. His early acting roles in the late sixties gained little attention and it was not until 1973 when he starred in Andy Warhol’s Flesh For Frankenstein, directed by Paul Morrissey that the right people started to take note. What followed was a career that spanned over 220 films, initially in arthouse productions but over time in horror and cult movies, until eventually he started to be cast in mainstream productions. Yet whatever role he appeared in he was always notable.
I became familiar with Udo Kier’s work mainly through horror films. He had a brief role in Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977). He stood out in Blade (1998) playing a pure blood vampire elder who meets a dramatic end. In 2007 Kier worked with Rob Zombie in Grindhouse, appearing in the faux movie trailer “Werewolf Women Of The SS” and later in the remake of Halloween. He could effortlessly move from one genre to the other. Hence he appeared notably in Gus Van Sant in My Own Private Idaho (1991) and multiple productions for Lars von Trier, including Europa (1991), Dogville (2003) and Melancholia (2011). His dramatic range was extensive hence he appeared in comedy, complex social dramas and dark thrillers. His role in S. Craig Zahler’s Brawl In Cell Block 99 (2017) is singularly disturbing and is a standout aspect of an already intense film.
Udo Kier was a prolific actor across multiple mediums. Outside of film, he was a voice actor in the video games industry and also in many animated television productions. He featured in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 as a Transylvanian psychic called Yuri and was working up until his death with Hideo Kojima on the forthcoming game OD. Kier also voiced numerous roles in both Justice League and Batman animated television shows including the Music Master and Herbert Ziegler. Not to be confined to just one artistic medium, Udo Kier appeared in Madonna's controversial book “Sex” in 1992. He subsequently featured in the music videos for Madonna’s songs “Erotica” and “Deeper and Deeper”. Kier also appeared in the music videos for Korn’s “Make Me Bad” as well as Eve and Gwen Stefani’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”.
Kier was an openly gay man yet he would often play characters of all sexuality. In 2021 he appeared in Swan Song and gave what many fans and critics alike consider the best performance of his career. The film tells the tale of a retired celebrity hairdresser, who leaves his nursing home and takes a literal and figurative journey to style a deceased former client's hair for her funeral. It is a story of self reflection and the changes in gay culture. Kier’s performance is compelling, moving and genuine. Fans have cogently argued that he always brought those qualities to all of his performances but Swan Song finally gave him a role that was a lot closer to home and also finally put him on the radar of mainstream critics. At a time when filmmaking is becoming increasingly bland, along with its leading actors, the loss of Udo Kier is keenly felt. Being mercurial and striking are far from common qualities.
Taking Photos
A couple of times a year, Mrs P asks me to copy onto her laptop, all the pictures that I’ve taken over recent months, as well as those that have been shared with us via WhatsApp. She then diligently whittles them down into a manageable amount which we then print off and put in our photo album. Yes we’re of the generation that still likes to print off hard copies of photos and from time to time look at them nostalgically. We have several albums with photographs in chronological order and numerous frames placed around the house, filled with pictures of family. The bulk of the photos are 4x6 inches (10x15 cm). We use an online photo printing service for the majority of our pictures and visit a local store with a self-service photographic department to print off specific pictures for bespoke frames. The original photos, now neatly organised, are backed up and archived.
A couple of times a year, Mrs P asks me to copy onto her laptop, all the pictures that I’ve taken over recent months, as well as those that have been shared with us via WhatsApp. She then diligently whittles them down into a manageable amount which we then print off and put in our photo album. Yes we’re of the generation that still likes to print off hard copies of photos and from time to time look at them nostalgically. We have several albums with photographs in chronological order and numerous frames placed around the house, filled with pictures of family. The bulk of the photos are 4x6 inches (10x15 cm). We use an online photo printing service for the majority of our pictures and visit a local store with a self-service photographic department to print off specific pictures for bespoke frames. The original photos, now neatly organised, are backed up and archived.
I find the entire culture around “taking photos” fascinating. My father was a keen amateur photographer in the fifties, during his bachelor years. As well as recording his social activities, he also took photos for a practical reason. He was a mechanical engineer and would photograph his design plans as well as his finished work as part of his portfolio. Once married, he copiously photographed family life. In later life he diligently scanned all these pictures to preserve them. I similarly took up photography as a child, although due to changes in technology, I didn’t have to learn the technical side of things. Instead I benefitted from the convenience of the Kodak Pocket Instamatic camera and having your photographs developed at the local supermarket or pharmacy.
Over the years I have catalogued family life and our son growing up via photos. Then at some point I just stop taking such photos. I suppose it stems from children becoming teenagers and no longer wanting to be in family pictures. Curiously, the only photos that I take these days are my and Mrs P’s various travels and holidays. We seldom feature in any of these and it has become a standing joke in our family that if Mrs P appears in any photo, she is always walking out of frame, back toward the camera. Furthermore, due to the fact that it is usually me taking all the photos, I am also conspicuously absent from most “holiday snaps”. As for the pictures of the various places that we’ve visited, these mainly end up in the blog posts I write about them or on social media. In fact the more I think of it, that’s where the bulk of them go these days.
Considering that the camera that I take for granted on my phone is a singularly sophisticated piece of technology, its primary purpose on a day-to-day basis is taking pictures that aid me in various tasks. I had some technical issues with my wireless printer the other day, so I quickly took a picture of the default admin password that was on the back, along with the model and serial number. The phone is connected to my PC, so the pictures are accessible immediately on my monitors. I was then able to resolve the issue with the minimum of hassle. I often use the camera on my phone for chores like this. I’ll take a quick photo of train timetables or booking details. When out shopping, if I see a product that interests me, I’ll take a quick picture and research it later. Photographing packaging is also a great way of ensuring that you buy more of the same.
Photography remains a skill that some people still take the time to learn. By mastering the principles that underpin it, a good photographer will be able to create interesting compositions. Modern technology allows the less gifted to stand on the shoulders of such giants and take acceptable photos with the camera doing most of the heavy lifting. The ability to take multiple photographs quickly and easily also helps, due to the law of averages. Hence I have thousands of digital pictures of my life over the years, with me oddly absent from most. They are precious to me but irrelevant to pretty much everyone else. I wonder what will happen to them once I’m gone? Removed from their context they become random and inconsequential. As you can see, photographs still seem to provoke philosophical musing. Perhaps that’s why as a culture we still take pictures and document our lives. It brings a degree of validation and comfort.
Roblox
I frequently see advertising and promotional material for Roblox. For example, they have gift cards for the game at the supermarket checkout, along with similar products for Minecraft and Fortnite. However, I’ve never really paid any attention to it because I’m not the target demographic. This changed recently when I asked my ten year old, twin granddaughters what they were playing on their phones. They, like countless other children their age, play Roblox, so I did a quick search online to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently, Roblox has approximately 111.8 million daily active users and 380 million monthly active users worldwide. In light of such a prodigious playerbase, I thought I should look into this game further. So I installed Roblox on my PC, via the Windows Xbox app and asked the twins to give me a tour, as well as their thoughts on things.
I frequently see advertising and promotional material for Roblox. For example, they have gift cards for the game at the supermarket checkout, along with similar products for Minecraft and Fortnite. However, I’ve never really paid any attention to it because I’m not the target demographic. This changed recently when I asked my ten year old, twin granddaughters what they were playing on their phones. They, like countless other children their age, play Roblox, so I did a quick search online to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently, Roblox has approximately 111.8 million daily active users and 380 million monthly active users worldwide. In light of such a prodigious playerbase, I thought I should look into this game further. So I installed Roblox on my PC, via the Windows Xbox app and asked the twins to give me a tour, as well as their thoughts on things.
It turns out that Roblox is actually an online platform and game creation system, rather than just a game per se. Users can play a vast number of games and activities that have been created by other players. These are known as “experiences”. Players can create and customise an avatar to use across millions of different games, which range from racing and role-playing to simulations and obstacle courses. The platform also includes social hangouts and messaging features. Roblox also accommodates the trading of virtual items. There is a large, self-sustaining virtual economy based primarily on a freemium model, where users purchase and spend the virtual currency called Robux. Creators earn that currency by developing user-generated content. Due to the vast playerbase the monetisation is very high profile. More on this later.
Roblox is available on all major platforms. The graphics are simple and the game doesn’t have demanding specifications. My granddaughters play via their phones, whereas I installed it on the PC, mainly because I cannot cope with playing games on a touch screen device. Creating an account was easy. Because I was using the Xbox app, my age has already been verified. As a result adults are segregated from younger players with regard to voice chat and text chat. Children can add “trusted connections” to their friends list which then enables both voice and chat services. However, players under 13 cannot use voice chat and those of 13 years or older have to verify their age and phone number. A lot of “experiences” do not support voice chat. However, players can use third party apps to bypass these restrictions. Text chat is heavily filtered with infractions being swiftly sanctioned.
What of the actual “experiences” themselves in Roblox. Well there’s a wide variety, covering multiple different genres. Stylistically, many are a curious fusion of mobile games and old school console classics. Some have the hallmarks of being “home brewed” whereas others are very slick and professional. “Obbys” or obstacle courses to you and me, are very popular and are surprisingly satisfying. Simple, uncomplicated activities are often very therapeutic and “obbys” certainly scratches that particular itch. I played a FPS called Gunfight Arena and it contained a surprisingly large amount of features, such as weapon customisation, ammunition upgrades etc. Survive 99 Nights With Deer proved quite a challenging survival game, despite its basic functionality. Sometimes less is more and just as satisfying. Pet collection games are also popular and there seem to be a lot of fishing games.
“Experiences” are ranked by player voting and there is a chart facility in Roblox to find what is new, trending or a community favourite. Again all games have user statistics, so it is easy to discern how well a title is doing. At the time of writing Survive 99 Nights With Deer has 9.1 million visits. Which leads me onto a couple of negative aspects of Roblox. For every good “experience”, there are several asset flip games of no real value. Content does get deleted but I suspect that it’s a question of constantly trying to keep up with it. Sadly some “experiences” are egregiously monetised. Pop-up messages constantly remind you of paid upgrades and game enhancement. Cash shop buttons are placed deliberately next to touchscreen controls and in-game advertising is invasive. Due to the large playerbase Roblox attracts marketing from major brands such as Nike and Gucci.
I like the concept behind Roblox. A safe space for kids to hangout with friends, where they can play, create and express themselves. But it becomes very clear that the captive audience is a massive cash cow for content creators and companies that want to market a product or raise brand awareness among the young. My granddaughters don’t seem to notice or care about this aspect but it is jarring to me, hailing from an older era of gaming. However, there are many diverting “experiences” that are rewarding for casual gamers. Then there is the social aspects of the platform which is very important to the young. Hence I cannot be dismissive of Roblox in all honesty. And I did find the “Obbys” to be somewhat addictive. It just shows that video games continuously evolve to meet market needs and this is what is currently appealing among younger players.
Screen Capture Software and HDR
I take a lot of screen captures of video games and Windows apps, usually for blog posts. I use both Bandicam and Windows Snipping Tool to do this and have set up various hotkeys to make the process easy. Of late, the screen captures that I’ve taken have all suffered from washed out colours, regardless what tool I used to take them. I checked to see if both these apps needed to be updated but they are running the latest versions. Hence I was initially stumped as to why this problem had started happening. After some thought, I deduced that the only new elements in my PC hardware were my two new monitors. Both of which support HDR. Google Gemini quickly informed me that this was a known issue and taking screen captures from an HDR enabled device resulted in an excessively bright image that looked over exposed.
I take a lot of screen captures of video games and Windows apps, usually for blog posts. I use both Bandicam and Windows Snipping Tool to do this and have set up various hotkeys to make the process easy. Of late, the screen captures that I’ve taken have all suffered from washed out colours, regardless what tool I used to take them. I checked to see if both these apps needed to be updated but they are running the latest versions. Hence I was initially stumped as to why this problem had started happening. After some thought, I deduced that the only new elements in my PC hardware were my two new monitors. Both of which support HDR. Google Gemini quickly informed me that this was a known issue and taking screen captures from an HDR enabled device resulted in an excessively bright image that looked over exposed.
HDR, or High Dynamic Range, is a technology that improves image and video quality by creating a greater contrast between the brightest and darkest parts of an image. This allows for more realistic pictures with a wider range of colours, deeper blacks and brighter whites, while also preserving detail in both highlights and shadows. It is commonly used in 4K televisions and is supported by streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. 4K UHD Blu-ray supports HDR but regular Blu-ray does not, instead using the older Standard Dynamic Range. HDR is also a feature on the latest Smartphones. Furthermore, HDR is common in many contemporary video game titles and as such gaming monitors now support the process. Hence capturing an image from any of these sources is potentially going to run into these issues with regard to colour balance and contrast.
Bandicam screen capture without HDR support
Why does this happen? Mainly because most screen capture software has been designed to capture content in the older Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) format and has been incrementally updated over the years. The fundamental mismatch between the wide brightness and colour range of HDR displays and the technical limitations of traditional capture methods leads to screenshots and recordings that appear dim, washed out, or overexposed. Fortunately, there are specific screen capture apps that have subsequently been designed to support HDR. Bandisoft, the software developer that makes Bandicam, has another product called BandiCamera which is HDR compliant and works in an identical fashion to Bandicam. However, it is purely a screen capture tool producing still images. At present it does not support video capture.
BandiCamera screen capture with HDR support
So far BandiCamera, which is free to download, has proven a good solution to the problem. Screen captures of both video games and websites no longer suffer from the overexposed and washed out look that previously blighted them. Screen captures can be saved in .PNG, .JPG and .AVIF formats. However, BandiCamera lacks some of the features found in Bandicam, which can be configured to take pictures of a specific monitor or any active game executable file. BandiCamera has various hotkeys that can be assigned to specific tasks, one of which allows you to “find capture target”. This works fine when you’re taking a screen capture from a website or YouTube video. However, it is not so good for grabbing a screenshot on the fly while playing a video game. Hopefully future releases will address this and add further functionality.
Update: During the course of researching this issue, I discovered after I had downloaded and installed BandiCamera, that Windows Snipping Tool already has a setting called “HDR screenshot colour corrector”. This can be toggled on or off accordingly. It does a similar job of compensating for HDR’s vivid colour palette, although the results are not quite as comprehensive as BandiCamera. The obvious benefit is that this is a tool that comes with Windows 11.
Thoughts on Blogging Part 23
It’s nearly two and half months since the Blaugust: Festival of Blogging event ended. During that time I’ve maintained a fairly regular writing schedule and I post every two days or so. Furthermore, I finally dragged my blog template, kicking and screaming, into the modern era. I tweaked a few pages and updated the content of the “about” page. The next task is to start going through all previous posts and replacing older, low resolution images with larger, more appropriate ones. This process also presents an opportunity to ensure that all posts follow a uniform style. IE Are appropriately categorised, have links to related posts at the bottom and are SEO optimised. This will be a lengthy task so I think the best approach will be to tackle two or three posts a day. Hopefully this will raise the profile of older content, which generates the lion’s hare of traffic to this site.
It’s nearly two and half months since the Blaugust: Festival of Blogging event ended. During that time I’ve maintained a fairly regular writing schedule and I post every two days or so. Furthermore, I finally dragged my blog template, kicking and screaming, into the modern era. I tweaked a few pages and updated the content of the “about” page. The next task is to start going through all previous posts and replacing older, low resolution images with larger, more appropriate ones. This process also presents an opportunity to ensure that all posts follow a uniform style. IE Are appropriately categorised, have links to related posts at the bottom and are SEO optimised. This will be a lengthy task so I think the best approach will be to tackle two or three posts a day. Hopefully this will raise the profile of older content, which generates the lion’s hare of traffic to this site.
Spikes in Traffic
Over the last two months I have noticed several spikes in my website statistics. Initially I was quite excited, hoping that my writing was gaining more traction and finding a wider audience. Sadly this wasn’t the case. Upon further inspection, the traffic all originated from China and was focused on the homepage (IE the domain name), rather than specific blog posts. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t people reading a post and sharing it online. Due to the point or origin and the nature of the traffic, I am very suspicious of this activity. I’ve checked with a few other bloggers that I know and it would appear that I am not the only one to have experienced this anomaly. There is no evidence of any untowards or malicious activity, so beyond monitoring the situation there’s not a lot that I can do. It is still my long term goal to increase the readership of this blog but it is proving an uphill struggle.
Is AI Killing Blogging?
Although no one in my immediate blogging circle has quit blogging per se, I have noticed a decline in output among the 200 plus blogs I subscribe to via Feedly. Several subreddits about blogging that I visit have referenced people leaving the blogging scene due to being unable to compete with AI generated content. However, I think this is more to do with commercial blogs and sites specifically designed to try and generate revenue. Fan created sites are potentially a different matter. One of the reasons fan blogs become popular is because the author’s personality permeates their writing. That is something that AI struggles to replicate and why it is for the present, quite easy to spot AI generated content. However, this may change over time. Although AI is not killing my interest in writing, it does chip away at my motivation. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
Big Versus Small
Larger monitors with QHD and UHD resolutions are slowly but surely becoming more popular. The latest version of Squarespace and indeed many contemporary blogging templates seem to favour filling that expanded screen real estate. I certainly prefer reading websites with large text and images. However, half of my website traffic is via phones and tablets. Although I use an adaptive template and my writing scales accordingly for each medium, my tendency to write substantive paragraphs can look like a wall of text on handheld devices. This raises the question as to whether to alter the style of my writing to try and accommodate the needs of both large screen users and those that peruse the net via phones and tablets. I’m not sure exactly how you’d do that but there must be a way? Or is the best approach not to worry at all and just focus on the writing?
