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Month: January 2026

  • Two Chain Words boards: squares with letters around the sides and a criss-crossing line webbing its way across them to spell a series of word crocodiles. The first reads 'GROOMS SOURS SOBER', scoring 77 for a 'very hard' target of 55. The second reads 'BUT TWATS SEND DAY', scoring 51 for a 'medium' target of 72.

    Chain Words

    I've been enjoying playing Chain Words, from eclectech, intermittently, since it came out in November. If you've not given it a go yet, and you like a word game that's a bit different, you should try it!

    Read more (61 words)

    • Repost
    • posted 13 January, 2026
  • Cover for Imajica by Clive Barker. In a dark cosmos, the planet Earth is encircled by an approaching ribbon of gold, filled with various magical shapes: leaves, stars, spiders, birds, an ouroboros, etc.

    Imajica by Clive Barker

    I recently finished reading Clive Barker's Imajica for what I think is the fourth time. It remains one of my favourite fantasy novels, and I'd love to tell you why.

    Read more - about 3 minutes (591 words)

    • Article
    • 1 comment
    • posted 13 January, 2026
  • Not kink-shaming anyone, but I'm not sure I want to go to the 'toilets viewing area'.

    Full image of Sign above a door saying 'toilets' and 'viewing area' on separate lines, but looking slightly like they might be a single sentence.
    Alt

    Sign above a door saying 'toilets' and 'viewing area' on separate lines, but looking slightly like they might be a single sentence.

    • Note
    • 2 comments
    • posted 11 January, 2026
  • The younger kids' taekwondo school put on a free 'new years workout' class this morning. It was pretty awesome.

    My watch says my heart rate averaged 146bpm, peaking at 169bpm. It's possible I'm not as fit as I used to be. ๐Ÿ˜…

    But at least I don't feel like I might die, like I did during the 'dads go free' promotion last year. Progress?

    Full image of In a gym environment with punchbags visible in the background Dan, a white man wearing a black t-shirt, throws a right jab, alongside others who are doing the same.
    Alt

    In a gym environment with punchbags visible in the background Dan, a white man wearing a black t-shirt, throws a right jab, alongside others who are doing the same.

    • Note
    • posted 10 January, 2026
  • Image representing post: Why I Am So Tired [Video]

    Why I Am So Tired [Video]

    A video version of my recent joke about why I'm so tired, which was also made available in article and podcast formats.

    Read more (61 words)

    • Video
    • posted 9 January, 2026
  • Dan, a white man with a goatee beard and long blue hair, sits at a laptop on a cluttered desk with his fingers to his temple and a pained and exhausted look on his face.

    Why I Am So Tired

    After dusting off and modernising a joke I first read in a chain email from 1996, I can tell you conclusively that the reason that I'm tired is because I'm overworked.

    Read more (431 words)

    • Article
    • with an accompanying podcast
    • 5 comments
    • posted 9 January, 2026
  • As part of my efforts to reclaim the living room from the children, I'm building a new gaming PC for the playroom. She's called Bee, and - thanks to the absolute insanity that is The Tower 300 case from Thermaltake - she's one of the most bonkers PC cases I've ever worked in.

    Full image of On a desk cluttered with computer parts, a partially-built PC stands in an irregular-hexagonal prism shaped case with vented yellow sides and a three-pane angled glass front.
    Alt

    On a desk cluttered with computer parts, a partially-built PC stands in an irregular-hexagonal prism shaped case with vented yellow sides and a three-pane angled glass front.

    • Note
    • 1 comment
    • posted 8 January, 2026
  • Pie charts approximating the probability of rolling 1-3, 4-5, 6, or 'multiple 6s' when rolling 1 through 8 six-sided dice.

    Visualising Forged In The Dark probabilities

    Blades in the Dark (and other Forged In The Dark-based games) use a highest-value-from-D6-dice-pool mechanic to resolve actions. I was looking for a visualisation of the resulting probabilities, but couldn't find one... so I made my own.

    Read more (353 words)

    • Article
    • 3 comments
    • posted 7 January, 2026
  • A small collection of text-only websites

    Terence Eden's maintaining a list of websites that are presented as, or are wholly or partially available via, plain text. Obviously my own text/plain blog is among them, and is as far as I'm aware the only one to be entirely presented as text/plain.

    Read more (297 words)

    • Repost
    • of this original
    • 2 comments
    • posted 6 January, 2026
  • Tintern Abbey's looking especially beautiful in the fresh snow, this morning.

    Full image of A partially-ruined stone monastery juts out of a snowy plain in a wooded valley, under bright blue skies.
    Alt

    A partially-ruined stone monastery juts out of a snowy plain in a wooded valley, under bright blue skies.

    • Note
    • posted 5 January, 2026
  • Our dog has decided that the perfect place to lie down at our holiday accommodation is... on a staircase whose carpet is the same colour as her!

    I'm grateful for her very-visible blep... or I'd have tripped over this camouflaged pupper several times already!

    Full image of A champagne-coloured French Bulldog lies on a step of a staircase carpeted in the same colour as herself, u her tongue in medium-blep.
    Alt

    A champagne-coloured French Bulldog lies on a step of a staircase carpeted in the same colour as herself, u her tongue in medium-blep.

    • Note
    • posted 4 January, 2026
  • Found GC47WME PYVW- Cuckoo Wood

    I was in these woods anyway, seeking GC10N80 and figured I'd come hunt for this cache too. A quick find; my geosense spotted a candidate hiding place right from the main path, and I turned out to be right.

    Read more (89 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC47WME
    • posted 4 January, 2026
  • Sun rising over a hill beyond a broad valley full of frozen fields.

    Found GC10N80 Wye Eye

    This puzzle cache, undiscovered for 20 months, made for one of the most satisfying geocaching expeditions I've ever done.

    Read more (333 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC10N80
    • posted 4 January, 2026
  • Dan, smiling and wearing a thick black hoodie and a furry hat, stands in front of a waterfall that pours into a frozen valley behind him.

    Found GC39NPC Cleddon shoots and falls

    Hiked over from Catbrook on the way to a cache up Pen Y Fan and stopped by these beautiful waterfalls on the way. So glad I did!

    Read more (246 words)

    • Checkin
    • to GC39NPC
    • posted 4 January, 2026
  • D&D 5e is not for everyone

    Kai Koehler reminds us that D&D 5e is far from the only TTRPG, with a tight dissection of its specific characteristics so that they can be compared to other, perhaps more roleplay-heavy, games and systems. They include some suggested ideas for other games, too, a couple of which I'm strongly-inclined to try out!

    Read more - about 3 minutes (576 words)

    • Repost
    • of this original
    • 1 comment
    • posted 3 January, 2026

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