The “should we go back to X/Twitter” conversation springing up in the tech social media sphere is interesting – but I have a pragmatic reason for not doing so. I’m time poor, and time spent there does not replay itself. The fact that staying away also aligns with my moral thoughts about the platform sure helps, too. I maintain an account there, and occasionally browse for an awareness of discussions. But it would take a major change of ownership, or change of approach, for me to really move back.

The new edition of the Forgotten Realms novel Azure Bonds has one major difference on its cover.

My first child is here.

Posted on Friday 4 Sep 2026. 554 words, 5 links. By Matt Webb.

Over 1000 pieces appear to be gone from the internet. Our work can be more fragile than we are.

Dear Morons, Have you noticed the total lack of rain and the weeks and weeks of severe heat? Have you read about the wildfires? Or even seen a TikTok about them? Some were started by morons like you with your disposable BBQ. Yes, like you, Tony, put it down and don’t light it. Yes, you. And please put a shirt on while you do it. Nobody needs to see that, mate. The rest of you, just stop burning down our country because you think the rules of physics don’t apply to you as you’ve “done your own research”. The way combustion happens is not determined by loud but ignorant people on Facebook. Thanks. Yours sincerely, The people who have to clean up after you.

Swallows drinking (or bathing on the wing) using the pool.

While moving into my new home office (formerly the back of the garage), I realised just how many unread books I actually had. So, I grabbed this one off the stack at random, and started reading. I bought it some years ago, having enjoyed one of the author’s other books. He seems to have a brief spell as a published author, doing adventure travel books, before ended up self-publishing. This is a short tale of the short trip he and three of his retiree friends took around the Dingle peninsula in Ireland. It’s entertaining and diverting, and does raise some smiles, but it’s certainly not “laugh-out-loud”, as the back of the book claims. It’s mostly a wry look at the foibles of the travellers and the people they interact with, with very little sense of the landscape they’re moving through. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Will I be keeping it on my (new) bookshelves? No. In the same way that some meetings should be an email, this book should have been a series of blog posts. It’s much like spending a couple of hours down the pub with some old chaps telling slightly unlikely stories of their adventures. And that’s no bad thing. * * * Finished reading: Life in the Old Dogs Yet: a short amble in Ireland by Richard Guise 📚