Every time I use motorways I get frustrated. I can understand that traffic jams occur when there's accidents, but what I don't understand is why there's consistently congestion where traffic joins motorways. Surely there should be a way to use motorways so that there's never congestion when joining them. This feels like either an economics or a physics problem.

There must be a way to behave around junctions that ensures traffic can flow freely up to a point. Things like keeping the left lane clear at junctions, merging slowly. I need a YouTuber to figure this out for me. Going to email Tom Scott.


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Mandarin Duck on the Pond

I think this duck came to visit over the summer and has just stayed. I'm glad because I love him. Have been meaning to get down and take some pictures of him for a while but haven't had chance, and the light is pretty nice for taking pictures today.


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It must be that time of year again

As we know, I love big crashy waves. I somehow seem to accidentally suggest we go for a walk when they're particularly splashy quite frequently!


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Stars and Christmas Lights

Went to go and look at some local Christmas lights. Didn't really find any but did have a go at taking some photos of the stars since it was a clear night. Moderately happy with the results I guess?


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I went for a walk

I am currently sick. I had a cold and now I have either a throat or chest infection, and maybe a perforated eardrum/ear infection. Feeling pretty good. Can't cycle, so went for a walk.


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It snowed

It hardly ever snows. It was pathetic when you consider how much other places in England got.


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A photo that everyone took

I was waiting outside Shelter Hall for everyone to arrive at our work Christmas party, and there was a pretty nice sunset. Around 90% of people who walked past took a picture like this.


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Pigs in Blankets Pizza

Last year I said I wanted to try every vegetarian/vegan pigs-in-blankets. This year they're all out of stock. Coincidence?


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Unpredictable Cat is Unpredictable

I love a Christmas tree. It's like my favourite part of Christmas other than Christmas pizza. I would have bet real human currency that this stupid cat would climb the tree immediately but she continues to make a liar of me.


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clipping. at Chalk

I've wanted to see clipping. live for so long. I nearly got to, but then covid happened which I didn't love. This is also the first time I've been to The Haunt since they renamed it Chalk and they did a great job on the refurb.


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Anniversary Burgers!

For our 14 year wedding anniversary (which is traditionally ivory and, therefore, extremely difficult to gift), Charlotte got me ArcTanGent tickets and made me heart-shaped burgers.


I Shazam a lot of songs. In the last two weeks I have Shazam'd about 15, and two of them were from The Weeknd. I've previously never had any interest in The Weeknd. Funny how that plays out sometimes.


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Nashville, November 2022

I've been in Nashville for 10 days launching a site. Launch has gone well but I'm going to need a longer belt for a while.


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Friday

This silly cat is getting quite big. She is very funny and annoying. I like having a kitten but I'm fine with her just being a cat now.


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Conjurer at Green Door Store

I haven't been bothered by taking pictures at shows much since ArcTanGent but this had quite a cool atmosphere and was sold out in a small venue so wanted to try and capture that.


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Fireworks!

Went back up to the Midlands to see family and have a bonfire. It was a very nice time.


You know when you you have an argument with someone, and part-way through that argument you realise that they're right? You have two choices: 1. you're an adult and you go "Oh damn...you're right. Sorry", or 2. you carry on arguing and gradually trying to steer the argument round to make it look like that's what you were saying this whole time and they just didn't get it (yes I'm aware that this is gaslighting's nextdoor neighbour, but I'd be surprised if there was anyone who'd never done it through childish pride rather than abusive psychological manipulation).

Anyway that's what Apple is doing with the iPad right now. They never wanted multitasking on the iPad, and now they're reluctantly admitting that it was needed all along. In a way, they're a victim of their own success. They made a device that got so powerful, and that power revealed so much potential, that they had to walk back a bunch of claims like "this isn't a regular computer; multitasking is irrelevant". They taught two generations of technophobes the value and power of computers, then kept one of the best features of a computer concealed.

The fact is, an iPad occupies a difficult space. For some, it's a full time computer. For some, it's the antidote to a computer. For others, it's a work tool that is so hilariously unusable, it's practically a meme to try and fail to use it to do your full time job.

Apple's unwillingness to adopt a MacOS-style desktop on the iPad, instead favouring split screen, pop-over, and now stage manager, is Apple slowly coming round to the notion that multitasking on an iPad is inevitable and necessary. These tiny concessions to multitasking over generations are a frustratingly protracted deconstruction of the benefits of it, that will eventually lead us to fully-functioning multitasking on the iPad, hopefully just in time for my cremation.

Stage Manager is so close to useful, but how do I open any random app into this UI (I know I can do it but it's a right old faff)? Why can't I swipe down or left in Stage Manager and search for any app to bring it in? Why can't I save that configuration for future recall? Why can't I do anything that's actually useful?

For a computer that is so accessible for so many people, the unintuitive UI on some aspects of the iPad are absolutely baffling. The fact that I now have to put it into multitasking mode to be able to use more than one app at a time is ridiculous. If I need to watch a YouTube tutorial to use a feature like this, it has failed at a fundamental level no matter how good it might be when I finally figure it out. How did this idea even get out of initial concepts before someone went "hey won't that be really annoying to use?"?

I really hope that Apple sorts this out soon. iPad OS 16 is so close to being good that it irritates me to even look at my iPad.


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Trick or Treat!

I've never been trick or treating before. It was quite fun.


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Shoreham-by-Sea House Boat Walk

Last time we came down here, we turned left instead of right and missed this lovely little riverside street with a huge variety of house boats.


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Leaf Peepin' at Sheffield Park

Like every other person in Sussex, we wanted to go and look at the leaves at Sheffield Park. I've never been to Sheffield Park but I am partial to the National Trust.