Should Have Seen That Coming. I Didn't. But I Should Have.

Our microwave died on us last night - at first glance it seems to work, but it doesn't actually heat anything. And given that that is the main, nay the only, purpose of a microwave, it's somewhat less than ideal.

I think this is my fourth microwave - there was the initial one bought when I first moved out, a replacement purchased some time in 2011, a replacement product for when that one failed almost immediately, and now the current machine. I don't have a specific record of buying this one (because I don't track everything), but I'm reasonably sure we must have had a new one some time since 2011, and I'm equally sure that this is the one we brought with us from the old flat. So it was at least eight years old, which is decent service.

The upshot is that I should probably have expected it to be on its way out, but alas I did not - I was blissfully unaware that my trusty appliance was just about done for.

I'm now in the process of trying to find a new microwave, and am finding myself somewhat stymied. My assertion last night was that "microwaves are all pretty much of a muchness", which is pretty much accurate. The problem with that is that when you ask Google to recommend the best microwave, every site therefore gives a completely different set of results. Similarly, the reviews of every microwave seem to be the same - loads of people saying it's great, some giving a more nuanced view, and then one or two saying it's a load of rubbish.

All of which isn't terribly helpful. I guess the reality is that it doesn't matter much: just pick one and be happy with it.

Celtic's Management Woes 2025

Funnily enough, I almost wrote a post by this name yesterday. It would have been a very different post!

Had I posted yesterday, I would have noted that Hearts are in a really strong position, and Celtic a surprisingly poor one, but that Celtic still had the best squad in the league, the best manager in the league, and sufficient money that, if they had to, they could go buy a whole new squad in January. I therefore expected (and expect) them to go on a very long unbeaten run in the latter parts of the season. The destination of the league will therefore, I think, be determined by just how much of a lead Hearts can build before Celtic get their act together.

(I would also have noted that it's a really good thing to have a serious challenge in place again, and also that it would be really good if Hearts did manage it - it's really not healthy to have one, or at most two, clubs winning everything all the time.)

Of course, Brendan Rodgers then resigned last night, which was followed by two rather acrimonious statements being issued by Celtic.

So, what now?

Well, the first thing that strikes me as really interesting is the contrast between how Celtic are doing and the way Rangers did - Rangers were the ones who removed their manager, and they did so right before an international break. They thus had control over the timing, and gave themselves the best possible opportunity to find a new manager. They then engaged in farce for several weeks, left poor Steven Smith to manage the club in a game in between, before finally settling on what seems to be a decent appointment (although with rather too many near-misses).

By contrast, when Brendan Rodgers walked away, Celtic immediately put in place a temporary team of impeccable credentials - Martin O'Neill probably wouldn't be in the frame even if he were interested, but as a safe pair of hands he is second to none. This gives them as much time as they need to take to get exactly the right person in position - as long as it's done reasonably quickly, and certainly before the transfer window opens, they'll be just fine.

As for who "the right person" is, I wouldn't care to speculate. I suspect they may well go for the obvious option, and bring back Ange, but my gut feeling is that that would be a mistake. But we'll see. In the meantime, my biggest question is whether Hearts can take advantage of this to widen the lead further - will someone do them a favour or two?

Day 300: Update on Goals

The penultimate update on goals for the year:

• Books: By day 300 I should have completed 24.66 books. I'm now far enough ahead of target that I'm reasonable confident that this goal will complete successfully - indeed, I've started giving some thought to which books I would want as any "extras" for the year.
• Weight: There has been a very small loss since the previous update, but not enough - this goal will show some progress but will not be successful.
• Church Website: There has still been no update made.
• Career: Done!
• Redecoration: Done!
• Blogging:  If I had set my usual goal for this year, I would expect to have posted 98 times by now.  As with the "books" goal, I'm now reasonably confident that this will be successful over the course of the year.
• Home Automation: The item I had been waiting to purchase was reduced very significantly for Amazon's "Big Deal Days". However, about a day before those started we saw an Amazon advert that prompted LC to declare that I should not buy said item. I therefore respected that, and as a consequence this goal has been abandoned On the one hand, that was somewhat unfortunate, not least since I had basically waited the whole year for that very moment, but on the other I can readily see where LC was coming from.

So that's two goals completed, two that are sufficiently advanced that I'm confident of completion, and one that has now been abandoned. Of the two that remain, one is something that I might be get to something approximating "done", while the other won't succeed (but where any progress is better than none).

I've also started giving some thought to goals for next year - two of the goals will clearly carry over, as will a third if it doesn't reach "done". I'm inclined not to set a formal "blogging" goal, though will continue to track it in the same way as last year. The others will be dropped for one reason or another. But that then seems a little light.

#25: "Defiant", by Brandon Sanderson

How to Achieve Independence

I said in my previous post that independence really shouldn't be a talking point in the upcoming Scottish elections - regardless of the outcome the UK government won't authorize a second independence referendum, and there's nothing to be done in the absence of that authorization. (Incidentally, Swinney's claim that Cameron somehow set a precedent by authorizing the previous one is nonsense - it's one of the oldest and most absolute principles in what passes for the UK constitution that no parliament can bind its successors.)

But, that being the case, how should those who are in favour of independence proceed?

Fundamentally, ultimately, it's about a whole lot of really hard work: first, build a clear and obvious majority in favour of independence. They demand a second referendum from Westminster. If one is not forthcoming (as is likely), conduct the next Scottish elections as a de facto referendum, win a majority of the votes, and then declare independence.

But the really important point there is that those steps have to be followed in order. Before any of the other steps in the process can be pursued the first step needs to be completed. Right now, the latest polls indicate that there is a wafer-thin majority in favour of independence. But that fluctuates - a few months ago there was a wafer-thin majority against, and in a few months that's likely to be the case again. If push came to shove, and there really was a referendum tomorrow, it would almost certainly be a win for the union, again.

And the fact that that is still the case shows a shocking complacency on the parts of the SNP and the former "Yes" campaign. At the time of the 2014 referendum, there was a clear generational split - young people favoured independence, but over-50s were very strongly pro-union. Move on eleven years, and the demographic shift should mean a permanent pro-independence majority - older voters gradually die off, while more and more younger voters join the electorate. But that shift hasn't happened. Over the course of the last eleven years, people who were pro-independence have shifted their positions, such that the demographic split remains constant - younger voters favour independence while those over fifty are strongly pro-union. Whatever the SNP and the former "Yes" campaign have been doing has been counter-productive - the SNP government, in particular, have managed to turn people against their core aim.

And that's before we talk about the missed opportunities of Brexit, or the disasters that were Boris and Truss, and indeed the now-loathed Labour government. I rather suspect the SNP are now banking on an incoming PM Nigel Farage as a great recruiting sergeant for independence. If so, they're deluding themselves.

Ultimately, there were some key questions that the "Yes" campaign just couldn't answer to the satisfaction of enough people, notably on the economy and currency questions. As FM, Salmond ran a reasonably tight ship, but even so he was never able to convince enough people that that would translate into setting up an independent country. In the eleven years since then, neither the SNP nor the "Yes" campaign have been able to advance the debate at all, and nobody could now accuse the current SNP government of running a reasonably tight ship (nor, indeed, of being able to build one).

Fix That.

The SNP, assuming that they do indeed get to run the next Scottish government, need to get a real handle on all of the basic elements of government, most notably the economy. They need to end the constant shambolic incompetence they've shown of late, they need to get these damn ferries finished, and they need to stop being caught in these awkward expenses stories (justified or not).

Meanwhile, either the SNP or their related think tanks need to start grappling seriously with the topics of establishing a new country - critically, the setting up of a new central bank and a new currency. The answers of 2014 didn't win over enough people, and they definitely don't work now. What made sense when the UK was part of the EU just doesn't make sense post-Brexit.

I just really can't see any of that happening. Indeed, in order even to start, I think the SNP need some time out of office and need a really good clean-out of the too many mediocrities that infest it. And so, I'm afraid, I think independence is essentially a dead subject for the remainder of my lifetime - it's noise for the SNP to try to win votes (and their opponents to try to stop them), but not something that's actually going to happen.

#24: "The Running Grave", by Robert Galbraith

Any Chance?

It would be really good if we could somehow avoid the upcoming Scottish elections being another completely pointless go around of "vote for us for Independence!" on one side and "vote for us to stop Independence!" on the other.

The reality is that the SNP have neither the ability nor the inclination to meaningfully advance the cause of independence. It's a project that is long-since failed and, unless something massively changes, is effectively dead for my lifetime. So, no, the SNP won't be delivering independence, or a second referendum, or any such thing. Even an outright majority of SNP MSPs wouldn't do that, and they won't get that anyway. And, equally, Labour, the Tories, and the Lib Dems won't be preventing independence, for the same reason that they won't be preventing us being invaded by Martians.

But I suppose I get it.

Because if the SNP don't stand on the topic of independence, they need to stand on their domestic record, and on that front they've been hopeless. There isn't a single thing... actually, there literally is a single thing that they've done since Salmond resigned that they can be proud of (the baby box). Everything is very obviously worse than it was then, and not just because the UK government has been useless, obstructive, and short of funds.

But equally, if the other parties don't stand on opposing independence, they need to stand on what they have to offer. And the sad reality there is that, as monumentally awful as the SNP government has been, all the alternatives are very obviously worse.

So I guess the argument will be about independence again.

Well, it's that or "we're the best to stop Reform!"

But the problem with them arguing about that is that a very large part of the reason for the rise of Reform has been the public's utter disgust with all of our mainstream parties. So arguing that "it's us or Reform" has a real danger of backfiring.

World Cup Qualification

It's fair to say that Scotland aren't very good at football. Every so often it looks like this time we might be about to get somewhere, and then there's immediately a wobble - it's as if the players look at the notion of actually being decent and just can't bring themselves to do it.

The most recent international break has been a really weird one. On paper, it's been really good - six points out of six, and a place in the playoffs guaranteed. What could be better?

And yet, look at the actual games and it's another story. Against Greece we were poor for almost all of the match and were hugely flattered by the scoreline. Against Belarus, we were saved by some dodgy refereeing decisions and a good bit of luck. All in all, not the best.

Next up is Greece away, and then a showdown home to Denmark that will decide whether Scotland come top or face the playoffs.

The permutations make the Greece game largely irrelevant. We can assume Denmark will beat Belarus, meaning they will end on between 13 and 16 points, and they have a vastly superior goal difference to Denmark. So if Scotland lose to Denmark, we will end on between 10 and 13 points, with Denmark on 16 - the playoffs. If we draw, we'll end on between 11 and 14 points, with Denmark on 14, with an equal head-to-head, and a worse goal difference - the playoffs. And if we win, we'll end on between 13 and 16 points, with Denmark on 13, but with the superior head-to-head. In which case we'd go through as group winners.

But I find it really hard to believe, on the evidence of this weekend, that Scotland will beat Denmark. And I also find it really hard to believe that Scotland have it in them to get through the playoffs. It's looking very much like another chance for glorious failure.

But maybe this was a blip, and the next two games will see better performances. Here's hoping!

Alien Earth

LC and I have been watching this and finished at the weekend. The premise is fairly straightforward: a Weyland-Yutani ship crashes on Earth while carrying a number of Xenomorph eggs and some other nasties, and we go from there.

It's good stuff, well made, and with some interesting themes to follow on. And yet...

I'm afraid I really didn't care for the ending of the season: there was an ongoing story that seemed to be coming to a conclusion, and then the final episode seemed to suddenly lose all forward momentum so as to set up the next season of the show. Which is unfortunate - there was enough there without that enforced cliffhanger.

Oh well. Despite that one significant negative, we enjoyed it enough that we'll almost certainly watch the second season once it's out (though we'll probably let it come to an end before making our start). And I'd make a qualified recommendation to others: if you enjoyed the "Alien" movies, you'll almost certainly enjoy this.

Microsoft!!!

I very seldom (though not never) make use of cloud-based storage solutions such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. After the Fappening many years ago, I concluded (or was reminded) that you should never put something online, including in the cloud, if you wouldn’t want malicious people viewing it. (I should note that that’s not to victim-blame. Those responsible for the leaks in the Fappening were very definitely the villains in that piece. But I still advocate taking reasonable precautions.)

I should also note that I have a small number of files on my PC that I have made a declaration that they won’t be backed up online (for data protection reasons). So this isn’t just an idiosyncratic quirk or a mild preference.

On a related note, when I first purchased my PC, I spent a fair amount of time getting it set up and making sure the settings were as I prefer. It’s not a wildly bespoke system, but it is my system that I know better than some random developer at Microsoft.

So I rather object to the tendency of Microsoft, after every “major” update, to bring up a number of screens hectoring me to accept Microsoft’s recommended settings. If I wanted to use those, I would be using those. And I really object to their position of “assumed consent” – if you don’t explicitly opt out of their suggestions, they’ll “helpfully” go ahead and do it for you.

And so it was this morning that I discovered that Microsoft had moved (not even merely copied) all of my key files off my PC and into their OneDrive service. Meaning that any security concern, real or imagined, was now in play, meaning that my data protection obligations were compromised, and indeed degrading the experience of using my PC (because some files were no longer in the location the system required – though I should be glad of that, I suppose, or it might have taken much more than two days to discover).

And so it was that I immediately had a task to undo all of this and make sure the files weren’t any longer online and were back in the locations I expected. And reconnected the library files. (It also probably means that my automated backup for this week may well be a monster – it’s all the same files with all the same content, but they’ve all been “touched” since the last backup).

Thanks guys.

How to Lose a Customer

LC was out on Saturday, and so I decided to order Dominos pizza - it has been a pretty long time, but it's always quite enjoyable, and after an afternoon of rushing around it was good not to have to cook. Or so I thought...

The order was placed for 5.30, and the pizza tracker was opened. It promptly "went to sleep" until closer to the time, and then never seemed to wake up. But at exactly 5.30 there was a ring on the doorbell, and Dominos delivered our order. Huzzah!

Or not, as it turned out. Because while the two sides ordered were correct, neither of the pizzas were those we'd ordered.

Now, at this point I must stress that this is a very simple mistake that could easily happen to anyway (especially at it looks like their label machine was probably out of order) - the driver grabbed the wrong two boxes, and so there was a mix-up of orders. It happens; not a problem.

But then it's how you fix the problem that matters. And it really matters.

So, firstly I checked but there wasn't any obvious "we've screwed up your order, let us make it right" button on either the webpage or the email confirmation. That would be extremely useful, though I guess open to abuse.

So, onto Google I went to find the store's phone number. I called, and was answered promptly. I explained the problem, only slightly painfully, at which point she needed to speak to her manager so put me on hold. Which was fine. Moments later, she returned to say her manager was on another call so would be a few minutes... and then hung up.

Sigh.

So I called back, and got the same assistant. She apologised, and correctly put me on hold this time.

Ten minutes later...

After getting no response for ten minutes, I gave up, hung up, and called again. This time the call was answered by a different person (who turned out to be a driver who was helping out due to staff shortages). Unfortunately, he couldn't hear me very well...

I explained the problem again, this time rather more painfully. At which point he went and grabbed the manager, who came to the phone immediately. I then explained the problem for a third time (by now feeling really irate, and dealing with two very hungry and very disappointed children). After a few goes around, he grasped that all I wanted was for them to make the two pizzas that I'd actually ordered and deliver those to us - I wasn't demanding a replacement of the full order, or a refund in whole or in part, or compensation, or anything of the sort. Just give me the thing I wanted, please?

The replacement pizzas finally arrived at almost exactly 6.30, a mere hour after they were due.

(On the plus side, we did then end up with the two incorrect pizzas, which provided lunch for LC and I on Sunday, and then a dinner of sorts for LC on Sunday. So it wasn't all bad, I suppose.)

The upshot is that they made a real mess out of what should have been a fairly simple fix.

The way I think it should have worked:

• Firstly, the means you use to order should also provide the same means for dealing with issues, especially simple issues like this. Things like "why hasn't my order arrived", "I've received the wrong thing", or "it's been damaged" are pretty straightforward, and could easily be resolved by an automated system - and would probably cover 90% of all issues right there.
• Assuming that isn't possible (and given that it could be abused, maybe it really is not possible), then the person who answers the phone really needs to be empowered to solve the problem directly. And if that's not possible, then the second-line staff who can solve the problem need to be available to jump in and help right away.

As it is, this was very much a case where their service very much did not delight me. It will now be a very long time, if indeed ever, that I order from Dominos again. It's one bad experience after almost 20 years of otherwise fine service, but the experience was sufficiently bad as to sour all those others.

Experimental Cookery 2025: Baked Potato with Speedy Chicken Chilli

This one came from last month's Tesco magazine, as part of their "5 for £5" feature. It was, as the name implies, quick and easy to put together - a little chopping, a little frying, then add the sauce and simmer for a while.

The end result was enjoyable enough. It's not going to become one of our favourite meals, but that was never likely to be the case. But I at least enjoyed this meal, then had some of the leftover chilli in wraps for my lunch the next day, and then used the last to top some nachos. So that all counts as a win in my book.

Otherwise, there's not much to say about this one.

Missed It!

For the past several months I've been conscious that we've been coming up to the 20th anniversary of this blog. But every time I thought about writing the "20 years!" post, I've elected not to do so, on the grounds that it wasn't time yet.

We passed that threshold on the 8th of September, meaning it sailed gracefully and unnoticed into the past. Oops!

Screen Time

The issue of screen time is a question I constantly wrestle with. On the one hand, there's a large extent to which Funsize and Surprise! will inevitably have access to screens, and the important thing is for them to learn to be comfortable and safe using them. On the other hand, it's not healthy them watching too much TV/Netflix/Disney... and there are much worse things out there.

And so there have been tweaks, and more tweaks, and yet more tweaks. At the weekend there was an allocation of some additional time, to reflect an unfairness that had crept in. Today that has been adjusted downwards again.

But I think it may need to be something we discuss again. And again...

Another Milestone Passed

Last night Funsize and I finished our read-through of "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince", which marks the completion of the 23rd book of the year. This therefore means that I have now read more books this year than last, which is obviously a really nice place to be (albeit rather too early - and nowhere near the totals of years gone past).

#23: "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince", by J.K. Rowling

Stung!

It has been many years since I was last stung by a wasp. I can't say the experience has improved any over the intervening time.

Perhaps the most galling thing of all, though, is that the awful provocation I made to be stung was to open the window, that the wasp was nowhere near, in order to let the wee beastie escape from our office. Grr!

#22: "Dragons of Eternity", by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Seven Weeks On... the Decision

Seven weeks ago, I posted that we were mulling over what to do about Christmas this year. As it happened, LC and I had a conversation on the topic about six weeks ago and more or less locked it down - we were basically in agreement, and so other than leaving some time to let it settle there wasn't much more to say. Still, I did say I don't start my Christmas countdown until 100 days before, and so it isn't until now that I'm ready to share.

The upshot is that we're more or less going to repeat what we did last year: we'll host people for the big meal at Christmas. I'll head over to see some other family on Christmas Eve, and then we'll meet with everyone for the big gathering on Boxing Day, but Christmas Day itself will be a local walk followed by a large meal, followed by TV. (For the TV, since there's no "Wallace & Gromit" and no "Doctor Who", we've identified a recent film that we'll carefully avoid watching until then, and use that as our centerpiece. Until FS and S! object, that is.)

I think that means we're now getting towards settling our core "Christmas experience". That may be another post for when the season is really underway.

Ironheart

One of the more unfortunate aspects of our current society is that these days reviews are almost entirely useless, especially when the protagonist is anything other than a straight white male - everything else is met with a relentless barrage of review-bombs on one side, and a set of hagiographic "reviews" on the other intent on redressing the balance. Neither of which serves to answer the actual question: it is actually any good?

Which brings me to "Ironheart", a show starring a young woman of colour. So, inevitably, the reviews are mixed, to say the least: some people are slating it on every possible pretext but not stating their real objection; meanwhile, the professional reviews are glowing, ignoring the flaws of the thing.

We finished watching it last night, and actually "mixed" is about as fair a review as you can get.

The positives: the cast are great, the characters are well drawn, the effects are surprisingly excellent, and the story, while basic, is well told.

My first negative is that it could do with some more jokes. I do also find some of it extremely far fetched, even within the context of Marvel - the show rightly made the point that Tony Stark's billions were a massive part of why he was able to do what he did... and then has RiRi do exactly the same without those resources anyway. (And, yes, Stark put together his first suit in a cave with no help. But Stark's first suit was also a comparative piece of junk.)

But those are fairly small beans.

I also felt that the ending was underwhelming - once again, we have a finale where the main plot is suddenly resolved very quickly, and we spend a significant amount of time dealing with other stuff - "Discovery" has just done that, "Doctor Who" has just done that, and now this. (Of course, that's largely coincidence - some of these came out some time ago, and I just happen to be watching them all together.) I almost got the feeling that the first five hours of "Ironheart" were largely an excuse for them being able to introduce Mephisto in the final episode. Which is weird.

Lastly, though, there is something that makes me really uneasy. In the first couple of episodes, RiRi engages in serious criminal activity. It's not 'questionable' or 'borderline', or any other euphemism - she's working with a group of thugs and is party to violence, extortion, and almost certainly murder. Plus, there's one point where she's almost certainly on bodycam footage as a cop is shot and killed.

And the show never addresses this and there are no consequences - we're full-square behind RiRi as she breaks from the group, not out of any moral stance or principled objection, but because they find out she's killed one of their number. There's no question of going to the authorities, or facing due process for the crimes she has actually committed. It's all just handwaved and then ignored.

And that's a real problem.

(And, again, it's true that Marvel has a track record on this, where various Avengers have gone rogue at various times, and even when they haven't they do engage in all sorts of illegality. The key difference, though, is that they don't actively and knowingly go to work for the bad guys. At their very worst, they are duped into their actions, but that's not the case here - RiRi knows that Hood and his team are sketchy as hell, but is motivated by the money.)

The upshot: my feelings about "Ironheart" are deeply mixed. But I'll be more than happy to see RiRi Williams appearing in future Marvel projects, and I'll be happy to watch other things produced and directed by Ryan Coogler (incidentally, "Eyes of Wakanda", by the same producer, is really good). I find this flawed, but not the disaster the review-bombers would have you believe.

Experimental Cookery 2025: Spiced Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Tomato Sauce & Tahini (Yoghurt) Drizzle

This one came from the most recent Tesco magazine.

I have, of course, made meatballs before, though never from chicken, and making a simple sauce is easy, so this one was quick and easy to put together. There are two things I would do differently next time: rather than chopping the onion I'd use the food processor to get a much finer consistency, and I'd actually remember to put the yoghurt in the tahini yoghurt drizzle! (I don't think that actually made much difference - it meant using a lot more water to get the desired consistency, but very little difference to the eventual texture or flavour. Still...) Oh, and I'd make up the meatballs immediately after getting the mince and then freeze - this allows for more flexibility than making them out of already-defrosted mince.

But the meal as a whole was very nice. We'll definitely have this again.

1984: Julia

There’s obviously a spectrum of sequels: most sequels are just more of the same, which makes them inherently a bit less good than the original. Sometimes, of course, you see a sequel that is better than the original, indeed sometimes much better. Then there are sequels that are bad, and indeed some so bad that we collectively agree they never happened. And then, very very occasionally, you get a sequel that perfectly complements and elevates the original, somehow serving to not only be great in their own right but to actually make the original retroactively better. It's even possible, somehow, to have a sequel that perfectly complements the original and diminishes the whole, retroactively making the original worse.

I'm not entirely sure which of those latter two categories "1984: Julia" falls into.

On the surface, this one is pretty straightforward: it's a retelling of "Nineteen Eighty-Four" from the perspective of Julia, Winston's lover from the original. This includes a depiction of her childhood in the early days of the rule of The Party, then we revisit the doomed love affair from the original (um, spoilers, I guess), and then we follow her life after their arrest and time in the Ministry of Love.

And, as I said, it almost perfectly complements the original - Orwell couldn't have written this book, not being a woman, but a "female Orwell" (if such a thing makes sense) absolutely could. Of course, Julia's perspective on the events shared with Winston is at once similar and yet not the same as his.

And yet...

One of the key things that this novel does is it strips away the ambiguity of Julia's character. In a novel like "Nineteen Eighty-Four", where so much of the narrative is driven by uncertainty and untruth, that ambiguity is, arguably, much needed. And removing that, and replacing it with one set of definitive answers, may be to do a disservice to the original.

I'm sorry to say, also, that the ending really doesn't work for me. It's carefully, and deliberately ambiguous, in a way that would be really good... except that however I look at it it just doesn't fit - taken at face value you're left with too much of a coincidence, but if you shift it into another layer of the deception you're left with loose ends that just won't tie up. Which is a shame, because the first third of the novel is outstanding.

The other thing about the ending is that, like Atwood's "The Testaments", it really undercuts the horror that the dystopia is apparently scheduled to pop up, engage in cartoonish levels of villainy for a couple of decades, and then collapse within a single lifetime. So much for a boot stamping on a human face, forever. (Though "The Handmaid's Tale" is, worryingly, looking ever more prescient - the West really is facing a serious decline in fertility, and it's hard to think of a solution that isn't absolutely horrific. But I digress.)

Still... maybe after so many decades it's fair enough to peel away one level of ambiguity, and replace it with another?

The upshot is that I do recommend this one, but with the caveat that you should know what you're signing up for. Once you've read this, you won't be able to unread it, so the original will be changed in your perception. Which, perhaps, is the highest praise I can give it.

(One parting thought: "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is of course one of those classic novels that schools used to teach, though perhaps unfairly given that it may be best appreciated by those with more life experience. Anyway, for those pupils in their upper years who have those big essays to write (we called them the RPR and a Dissertation, though they're surely called different things now), I think it might be interesting to study these two together... but have the pupil write their character study of Julia after reading the original only, and then reflect on how it changes after reading this.)

#21: "1984: Julia", by Sandra Newman

Day 250: Update on Goals

Time for another update on goals for the year:

• Books: By day 250 I should have completed 20.55 books. I fell slightly behind in late July and early August, but had caught up again by the end of August. I'm now very slightly ahead of target, so that's looking good.
• Weight: No comment - it's fair to say this is a disappointment.
• Career: This is now done!
• Church Website: Disappointingly, there is no update on this one. I never did receive the information I was hoping for, so will have to find an alternate way forward.
• Redecoration: Not only have we had the windows replaced, which has made an immediate improvement, we've also repainted the upstairs bathroom (which was needed as a consequence of the window being done).
• Blogging:  If I had set my usual goal for this year, I would expect to have posted 82 times by now.  I'm very slightly ahead of target, with two-thirds of the year done.
• Home Automation: No update since the last time – I missed the Prime Day sales, so am again waiting for the key item to reduce in price.

There's not much movement on the various goals, but they're mostly looking okay: two are done (one more than done), two are nicely on track, and one is waiting for a key event before proceeding. That only leaves two wanting some key attention, so those should be my focus for the next few weeks.

Experimental Cookery 2025: Spicy Beef Burgers with Guacamole

With some regret I have to announce that I have reached the end of BBQ season for the year. We were fortunate indeed that the weather allowed for one more good BBQ, but I'm now calling it - in general, I prefer to end things on my own terms than to be forced to an end, and so it is with this season.

Anyway, we concluded with another burger from "The Handcrafted Burger", and it's another winner - a simple guacamole (not sure if there's really another kind), a minced rump steak with a spice rub, and the application of heat.

The one thing I think I would do different is switching the steak for mince - I'm not sure how much that added step really added, and the burgers were awfully small. I would say "disappointingly so", except that there really wasn't anything disappointing about these. But more would have been nice.

And that's that. We now move into Autumn, and then to Winter, and so a different phase of meals begins - could be fun!