Andy, 2026ing
@andyg64.bsky.social
Ancient. Oligomath. Left-hander. Socialist. Arthur Ransome, Patrick O'Brian, loads of SF. Sails dinghies, loves cooking and gardening and woodwork and diy and numbers and puns and stuff like that. Has a horde of cats.
Rogue One on the TV.
Bandit, previously asleep on the sofa, woke up just as Darth Vader made his appearance, seemed genuinely concerned, while staring at the TV for a minute, and has slunk off into the kitchen. It's clearly too scary for him.
Wuss.
Puss.
...Wusspuss.
Bandit, previously asleep on the sofa, woke up just as Darth Vader made his appearance, seemed genuinely concerned, while staring at the TV for a minute, and has slunk off into the kitchen. It's clearly too scary for him.
Wuss.
Puss.
...Wusspuss.
January 25, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Rogue One on the TV.
Bandit, previously asleep on the sofa, woke up just as Darth Vader made his appearance, seemed genuinely concerned, while staring at the TV for a minute, and has slunk off into the kitchen. It's clearly too scary for him.
Wuss.
Puss.
...Wusspuss.
Bandit, previously asleep on the sofa, woke up just as Darth Vader made his appearance, seemed genuinely concerned, while staring at the TV for a minute, and has slunk off into the kitchen. It's clearly too scary for him.
Wuss.
Puss.
...Wusspuss.
Today?
I couldn't find a book I *know* I have.
In the attic I found myself surrounded by twenty+ years of accumulated junk. I know it must be there. Dear readers, in my upcoming week off, I shall be tidying up the attic-dump.
Last time? It was Covid days, I was on furlough, and I hired a skip.
I couldn't find a book I *know* I have.
In the attic I found myself surrounded by twenty+ years of accumulated junk. I know it must be there. Dear readers, in my upcoming week off, I shall be tidying up the attic-dump.
Last time? It was Covid days, I was on furlough, and I hired a skip.
January 24, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Today?
I couldn't find a book I *know* I have.
In the attic I found myself surrounded by twenty+ years of accumulated junk. I know it must be there. Dear readers, in my upcoming week off, I shall be tidying up the attic-dump.
Last time? It was Covid days, I was on furlough, and I hired a skip.
I couldn't find a book I *know* I have.
In the attic I found myself surrounded by twenty+ years of accumulated junk. I know it must be there. Dear readers, in my upcoming week off, I shall be tidying up the attic-dump.
Last time? It was Covid days, I was on furlough, and I hired a skip.
It's "Tidy The Shed" Saturday...
Me, having speed-dialled Heracles: 'Remember the Augean Stables?'
Heracles: 'NEVER AGAIN. That was a tough one, by Zeus! 3000 magic cattle crapping themselves in a shed for 30 years.'
Me: 'So...you're not up for a re-run?'
Heracles: 'βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας, Andy.'
Me, having speed-dialled Heracles: 'Remember the Augean Stables?'
Heracles: 'NEVER AGAIN. That was a tough one, by Zeus! 3000 magic cattle crapping themselves in a shed for 30 years.'
Me: 'So...you're not up for a re-run?'
Heracles: 'βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας, Andy.'
January 18, 2026 at 12:49 PM
It's "Tidy The Shed" Saturday...
Me, having speed-dialled Heracles: 'Remember the Augean Stables?'
Heracles: 'NEVER AGAIN. That was a tough one, by Zeus! 3000 magic cattle crapping themselves in a shed for 30 years.'
Me: 'So...you're not up for a re-run?'
Heracles: 'βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας, Andy.'
Me, having speed-dialled Heracles: 'Remember the Augean Stables?'
Heracles: 'NEVER AGAIN. That was a tough one, by Zeus! 3000 magic cattle crapping themselves in a shed for 30 years.'
Me: 'So...you're not up for a re-run?'
Heracles: 'βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας, Andy.'
Two days off coming up. And the Shed of Woodwork is calling for a blitzing, with Project X in need of work. Project X, along with Y, will be vastly aided by a week's leave starting on the 24th. Yes!
Need My Shed Time.
Need My Shed Time.
January 17, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Two days off coming up. And the Shed of Woodwork is calling for a blitzing, with Project X in need of work. Project X, along with Y, will be vastly aided by a week's leave starting on the 24th. Yes!
Need My Shed Time.
Need My Shed Time.
Just replied to a poster on a forum who was aghast at the 60% mortality rate for the Black Death.
Edward 1st* lost 50% of his 17+ children /without/ the Black Death.
*That's Edward "Rich, warm, well-fed, best of 13th century medicine available" the 1st.
#timeswerehard
Edward 1st* lost 50% of his 17+ children /without/ the Black Death.
*That's Edward "Rich, warm, well-fed, best of 13th century medicine available" the 1st.
#timeswerehard
January 9, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Just replied to a poster on a forum who was aghast at the 60% mortality rate for the Black Death.
Edward 1st* lost 50% of his 17+ children /without/ the Black Death.
*That's Edward "Rich, warm, well-fed, best of 13th century medicine available" the 1st.
#timeswerehard
Edward 1st* lost 50% of his 17+ children /without/ the Black Death.
*That's Edward "Rich, warm, well-fed, best of 13th century medicine available" the 1st.
#timeswerehard
It is five months since I sailed a boat. It is at least three months until I can sail again. The dark is interminable. The ice is thick. The ennui is palpable.
#sickofwinter
#sickofwinter
January 9, 2026 at 9:24 PM
It is five months since I sailed a boat. It is at least three months until I can sail again. The dark is interminable. The ice is thick. The ennui is palpable.
#sickofwinter
#sickofwinter
Back from The Thursday Late Shift. Got two hours to eat and turn in before sleep and tomorrow's shift.
Checking the fridge for edible stuff:
Twenty veggie no-pig in blankets!
...I shall attempt to scoff the lot!
Checking the fridge for edible stuff:
Twenty veggie no-pig in blankets!
...I shall attempt to scoff the lot!
January 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Back from The Thursday Late Shift. Got two hours to eat and turn in before sleep and tomorrow's shift.
Checking the fridge for edible stuff:
Twenty veggie no-pig in blankets!
...I shall attempt to scoff the lot!
Checking the fridge for edible stuff:
Twenty veggie no-pig in blankets!
...I shall attempt to scoff the lot!
Third 8-5 in a row, and it's becoming a bit tedious: "7.15 - scrape the car windows for ten minutes". Only -1°C, today though. Virtually tropical!
January 7, 2026 at 7:45 AM
Third 8-5 in a row, and it's becoming a bit tedious: "7.15 - scrape the car windows for ten minutes". Only -1°C, today though. Virtually tropical!
Day, uh, 22 with but two days off. Another 5 working days before my next scheduled day off.
I'm at work; cold, knackered, surrounded by some twattish customers, and vaguely aware that this is really rather unsustainable.
Bleugh.
I'm at work; cold, knackered, surrounded by some twattish customers, and vaguely aware that this is really rather unsustainable.
Bleugh.
January 6, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Day, uh, 22 with but two days off. Another 5 working days before my next scheduled day off.
I'm at work; cold, knackered, surrounded by some twattish customers, and vaguely aware that this is really rather unsustainable.
Bleugh.
I'm at work; cold, knackered, surrounded by some twattish customers, and vaguely aware that this is really rather unsustainable.
Bleugh.
Mark Jenkins's "Enys Men", a retro-Cornish-folk-horror was the TV choice last night: and I enjoyed it. Slow, repetitive (except when it isn't) and multi-layered. A slow, creepy, burn.
...More like this, please.
...More like this, please.
January 3, 2026 at 7:39 AM
Mark Jenkins's "Enys Men", a retro-Cornish-folk-horror was the TV choice last night: and I enjoyed it. Slow, repetitive (except when it isn't) and multi-layered. A slow, creepy, burn.
...More like this, please.
...More like this, please.
Nobody #2.
"Never bring a machete to a katana fight" was moderately funny.
The rest? Not really so.
Is this cinema for the current generation? ...if so, please count me out.
"Never bring a machete to a katana fight" was moderately funny.
The rest? Not really so.
Is this cinema for the current generation? ...if so, please count me out.
December 30, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Nobody #2.
"Never bring a machete to a katana fight" was moderately funny.
The rest? Not really so.
Is this cinema for the current generation? ...if so, please count me out.
"Never bring a machete to a katana fight" was moderately funny.
The rest? Not really so.
Is this cinema for the current generation? ...if so, please count me out.
Oh no!
Whilst recently immersed in The Orbital tracks from the 90s, the YouTube demon has somehow flung me into the KLF's...
"It's Grim Up North."
...like I didn't know.
Whilst recently immersed in The Orbital tracks from the 90s, the YouTube demon has somehow flung me into the KLF's...
"It's Grim Up North."
...like I didn't know.
December 26, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Oh no!
Whilst recently immersed in The Orbital tracks from the 90s, the YouTube demon has somehow flung me into the KLF's...
"It's Grim Up North."
...like I didn't know.
Whilst recently immersed in The Orbital tracks from the 90s, the YouTube demon has somehow flung me into the KLF's...
"It's Grim Up North."
...like I didn't know.
1992?
...I had a dream.
In it, in my kitchen in a house in Derbyshire, I was talking to my daughter, aged about three. She asked a question, and I realised (in my dream) that it would take a long and detailed answer that a three-year-old might just be able to understand.
1/3
...I had a dream.
In it, in my kitchen in a house in Derbyshire, I was talking to my daughter, aged about three. She asked a question, and I realised (in my dream) that it would take a long and detailed answer that a three-year-old might just be able to understand.
1/3
December 26, 2025 at 9:11 PM
1992?
...I had a dream.
In it, in my kitchen in a house in Derbyshire, I was talking to my daughter, aged about three. She asked a question, and I realised (in my dream) that it would take a long and detailed answer that a three-year-old might just be able to understand.
1/3
...I had a dream.
In it, in my kitchen in a house in Derbyshire, I was talking to my daughter, aged about three. She asked a question, and I realised (in my dream) that it would take a long and detailed answer that a three-year-old might just be able to understand.
1/3
'tis the night before Christmas. And I'm oh-so-ready for the *ghost story* in an hour-forty-five.
Thank you, BBC. Do not let me down. This is the highlight of my TV/time off year!
Thank you, BBC. Do not let me down. This is the highlight of my TV/time off year!
December 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM
'tis the night before Christmas. And I'm oh-so-ready for the *ghost story* in an hour-forty-five.
Thank you, BBC. Do not let me down. This is the highlight of my TV/time off year!
Thank you, BBC. Do not let me down. This is the highlight of my TV/time off year!
(Checks rota)
My shift tomorrow is 0800-1900. At which point the shops are basically shut.
So I suspect no-one's getting nowt from me for Chrimbo. I'll be knackered anyway.
Hard luck, everyone.
(Checks rota, part 2)
Just 38 hours between shifts, to sleep (x2) and guzzle sprouts.
#RetailSucks
My shift tomorrow is 0800-1900. At which point the shops are basically shut.
So I suspect no-one's getting nowt from me for Chrimbo. I'll be knackered anyway.
Hard luck, everyone.
(Checks rota, part 2)
Just 38 hours between shifts, to sleep (x2) and guzzle sprouts.
#RetailSucks
December 23, 2025 at 7:25 PM
(Checks rota)
My shift tomorrow is 0800-1900. At which point the shops are basically shut.
So I suspect no-one's getting nowt from me for Chrimbo. I'll be knackered anyway.
Hard luck, everyone.
(Checks rota, part 2)
Just 38 hours between shifts, to sleep (x2) and guzzle sprouts.
#RetailSucks
My shift tomorrow is 0800-1900. At which point the shops are basically shut.
So I suspect no-one's getting nowt from me for Chrimbo. I'll be knackered anyway.
Hard luck, everyone.
(Checks rota, part 2)
Just 38 hours between shifts, to sleep (x2) and guzzle sprouts.
#RetailSucks
Got just seventeen hours of working Retail Hell before (hallelujah!) Christmas Day. A short evening of ghost stories on the 24th, then a day of sprouts...and then back to work for an eleven hour shift on Boxing Day.
#NeedABetterJob
#NeedABetterJob
December 23, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Got just seventeen hours of working Retail Hell before (hallelujah!) Christmas Day. A short evening of ghost stories on the 24th, then a day of sprouts...and then back to work for an eleven hour shift on Boxing Day.
#NeedABetterJob
#NeedABetterJob
Ooh! It's nearly almost Christmas, as we slide towards the solstice. My Xmas Cheer is, however, not present: got an 18-23 shift today. (Who goes Xmas shopping at eleven PM on a Sunday?)
So to try to ignite any sort of Festive Mood, I'm revisiting the rather lovely:
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
So to try to ignite any sort of Festive Mood, I'm revisiting the rather lovely:
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
Stille Nacht - Kraftwerk Style Christmas Song
Electronica version of the Christmas carol, 'Silent Night', produced in the style of 'Neon Lights' by Kraftwerk. Music by Dave Panter (2014). Video by Dave Panter (2017). MP3 download available from Wrieuw Recordings; https://wrieuwrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/stille-nacht Happy Christmas x
www.google.com
December 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Ooh! It's nearly almost Christmas, as we slide towards the solstice. My Xmas Cheer is, however, not present: got an 18-23 shift today. (Who goes Xmas shopping at eleven PM on a Sunday?)
So to try to ignite any sort of Festive Mood, I'm revisiting the rather lovely:
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
So to try to ignite any sort of Festive Mood, I'm revisiting the rather lovely:
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
I am a Retail Worker.
Today I'm expecting a Christmastsunami.
Be nice, if you're shopping. We try our best!
Today I'm expecting a Christmastsunami.
Be nice, if you're shopping. We try our best!
December 20, 2025 at 7:47 AM
I am a Retail Worker.
Today I'm expecting a Christmastsunami.
Be nice, if you're shopping. We try our best!
Today I'm expecting a Christmastsunami.
Be nice, if you're shopping. We try our best!
I'm sixty-two.
The Orb's UFORB's 'O.O.B.E.' track is the third best piece of music, quite ever.
The Orb's UFORB's 'O.O.B.E.' track is the third best piece of music, quite ever.
December 17, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I'm sixty-two.
The Orb's UFORB's 'O.O.B.E.' track is the third best piece of music, quite ever.
The Orb's UFORB's 'O.O.B.E.' track is the third best piece of music, quite ever.
Christmas in Retail! ...Got 19 hours of shifts over the next 29 hours. Jeez.
December 12, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Christmas in Retail! ...Got 19 hours of shifts over the next 29 hours. Jeez.
Late night film. 'The Blue Lamp'. Jack Warner. The UK in 1950 was a very weird & distant land.
December 12, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Late night film. 'The Blue Lamp'. Jack Warner. The UK in 1950 was a very weird & distant land.
At about 5am this morning, my brain decided that privately-owned islands in films and TV were only bought by:
1/ Criminal masterminds intent on world domination.
2/ Wealthy businessmen eager to tinker with dinosaur DNA.
3/ Rescue organisations with an international scope.
1/ Criminal masterminds intent on world domination.
2/ Wealthy businessmen eager to tinker with dinosaur DNA.
3/ Rescue organisations with an international scope.
December 10, 2025 at 7:12 AM
At about 5am this morning, my brain decided that privately-owned islands in films and TV were only bought by:
1/ Criminal masterminds intent on world domination.
2/ Wealthy businessmen eager to tinker with dinosaur DNA.
3/ Rescue organisations with an international scope.
1/ Criminal masterminds intent on world domination.
2/ Wealthy businessmen eager to tinker with dinosaur DNA.
3/ Rescue organisations with an international scope.
A day off. And so, after dusting, clothes' washing, and vacuuming, I turned to Wikipedia.
Here? The War of the Beams - a totally fascinating and oft-undermentioned element of the air war in the early 40s. Some very clever Boffins absolutely pushing the boundaries of the barely-technically possible.
Here? The War of the Beams - a totally fascinating and oft-undermentioned element of the air war in the early 40s. Some very clever Boffins absolutely pushing the boundaries of the barely-technically possible.
December 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
A day off. And so, after dusting, clothes' washing, and vacuuming, I turned to Wikipedia.
Here? The War of the Beams - a totally fascinating and oft-undermentioned element of the air war in the early 40s. Some very clever Boffins absolutely pushing the boundaries of the barely-technically possible.
Here? The War of the Beams - a totally fascinating and oft-undermentioned element of the air war in the early 40s. Some very clever Boffins absolutely pushing the boundaries of the barely-technically possible.
Most sequels suck. There are exceptions - 'The Godfather 2', 'Aliens', 'The Empire Strikes Back': each way better than the originals.
Et år ago I reviewed the Norwegian monster film 'Troll' and declared it 'insane'. And so I naturally looked forward to the sequel, the admirably named 'Troll 2'.
Et år ago I reviewed the Norwegian monster film 'Troll' and declared it 'insane'. And so I naturally looked forward to the sequel, the admirably named 'Troll 2'.
December 5, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Most sequels suck. There are exceptions - 'The Godfather 2', 'Aliens', 'The Empire Strikes Back': each way better than the originals.
Et år ago I reviewed the Norwegian monster film 'Troll' and declared it 'insane'. And so I naturally looked forward to the sequel, the admirably named 'Troll 2'.
Et år ago I reviewed the Norwegian monster film 'Troll' and declared it 'insane'. And so I naturally looked forward to the sequel, the admirably named 'Troll 2'.
Bad day, today...
... it's MOT day.
I'm *awaiting the call*, and my wallet is worried. 😟
... it's MOT day.
I'm *awaiting the call*, and my wallet is worried. 😟
December 3, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Bad day, today...
... it's MOT day.
I'm *awaiting the call*, and my wallet is worried. 😟
... it's MOT day.
I'm *awaiting the call*, and my wallet is worried. 😟