Well, this sucks. I was enjoying an episode of Stranger Things, when my TV decided to do an annoying thing. There are a few possible fixable causes (eg loose ribbon cable connection inside, 'tcon' board might need replacing) - but it could also just be fucked.

Off to a birthday party later. Just had a call from my step dad asking if I can pick up my brother on the way. I know where he lives (road) but can't remember which house number, so I asked a very straightforward question: "what number is his place?" He proceded to give me directions. 🙄

It's a bit worrying when you need a Windows box to do some work, but while it's updating, a message appears that says "something didn't go as planned..." (looked up at the screen just as it disappeared so didn't catch the full text)... Thankfully, though, it DID survived the update.

A doughnut? All of them. All the doughnuts. 🤤

The next ROUGOL meeting on Monday 19th January will feature multi headed systems, featuring RISC OS and Linux in the same box rougol.jellybaby.net/meetings/ind...

The new issue of Archive Magazine is out now! The Dec/Jan 2026 issue is absolutely packed with all sorts of RISC OS awesomeness. It's not too late to subscribe and get a copy. www.archivemag.co.uk #riscos #acorn #opensource

Posted elsewhere by @rjek.bsky.social Ignore the actual report, and skip down to the discussion thread - in case it isn't obvious (!) pay attention in particular to the comments and actions by gemini-cli (bot). 🤦‍♂️ github.com/google-gemin...

I've had The Open House (2018) on my watch list for some time, but put off watching it because a couple of normally reliable people commented to me a while back that it was awful. Started watching it last night, but I was very tired, so I stopped it half way, and came back to it this morning. ...

The use of 'algorithm' as a generic term for the way 'big tech' decides what to suggest to people based on previous interactions is annoying. They're building up a profile. It's profiling. Call it that.

I would call these 'Satya's Special Sauce' for producing AI slop.

Bah. This was my December 2025 Advent of Christmas horrors: misc.vinceh.com/2026/01/chri... - which doesn't include the full list of films. Tonight I'm part way through a film called The Intruder, and realised it could've been included on the full list; it takes place in the run up to Christmas. 😐

Judging by the sound of fireworks, I guess it must be New Year resolution time. *thinks* Okay, got it. This year I will not be torturing anyone to within an inch of their life. No. I'm going metric. 🤣

A pleasant end to the year.

Damn. And here I was wondering if you'd found a copy of the long lost BBC version of Escape from Exeria, and as a result of analysing a disassembly were about to reveal just how badly written it was. But no, not even one N in that title. 🤣

Time for the second half of my traditional 25th December lunch - sarnies.

New big post about the present and future of #RISC_OS. Open for corrections. First focus the kernel. @lproven.bsky.social , @nemo20000.bsky.social , @taynappe.bsky.social and anyone who wish to provide corrections please let me know, thx! riscoscommunity.org/understandin...

Have you accidentally loaded a game from the wrong Cassette? 😁 (Haven't played a simple bomber type game in donkey's 'ears'. Not even sure if there is one for #risc_os - and it wouldn't take long... maybe worth it in the run up to #riscosnorth?* Just for the kick?) * 2035 or something, obvs. 😂

Followed by one I didn't consider part of the advent, because it's not a Christmas film - but *is* a take on a fairy tale that links to Christmas because "pantomimes". Wondering if I should include things like that 🤔 I won't this time; I'll treat it as a bonus watch. (FTR: Cinderella's Revenge)

I was too keen today. It's not even 7pm, and I have already watched the 20th Christmas Horror of this year. Four to go over the next four days. 👍

I can now boot it into safe mode! 🙂 VRPC won't load. 😕 But exploring the HD I've found what I was looking for. 🙂 Can't get it to connect to my NAS* 😕 * Although it means losing the filetypes, I could've transferred via Windows. It wouldn't take me *too* long to fix them again the other end.

I love the concept of 'quick' as in 'Test 1 (Quick)' from 20+ years ago.

Old computers. 🙄 Trying to start an old XP laptop that has VRPC installed (to look for some old software I think was installed on it), but the bastard shuts down as XP tries to boot, and seems to just freeze ehen trying to boot into safe mode. Now running some self-test stuff from the bios.

This. 🤣

Today was pretty much the first day of my Christmas break this year... and for a stupid amount of the day I've been watching videos about Excel, because my current use of it in a work context is based on knowledge that's probably a decade and a half out of date. 🙄

Ha! Yes! And adverts suddenly interrupting an important point *mid sentence*. 🤣

I do enjoy watching YouTube videos on my TV, so that when the person talking refers to another video and points to an area of the screen, saying "the link is 'here'", it very definitely isn't because that UI feature isn't supported.

itsfoss.com/raspberry-pi... #RISC_OS is mentioned as an OS the writer hasn't yet tried (but wants to).

The corrected version of the list as it should have stood last year has 189 films, rather than 183. (Just told someone 191 in an email, but I said that without checking the spreadsheet.) And I have new ones to add once I've double checked them for validity. 🙂

They got their own product name wrong, didn't they? It should be Cackade 50, not Cascade 50.

This is *TONIGHT*!

Noticed errors on my blog post from the end of last year listing the 180+ Christmas horror films I'd identified; some ommisions and at least one 'aka' duplication. And there are now more to add to the list. 🙂 So I'm now half way through putting the list on a spreadsheet. 1/?

It's nearly time to unwrap our little #RISC_OS present. Friday 12th at midday. For those of you lucky enough to snap up the limited stock, it'll be worth the wait. So don't be a #Grinch or a slouch on Friday! #RISC_OS #Unwrapped #BestPresentEver

Day out with one of the firms I work for today - did a spot of linocut printing and letterpress, at a place called Frankenstein Press - frankensteinpress.com Thoroughly good fun.

Until seeing this one, I'd formed the impression that these Cascade games consisted of type-in listings submissions that had been rejected by the various magazines. For this one, Cascade must have infiltrated the magazine post rooms before the game could be considered! 😆

A gold standard festive offer coming soon! #risc_os #ChristmasCracker #LimitedEdition #BeQuick #GoldStandard

Ha! I'm almost tempted to add it to my Christmas Horrors Advent watchlist - but despite being released at this time of year, IIRC it was set in Spring. So I won't cheat to throw in an excellent film. 🙂

*spots own post & the typo* *9%* Bloody tiny touch screen 'keys' vs fat fingers. 🙄

My RISCOSitory (the .co.uk) hosts have notified me of a coming price increase for a few years, but not actually done it... until now. This year they've finally upped the price. The increase is 8%. Not as bad as it could be (and I feared) given that it hasn't changed in so long.

Early notification that ROUGOL have a Christmas meeting this year, on Monday 15th December, but it is *online only*. Hear from Rob Napier who is writing the biography of Acorn rougol.jellybaby.net/meetings/ind...

Dragging onto a folder icon to copy *into* that folder was a thing back in 1986. 🤷‍♂️ youtu.be/Q2PNLsvDxqw?...

Right then... work done. Time to start this year's Advent Calender of Christmas Horrors. 😃 (Starting with Silent Night, Bloody Night from 1972. Watched it last year, but it was a Spanish dub with English subtitles - a terrible way to watch it, so I didn't count it.)

Windows 11 Companions for RISC OS youtu.be/MnC_zU7HpRk?si… See the basics of our Windows 11 Companions, and feel the potential!#RISC_OSOS#RISCOSCompanionsn#WindowsInWindowsInRISCOSOS

Interesting watch for #RISC_OS users from @adriansdigitalbasement.com about a month ago, where he tries out an A420/1 that was sent to him & learns a fair bit about Acorn history along the way. There's a follow-up video, but I'll save that for another day. youtu.be/zvv06jKcMtE?...

"Let's come back down to Earth" says Leslie Judd, while dressed like someone living in a cheesy 1970s science fiction show. 🙂 (A little over four minutes in) youtu.be/aADkqmvy44o?...

Hmm. I think 'Thanksgiving' (2023) might be a suitable movie for this evening - and will help put me in the right frame of mind for my second ever Advent Calender of Christmas horror films, which will begin Monday.

Heading over to Wales this morning, I was annoyed that I haven't yet replaced my old 'dash'cam. I didn't need it because of anything serious - no accident etc. But heading down the M4 from the M4/M5 interchange, I liked the view of the thick fog over the Severn in the distance.

this is mesmerizing

This is indeed a very good idea.

I instinctively think something is broken when I check my email for the first time on any given day, and there is nothing new in my primary, most active - and most spammed - mailbox. Not even any spam filtered out into the junk folder. Checked. It's fine. That is INCREDIBLY rare for that mailbox.

Excellent video from @bigcar2.bsky.social about the Atom youtu.be/UvNi0vkZQo0?...