We really need to change how we talk about industries where the big players have priced themselves out of their own profits. The ecosystems aren't dying, the giants are starving, there's a different.

I was gonna post about my weekend but realised it'd involve revealing that not only am I rewatching SG1, I just started reading Flowers for Algernon. And, folks, I'm a fantasy nerd not a scifi nerd, I can't accept this kind of brand dilution.

Not having my work stuff on my phone isn't enough, I need to delete the Internet and hide in a cave if I don't want work details broadcast to me on the weekend. 😭

Today in The English Language: mogul and mogul are totally unrelated. A media mogul comes from the Muhgal empire that ruled most of India for hundreds of years. A skiing mogul comes from the Bavarian/Austrian German word mugel meaning mound.

YouTube has decided to show me some weirdly US/UK right wing ads today, which is very confusing. I haven't watched anything different and I know for a fact my most googled query lately is "how to calc x as a percentage of y" Is lacking confidence in maths now a conservative trait?

A mixture of dedication, commitment, and insanity? Throw in a secret lanuguage shrouded in layers of meaning built over years. It must be love. Or the Barkely Marathons. A valentines edition is quite apt.

After a brief memorial, laz lit the cigarette at 6:00am. The 2026 Barkley Marathons has begun. #BM100

It's so important in life to use habit stacking to prioritise your time in service of your goals. For instance, today I'm going to hang out with a friend WHILE buying books I don't need at a big library sale. Time - optimised. Goals - unfathomable. Habits - stacked.

I've entirely given up on separating work brain from writing brain and have started referring to marketing events as inciting incidents.

I've always known that thisIsCamelCase but just found out that this-is-kebab-case and this_is_snake_case. Does that make this-snake-kebab_case ?

I know I'm working on 1.5 tech projects, a book, and (as of last night) a short story but what about- hear me out- what about making modern chatelaines?

We think of incubator spaces as existing to benefit businesses, but I'm coming to realise their real purpose is to stop people annoying their friends cause they won't shut up about their latest business brainwave.

It's amazing how being sick inspires the dumbest mental spirals. Yesterday I started panicking cause I didn't have enough users on my website. Y'know, the site I'm still making, haven't launched, and have only told some friends the name of so they can test it. That one. Not enough users. 🫠

Little known fact: being house-bound while sick is named after the act of binge watching medical dramas while being a medical drama. Of course House is the traditional choice but Scrubs, Greys Anatomy etc are all acceptable options.

Announcing Bog Bodies from Dreamfeel! A "short hike”-alike 3d adventure set in a far future Ireland populated only by radioactive talking cats. Players explore a late 19th c inspired landscape full of strange characters and stories...

I haven't watched a marvel movie in years, but the doomsday trailers are just ridiculous. Why would Steve Rogers drive a Triumph? Suspense of disbelief totally broken.

There's a certain irony that this is the 2nd of 3 forewords.

God knew I would be too powerful so They made me incapable of processing two separate sources of noise simultaneously.

Turns out the secret to heating my living room lay not in new radiators but in covering the massive hole in the wall at the floor masquerading as a vent. I'm sure this could be a metaphor for tech or society or something but who cares! The custom above-floor foot-breeze is gone. Success!

If you ever find yourself wanting to discover the distinct sensorial displeasures of a curse, I'm happy to inform you that a single taste of Floradix is all you need.

Partake in some important Friday research: neal.fun/not-a-robot/

Doing this evening course has really reminded me of the general populations' computer skills. If you're online a lot or work in tech it's easy to assume the general level is higher than it is.

He thought he was safe. *ominous music starts* That the distance would shield him. *car door slams* But he forgot one important thing. *gun cocks* "Beannachtaí ón na cailíní" 💥 Failte Ireland: we're a girls girl.

I'm starting a short course this evening which means I have the dubious honour of being on my pc for 13 hours today.

Annual reminder that "Blue Monday" was invented a marketing campaign for a travel agent to sell holidays. It's not real.

setting up a new website is great cause you get to look at the graphs do the good graph thing. just don't look at the actual numbers

It's great to hear that the Art ONeill is on tonight. I appreciate the reminder than no matter how my life is going, I'm not quite that insane. Yet.

What do you call it when you dream of seo optimisation and where's the nearest cliff I can jump off? I'd google it but that's too close to the seo horrors.

If there's one thing I've learned from my book website project it's that thrillers are the most popular form of book. Ok ok it's a small sample size, but based on 5 Irish bookshops, 1/5th of all preorders announced are Thrillers. Which is a lot.

This was a lovely chat with the fantastic @eithneshortall.bsky.social about all things SISTER WAKE, Sam, and a dinner party argument about why, no, colonialism was not a 'mixed bag...'

I visited 3 bookshops today and couldn't find anything on the Great Blasket island. I thought Peig Sayers and Tomás Ó Criomhthain would be shelf staples.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will be attempting to become become a reformer pilates girlie.

friends! acquaintances! help! i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks. know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty! hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...

What we truly forget in this modern era is that if one must contend with the Sword of Damocles one should also get to experience the luxuries of Dionysius.

Finally details! This is not a drill. (It's a book) www.panmacmillan.com/authors/emil...

Me: in 2026 I'm gonna spend more time writing and doing book things Also me: *spends every day so far in 2026 coding my side project* It's a book related side project but that doesn't really count as writing, even for me.

I need to learn not to code on a tired brain. I tried to clean up a server, accidentally deleted git from it then had a joyful hour fixing it 😭

This weekend is a Wolf Super Moon. It's a Super Moon and the first full moon of January is traditionally known as a Wolf Moon cause you're most likely to hear wolves howl at it at that time of year. This is the only item of news today and you can't convince me otherwise.

I just spent an hour trying to get something to run and it turns out it needed an (unprompted) confirmation. They say technology is getting more human-like but a passive aggressive need for validation wasn't what I had in mind.

I'm wary of declaring anything so early, but I'm on season 2 of Ted Lasso and I think I love Keeley Jones.

trying to bring this vibe to 2026

Ah Christmas, may we all survive it.

I've finally managed to start The Iliad and I didn't realise it opens with Achilles crying to his mom to get Zeus to punish Agamemnon cause he *checks notes* took the woman Achilles had abducted and Achilles deserved someone to rape cause he's destined to die young.

What in the CGI nonsense? www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzw2...

I'm working to stay on track as we approach 2026. Gotta keep the Fate. Not in a religious way, in a Final Fantasy X way where I use souls sacrificed by a depraved system to animate god-like companions to do my bidding eventually culminating in our collective freedom.

I can't quite express how relieved I am to be at the end of the work year. Now to schedule my traditional end of year activities: curl into a ball ignoring the world, scream into the void, manic plan to rearrange my entire life. Oh, and baking cakes.

Has anyone attended the Irish Book Trade Conference? I'm considering going to meet more industry people but I don't know enough industry people to know if it's worthwhile 😅

The Havok Balloons Tech Showcase is live! Showing the power of Havok Physics Particles in Unreal Engine. This free level will give you a taste of the kind of immersive interactive experiences this feature can bring to your game. Check it out on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4031820/...

Looking for a lunch-time read? @hodderscape.bsky.social are sharing an exclusive extract of SISTER WAKE, my anti-colonial Irish kaiju epic fantasy. I've been working on this book since 2020 and I'm beyond excited for you to read it... hodderscape.co.uk/blogs/exclus...

Turns out if a sports nutritionist repeatedly uses the phrase "healthy is relative" you're about to get a calorie intake goal from hell.