World Cup Thoughts: It makes me so happy that Tunisia have a player called Hannibal

Did I spend a lot of the week taking photos of different landscape/building textures I want to work into the game? Maybe.

A week in Greece does wonders for the soul

Being at some random bar in Greece and the singer busting out the 2007 classic Gummy Bear Song is not something I realised was on my bucket list, but I'm glad to have experienced it

Merge two movies: THE LORD OF THE RINGS VS. KRAMER

UK is in a heatwave, so the temperature in my office is 31C/88F. It's so hot that I can feel a bead of sweat going down my back. Then around my side. Then I feel it go up my arm. It takes a moment. Up my arm?? I look THERE IS A SPIDER WALKING UP ME I cannot explain how I jumped out of my skin

Just finished reading Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire by @gevemac.bsky.social. Was lovely spending some time in the Punic Wars again. Great read, anyone who follows me here will enjoy it!

And in podcast news, A History of the United States Episode 203 - Lewis and Clark Part 3 is out! This week they have a confrontation with the Lakota

Really happy with how the NPC cast is coming together! #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDesign

Having my second go at some NPC character sprites! Attempt one at some placeholders from a few weeks ago on the left, and on the right the evolution into real characters. Meet Cleo, Nikias and Nestor #IndieGame #IndieDev

Starting to get the first item sprites in! Polis is planned to have combat and mining with tools going from the basic bronze to the legendary orichalcum of Atlantis #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #Classics

When I'm not game designing, it's Lewis and Clark

Passed an old lady and her grandson (8yo-ish) on a walk this morning. I overhear her say "... it's difficult, with sport. Like with Hitler..." and I'm dying to know where that sentence was going

First building sprite! #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDesign (Need to work on those shadows...)

Tree! #IndieGame #IndieGameDev (And we've got a sideways profile)

A History of the United States Episode 202 - Lewis and Clark Part 2 is out! We take the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Illinois, past Taylor Swift in Kansas City, all the way to South Dakota

It's basic, but I've got a walking animation! #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #PolisGame

The simple joys of writing quests! #IndieGame #IndieDev #PolisGame

Achievement! #IndieGame

A Sunday afternoon of Lewis and Clarking! Plus working on the game! My working title for it is Polis. Not sure if it'll ever be a real game or just a fun thing to work on, but the idea is life in a Greek city state. Today was working out a system for mining. Post features a Lewis and Clark map

So, I might have had a new pet project I've been working on over the last few weeks...

A History of the United States Episode 201 - Lewis and Clark Part 1 is out! This week we cover the background of why the expedition took place

Signs of a good day

A History of the United States Episode 200 - The Louisiana Purchase is out! This week the size of the United States doubles, and we hit our two hundredth episode!

I (5 foot ten, leaning on a standing spot on a tram) have just been flanked by two large guys half a foot taller than me, and I feel quite like a supervillain who's just been joined by his henchmen

A History of the United States Episode 199 - Black Spartacus is out! We restart the narrative by setting up some crucial context for the Jefferson administration, the Haitian Revolution and the life of Toussaint Louverture

Did not have "return of the Pahlavis" on my 2026 bingo card

Clearly not the most important aspect of the situation, but I've just learned the phrase "Donroe Doctrine" and this is the worst timeline.

A History of the United States Episode 198 - Not Yet the Dawn is out! This week we talk about slavery, the anti-slavery movement following the revolution, and why anti-slavery didn't take hold. This is also the last episode in our narrative pause, next time we march onwards into the 1800s!

A History of the United States Episode 197 - All Men Are Created Equal is out! This week we look at women's rights, and the reaction to Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792

The struggle is real

Been a busy few days in Seville! Yesterday I went to my first Phoenician archaeological site, Gadir, and today I saw the original copy of the Treaty of Tordesillas!! Nice to have two of my podcasting lives together in one trip

Accidentally stumbled upon the tomb of Christopher Columbus today. It was nice getting to say "Fuck you" in person.

Wait I didn't realise Assassin's Creed 3 lets you play the American Revolution??? (Guess what game I've started playing)

A History of the United States Episode 196 is out, and it's the return of Theologycast! In Theologycast 4 we look at the Second Great Awakening, giving particular attention to the Baptists and Methodists

Saw the @auntydonnaboys.bsky.social DREM tour last night and cannot remember the last time I laughed SO MUCH 😂

Laughing more than I should

Do you ever think you've suddenly gone colourblind and then remember that it's just night

Breaking news: The British government said it was formally recognizing a state of Palestine, breaking sharply with the U.S. and reversing decades of unwillingness to accept Palestinians as a sovereign nation.

UK officially recognises Palestine as a state

A History of the United States Episode 195- Education, Education, Education is out! This week we look at the spread of schooling and the postal system

On the metro this morning there is a man carrying a hose. Just a hose. I have so many questions. Sir, why do you have a hose on a metro at 8:47am? Where are you going? Where have you come from? Things I will never know the answer to.

I do enjoy how my sense of time completely disappears when cooking. Have a pan simmering. Check the time because surely this has been 20 minutes now. 90 seconds.

You wonder if Clarkson's Farm plays up West Oxfordshire District Council, but this is ridiculous

British NIMBYism is truly a sight to behold. “We are rejecting this solar farm, because one time I saw an electric vehicle on fire, which reminded me that decades ago a coal mining disaster killed lots of children”.

A History of the United States Episode 194 - Let's Dissolve All the Corporations is out! This week we round up our trilogy of the Early Marshall Court by looking at Dartmouth College v Woodward

A History of the United States Episode 193 - Let's Impeach All the Judges is out! This week we cover the Marshall Court, focusing on Marbury V Madison

there is always something fascinating about seeing how other places stereotype your own culture

A History of the United States Episode 192 - Let's Kill All the Lawyers is out! This week we cover the Judiciary up to the appointment of John Marshall to the Supreme Court.