{ "entries": [ { "id": "Stonedead-2026", "date": "2026-08-28", "category": "watching", "title": "Stonedead", "body": "Heading down to Stonedead Festival at Newark Showground with the group for a day of pure, unadulterated classic rock! There's nothing quite like pulling up to the campsite with your mates, cracking open the first cold drink of the weekend, and catching up before the music starts. With one stage and zero band clashes, we can soak in the entire lineup together—from heavy hitters like Accept and Magnum to iconic headliners Europe bringing the house down. Great music, fantastic mates, and proper old-school monster rock vibes—it's set to be an absolute belter!", "location": "Newark Showground" }, { "id": "holiday-time", "date": "2026-08-24", "category": "walking", "title": "No more work!", "body": "Finally, a long-awaited family holiday—absolute bliss! All sites are set to holiday mode, meaning a full week with zero customer interruptions. Huge shoutout to AirLandline for making it so easy to professionally shut down the phone lines!\r\n\r\nNow it’s all about quality time at Center Parcs. We're ready to dive into the Subtropical Swimming Paradise, take on the aerial adventure courses through the trees, cycle along the woodland trails, and relax with some pottery painting and bowling. Time to completely disconnect and make some brilliant memories!", "location": "Center Parcs" }, { "id": "Life-and-Napalm-Death", "date": "2026-07-17", "category": "reading", "title": "Life?… And Napalm Death by Shane Embury", "body": "It's hilarious listening to Shane Embury’s biography (Life?… And Napalm Death). He mentions a time when the band was asked how many songs they had for a session on John peels BBC show—since most bands usually only bring two or three.\r\n\r\n​When Shane told them they had 12, the coordinator replied, \"We only have about 10 minutes.\"\r\n\r\n​Without missing a beat, Shane just said, \"That's OK, we will do them all!\"\r\n\r\nApparently, they got through them all in 5 minutes 40 seconds", "location": "Dog Walking Distraction Sounds" }, { "id": "Blue-October", "date": "2026-06-05", "category": "watching", "title": "Blue October Live", "body": "There is something deeply nostalgic about seeing a band that defined an entire era of your musical taste. Last night—Friday, 5th June—the mrs, Ste, and I headed out to catch Blue October live, and let me tell you, it was an absolute masterclass of a gig.
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\r\n\r\nFor those who might not know them, Blue October is an American alternative rock band originally from Houston, Texas, fronted by the magnetic Justin Furstenfeld. They are famous for their emotionally raw, intense, and anthemic sound, blending heavy rock elements with beautiful violin, mandolin, and keyboard parts. They have always been a band that doesn’t hold back, writing openly about mental health, addiction, heartbreak, and eventual healing.", "location": "Albert Hall Manchester" }, { "id": "pennys-pit", "date": "2026-05-09", "category": "walking", "title": "Pennys Pit", "body": "Stroll to Penny’s Pit with Heather to put the world's largest bouncy ball to the test in an open space, safely away from the neighbor’s fence.", "location": "Pennys Pit, Rainhill" }, { "id": "c64-psu-recap", "date": "2026-05-08", "category": "tinkering", "title": "The C64 PSU recap of doom", "body": "Dragged the lethal 5V brick to the bench. Old electrolytics looked tired; new Panasonics fitted, 5.02V rock steady. One more breadbin saved from the silicon graveyard.", "location": "Workshop, L35" }, { "id": "childs-play", "date": "2026-05-08", "category": "watching", "title": "Childs Play Anthology", "body": "Every Friday, Heather and I dive into a few rounds of Fortnite before settling in for a horror movie, currently working our way through the Child's Play collection following a recent meeting with Alex Vincent.", "location": "The sofa, Smigglesworth Mannor" }, { "id": "osborne-1-carboot", "date": "2026-04-29", "category": "acquired", "title": "Osborne 1 — £40, car boot", "body": "A genuine 1983 luggable, complete with both 5.25\" drives and the original keyboard lid. Dirty but unmolested. Restoration log starting on smiggy.com<\/a>.", "location": "St Helens car boot" }, { "id": "rcc-search-v3", "date": "2026-04-22", "category": "building", "title": "Referral Codes Club — v3 search", "body": "Shipped a faster, fuzzier search across referralcodesclub.com<\/a>. Sub-50ms responses on a £4\/month box. Boring tech, well chosen.", "location": "Desk, two screens, one tea" }, { "id": "bbc-micro-monitor-caps", "date": "2026-04-18", "category": "tinkering", "title": "CRT cap kit, BBC Micro mono monitor", "body": "The classic green-screen flicker turned out to be ESR creep on three caps in the vertical stage. Two hours, £6 in parts, another machine pulled back from the brink.", "location": "Workshop, L35" }, { "id": "into-the-void", "date": "2026-04-14", "category": "reading", "title": "“Into The Void”", "body": "I’m currently reading Geezer Butler’s memoir, Into the Void, which gives a really down-to-earth look at his life and how he helped start Black Sabbath in Birmingham. It’s been fascinating to see his perspective as the band's main lyricist, especially how he balances stories of rock history with his own personal reflections.", "location": "Armchair, by the lamp" } ] }