Observations on the world and its inhabitants
As usual, when ‘they say’ I can’t do it – I do it anyway. Oh yes. I’ve been exploring how to toast bread without a toaster for about 2 years. I’ve cracked it! I along with most people are conditioned to believe we need a specific appliance for every single task in the kitchen. Want ...
🎩Ladies and gentlemen, gather round. A new menace stalks the land. Not alcohol. Not cars. Not loneliness, poverty, trauma, or the small matter of human biology. No—something far more sinister: Chatbots. Yes, the same tools people use to summarise emails and ask for chicken marinades are apparently ushering in a new age of mass psychosis. ...
In a stunning blow to the “thoughts and prayers” of the school of hospital management, a new study suggests that nurses might actually be more than just decorative additions to hospital wards. In what is being hailed as the most ground-breaking scientific achievement since someone noticed that fire is hot and the sky is generally ...
In the early stages of a writing career, the focus is often on the “mechanics”—the foundational rules of grammar, syntax, and punctuation. While these are essential, the transition from a competent writer to a compelling author occurs during the final checks of a manuscript. This is where prose is transformed into an immersive experience. For ...
Despite explicit instructions, generative AI systems routinely drift into US English spelling and conventions across longer writing projects. For British-English authors who use AI assistance, this creates a persistent and time-consuming editorial burden. The key insight that resolved this was accepting that generation and linguistic compliance should be treated as separate stages. Rather than attempting ...
As some may not be aware, I’ve been developing my own software to convert text into high quality electronic speech. That development continued for several hours today. As I will remind myself – as if I need to – £490 for 1.6 hours for human narration vs AI-driven production estimated at ~£1.51 for 100 minutes ...
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is widely recognised as the industry standard for software development. However, its core strength—managing complex text files with precision—makes it an exceptionally powerful tool for authors of fiction and non-fiction alike. Luddites and lazy folk should stop right now – leave this blog and get back to Netflix, Instagram and ...
1. The Problem: “All or Nothing” Microsoft Word’s built-in word count feature is binary: it counts everything or nothing. For an author, this is often insufficient. A 50,000-word manuscript might be heavily dialogue-driven or dense with internal monologue, but Word treats “Hello” (dialogue) exactly the same as Hello (thought). There will be times when an ...
1. The challenge of communicating with AI Many people, especially those using unpaid AI plans, unknowingly exhaust limited tokens by submitting very short, vague prompts. These models are powerful, but they cannot make accurate assumptions about a user’s goals without deliberate guidance. By applying a few basic principles, users on free tiers can obtain deeper, ...
If you listen to the current discourse in the creative world—from the Authors Guild to the picket lines of Hollywood—you will hear a single, deafening word: Ethics. We are told that Artificial Intelligence is a “plagiarism machine.” We are told it is “stealing souls.” We are told that using it is a moral failing akin ...
The Challenge of the Sequel Writing a duology is a delicate balancing act of memory and tone. This is particularly true for my current project, KNS. Before diving into the methodology, it is important to acknowledge that there is nothing fundamentally wrong in using AI as a tool to assist with drafting. Like any sophisticated ...
Most people do not keep their files organised, properly named and easily retrievable from a computer and cloud services. That’s fine because ‘everybody’ has individual choice and can demonstrate their independence, so as to show that they do not suffer with OCD. I however, couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks of me. So, I ...
A View from the Trenches Over the past year, the journey of writing and publishing the first novella The Kael’Nyrin Scrolls: Our Children of Starlight on Amazon has been an education in reality. It was a process defined not by the romanticised notion of “being discovered“, but by the difficult, granular lessons of production, formatting, ...
What is power? The word appears everywhere. We speak of political power, purchasing power, horsepower, electrical power, power of attorney, statistical power. Each domain offers its own technical definition shaped by its particular concerns. But is there something fundamental beneath these variations? Something that unifies them? Rather than cataloguing the many meanings of power across ...
For writers, journalists, and professionals operating within the United Kingdom, adherence to correct UK English spelling is not merely a preference; it is a fundamental requirement of competence. Official and academic audiences expect consistency, and mandate the use of British conventions. Using the established standards ensures clarity, maintains editorial authority, and respects the national linguistic ...
The historical record demonstrates a consistent pattern in human development: disruption is immediate, while adaptation is glacial. This phenomenon, termed the “Readiness Gap“, describes the perilous interval between the acquisition of a transformative power (technological, economic, or biological) and the development of the social, ethical, and legal frameworks necessary to contain it. In every instance ...
This document outlines the evolution of a print distribution strategy for an independent paperback title, detailing the journey from an ambitious “Hybrid” objective to a pragmatic final execution, and the subsequent pricing strategy adopted for market entry. The Search for the Perfect Distribution Model This case study documents a specific strategic journey taken to solve ...
If you follow health and nutrition news, you’ve probably experienced the same punctuated process of discovery that many of us have. One moment, you’re reading about the impressive antioxidant properties of Thymoquinone, a potent compound found in black cumin seed oil. The next, you’re learning about the heart health benefits of Resveratrol from red grapes, ...
Publishing a first book on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) can feel overwhelming. This guide consolidates practical lessons learned from the self-publishing process. Whether publishing fiction or non-fiction, these insights will help avoid common pitfalls. If you’re one of those people who will go, “Why would I want to publish a book, let alone use ...
A Serious Case Study in NHS Operational Optics By: The Department of Reputational Alchemy and Spatial Reinterpretation Filed under: “Not a parody. Just reality with better formatting.” I. Executive Summary: In a bold reimagining of clinical architecture, the NHS has pioneered a revolutionary model of patient care: Corridor-Based Therapeutics™, now formally recognised as a year-round ...
The “Scout Mindset” is a compelling idea in modern self-improvement. Julia Galef (2021) [2] coined the term. It presents a powerful metaphor for how we process information. It contrasts the curious truth-seeker with the defensive soldier. The idea is simple, but its implications are profound. It touches everything from our relationships to scientific discovery. At ...
This article is about more than just fixing a piece of code. On the surface, it’s a detailed log of a bizarre technical problem that defied all logic. But underneath, it’s a real-world case study in the partnership between human creativity and artificial intelligence. It’s a story about how the relentless, structured logic of an ...
Buckle up. It’s that time again. We’re about to dive into the gloriously absurd world of redefining a second. Yes, scientists are spending their lives—literal decades—trying to make the concept of “one Mississippi” more accurate. Because apparently, your microwave’s clock being off by a nanosecond is a cosmic tragedy!! 😱 🧪 Welcome to the Lab ...
The phone rang Saturday, 5:30 PM, just as Walker was settling into his evening ritual, the gentle hum of classical music playing in the background. He glanced at the caller ID, a faint, knowing smile touching his lips as he saw Tarek’s name. He picked up the phone. “Speak of the devil. I was just ...
Picture the scene: a psychiatrist, armed only with a clipboard and a dwindling supply of professional dignity, receives a memo that reads like the fevered output of a late-night brainstorming session fuelled by expired coffee and unchecked optimism. “Facilitate trauma reenactment sessions using high-definition gaming platforms,” it begins, as though this were a perfectly reasonable ...
In legal circles we talk a lot about “availability of appropriate treatment” under the Mental Health Act 1983 [England & Wales] (Amended 2007). But let’s stop for a second and actually unpack what “available” is supposed to mean. Because in JB v Elysium Healthcare (2025), a Tribunal – considered to be a court of law – was served ...
Decision-making is something I’ve explored before. I go deeper this time. Everybody believes that they are making the best decisions for themselves. But how good are those decisions, actually? No psychologist is coming to tell you what’s what in the confines of your own cranium. We humans make countless decisions every day, from the trivial ...
Arguments often appear convincing when they drift away from the main point while still sounding relevant. This can give the impression that an issue has been addressed when it has not. One of the most common ways this occurs is through the fallacy of irrelevant thesis. This mistake involves offering a conclusion that may be ...
Well, some people must be laughing and so am I! Yes – I know I’m crazy. Tell me something I don’t know! 😆 This article is my ‘notes’ in case I need to refresh my memory in the future. It may help someone out there. So the backstory to this was from my previous post ...
Well you (meaning me) live and learn. I made an assumption over 40-odd years that petrol was a particular molecular compound. It turns out from my investigation that it is a mixture of compounds. Ahhh.. so somebody will be wondering, “Why the devil is he researching that, now? Has he not got anything better to ...
