Stage/Fright review

Spooks, surprises, and silly funny jokes. A great way to adapt Inside No 9 to the stage. Reece & Steve have nailed both the British humour and the brutish horror, happily hammering a way into your skull and breathing new life to their work.

A must-see even if you're remotely a fan of their work, theatre and drama, or a little grisly gore.

Wicked musical review

I've never really been into musicals or theatre at all, but this blew away my fears and expectations. Wicked is compelling, satirical, clever, and a welcome prequel and wrapper to the original Oz. There are many poignant moments that perfectly capture complex feelings where I was completely drawn in. There are some genuine dark moments too that shocked me. The story of Elphaba is instantly relatable.

There is a story of female empowerment here. Four women in this show have magical powers, while the Wizard, who claims to be all powerful, has none. With Idina Menzel being on the original cast, I feel like this is an obvious precursor to Frozen.

The story in this show is deeper and more impactful than I imagined, and changed my view on theatre and musicals. Wicked is a near-masterpiece that sets the example for all others, imo. The sets, design and costumes are impressive and faithful. The talent, dedication and voices are so strong and powerful. Massive appreciation for everyone involved.

Media that helped me through loss

1.  Sci-fi horror/philosophical game SOMA, which taught me that despite the world falling apart around you, you have to keep pushing forwards.
2. Theatre production of The Lion King, in particular the fact they backported He Lives In You (from Lion King 2) into this one, and their deeply moving performance of it left me in tears for the rest of the show.
3. Film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
4. TV series After Life

Conditions for a healthy relationship

1. Reciprocal and consensual (no manipulation, no being forceful)
1. Be open and talk about your feelings and respond to actions
2. Two-way communication (no steamrolling, no passive-aggressiveness)
1. Talk about boundaries and expectations
3. Net positive overall (rather than judging the whole relationship just on a single argument)

How to stay with Vodafone and keep your number but move to another Mobiles.co.uk cashback deal

1. End your current contract
1. Method 1: 30 days before your 1/12/24mo contract ends, request to move to pay as you go. Your contract automatically stays on 'pay monthly' unless you ask. Your number cannot be moved unless on PAYG.
1. To speak to a person on 191 customer services, don't use any of the standard options because they will just text you an answer back on the website. Also don't use the online contact form as no one ever answers. They always answer on the phone with no initial wait time.
2. If you have moved to eSIM, you'll have to move to a physical SIM first before Vodafone can arrange to move you to PAYG. Then you can fill out this form instead of calling 191
2. Method 2: Text PAC to 65075 to Vodafone at the end of the contract and check the charge will be £0 (this may be true several days before the true end), and then transfer it to a temporary SIM from another provider.
3. If you have a Red entertainment package such as Spotify, cancel it from auto renewing (which would charge you at the full price)
2. Order the new SIM
1. 2 working days before your pay as you go ends, order the new SIM from Mobiles.co.uk and ensure you're in to collect the delivery - they say you won't need to be in or sign for your new SIM card, but you do. Note that sorting by price only works on a PC.
1. If you get an Upgrade SIM, you won't be eligible for the higher rated discounts on Topcashback, you'll only get £10 instead.
2. The good TopCashback deals are no longer available - they now state in them "Excludes Deal With Cashback Included" (i.e. the cashback you get from Mobiles.co.uk)
2. On the day it moves to pay as you go, full out the form to keep your number (search Vodafone's website for 'keep my number'. This form isn't accessible from your account and the other Keep my number in there is only for moving networks. If using Method 2, get a PAC from the temporary SIM in order to leave it)
3. Carry around a SIM tool and a little plastic SD card tray so you can keep switching SIMs until the switchover.
4. If you have phone anti-theft software, disable lockout of the phone if the SIM card is changed or removed
3. Activation extra steps
1. To activate your entertainment option, you must put the SIM in once with data to receive a text to sign up, using the link in the text.
2. Disable Secure Net from automatically renewing via your account. See my blog. A mobile internet security app is immeasurably better at giving you actual protection against malware and malicious websites.
3. Disable adult filter because it blocks standard non-adult websites. The online verification form doesn't work so you'll have to call them up to remove it.
4. Check your voicemail is setup because it might not port your settings properly and they might need to completely reset your voicemail after a 4 hour call troubleshooting it.
5. Set up calendar reminders to attach your bills to the Mobiles.co.uk website aligned with when Vodafone put your PDF bill on their website.
6. Check the dates that your contract started and make sure they haven't been sneakily changed to before you agreed to the terms and conditions, otherwise call and ask for "complaints".
7. Add a spend cap to your account via the website so that you can't accidentally make calls or texts outside your allowance.

Some of my favourite foods

• Crispy Roast Pork Puff Pastry (Yi-ban / YY restaurant)
• Renkon chips (Ippudo)
• Crispy Sweet Chili Chicken (Osaka)

Mitchells Vs the Machines (2020)

Full throttle non-stop action a la Promare, relatable family movie, and an honest jab at big tech wrt privacy and addiction. Exploring another possible AI future.

Plot copies beats just a little too much from other Lord & Miller works like Cloudy and Lego, but this movie is clearly meant to be a bit of insane fun, than a profound or emotionally intelligent saga.

Spider-Man Brand New Day

Spoilers - 

It's an ode to every key worker and anyone who has to relentlessly take care for others or strive for something important. People who spend so long working that they lose out on being a person: socialising, doing fun things, having a partner, even having a holiday and downtime. Spider Man just pushes through one emergency after another - and never feels the credit for it, and can't talk to anyone about it because he's keeping a secret (who he is). He's burnt out and suffering from long term stress.

His new arachnid powers are symbolic of flow state - having practised something so often that you your body autonomously takes over.

Him being immune to Jean Grey's mind control is not because of his Peter tingle or astral projection in No Way Home - it's because he's spent so long saving others and distanced himself from having friends that he's missing key parts of being human - connection, joy, rest.

I lost my mum to cancer like Peter. I was a key worker in lockdown and had to sacrifice friendship and partners and my physical and mental health for it - Peter had to give up his best friend and the live of his life so that he could keep being Spider Man, keep saving people. By the end he's all scratched up, physically and mentally.

Tips for using AI LLMs

• Google Gemini is provided free if you have a Google Pixel phone
• It's not currently ranked the highest: https://artificialanalysis.ai/leaderboards/models
• If it's got something wrong, go back and edit your prompt to be more specific rather than continue the thread, so that it starts over
• Gemini Pro hits problems far less than the Flash version. If it's a simple lookup, Flash mode is probably OK, otherwise use Pro even though it's slower.
• Here's directives I've added: 
• Think outside the box. Think beyond the scope of what I've said. Don't be afraid to just say we're going about this the wrong way, if there is an easier path. 
• When solving problems for me, I would like you to consider out-of-the-box ideas, think of the big, systematic issues rather than piecemeal, one-off solutions, and consider more long-term and robust suggestions.
• Ask questions for clarity before making sweeping assumptions. For example consider that wear and tear in a rental property might mean no repair is necessary. 
• Don't rely on cognitive dissonance to justify my actions or decisions, be honest, truthful, objective and blunt.

Funeral wishes

Music - opening: Sufjan Stevens - With My Whole Heart

Music - closing: Julie Elven - Survive

Attire: Blue, no black

Method: Enzyme

Ashes: Plant with sycamore seeds