Scammers from my experience

1. Fraud
1. Card cloned from an Indian takeaway who was repeating the numbers back to me over the phone. Spent £2000 on hotels, temporary car insurance, lingerie, Wickes, fake payment websites
2. Fake accounts
1. Fake profiles of family members on Facebook chatting to me and pretending to be them
1. Fake profiles on Instagram pretending to meet up
3. Data collection
1. Callers asking questions for a "household survey" which is really about targeting for later scam calls
1. Callers pretending to be my mobile operator (they have the wrong one on record) and saying I needed a new SIM so they could get my address
4. Fake sellers/buyers
1. Fake buyers on Facebook Marketplace trying to get me to post things before sending money, also sending fake bank transaction data
1. Fake tickets sellers on Twitter with highly convincing screen recordings of Ticketmaster - before the tickets are actually sent out (big ones are usually 1 week before, not months before)
5. Friends who have been scammed
1. A friend got scammed of £500 from trying to buy a drone on Facebook marketplace, it's completely unregulated so I don't use it anymore
   
2. A friend had their phone stolen in London, snatched out of their hands by someone on a bike

FF7 Rebirth Explained

There aren't different timelines or universes. Zack is a virtual reality bubble inside the Lifestream. Hence why he can see the yellow galaxy ring in the sky. It's the same ring that surrounds Cloud's Subconscious when he falls into the planet at Mideel. And when Aerith is the boat in the Cave of the Gi, she feels Zack's presence, because he's in the Lifestream. Biggs is also real in the Lifestream, but characters like Elmyra and Marlene are actually Whispers in Zack's virtual reality, which is why they know so much. Cloud can now see the yellow ring in the real sky because part of his consciousness is trapped in the Lifestream when he connected with Aerith and Sephiroth at the end of Rebirth - it's just a precursor to what will be the Cloud's Subconscious level. Tifa even had her own moment in the Lifestream at Gongaga and saw her memories, and Whispers, though more basic than Zack's, a kind of proto-virtual reality because she's not dead.

The Arbiters of Fate had a sword, a gun, and fists - who do they remind you of? They are Whisper versions of Cloud, Barret and Tifa. The Whispers are kind of like oracles or prophets, they are a way for the Lifestream to have a voice (kind of). The WEAPONs are the beasts that protect the planet as a last resort, and the Whispers are influencers, the first point of call. What doesn't make sense is that Shinra, especially Hojo, has no interest in the Whispers at all. They are crazy about WEAPONs, the Promised Land, etc., but they never talk about the Whispers. Either they are special to Cloud and the gang, or they aren't written as good as they could be, because otherwise Hojo would be capturing them and experimenting with them.

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) review

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

Responding to "Heartstopper is unauthentic"

Someone on Instagram said: "Heartstopper has the same authenticity of the gay experience as lesbian porn made by straight men does. Odds are that if you are not a tween girl, you’ll just find Heartstopper absolutely cringe."

My response:

I'm a bi 36yo guy and I love Heartstopper, it's not cringe at all. I think anyone who finds it cringe just lacks empathy and emotional intelligence.

Heartstopper is about depicting a positive, healthy romance, not a couple where one of them dies at the end or leaves after a summer fling. That doesn't mean it's unauthentic by any means. You could say it's a bit fairytale, but that's what we need in LGBT+ media. Where's our gay Disney prince already? Gay characters in media are too often killed off or just token characters. Even Doctor Who kills off gay characters left right and centre. Heartstopper is not meant to be like Skins or Skam, it's meant to depict actually good romance stories that we can aspire to for once.

It's been in the top 10 series on Netflix for every season in over 50 countries, and 10 million books sold, and it's the most emotionally intelligent LGBT+ series I've seen - not lame by any standards.

Reading Council - Litter police

This is in response to:

https://media.reading.gov.uk/news/further-crack-down-sees-fines-for-fly-tippers-up-more-than-tenfold

I think it is rather hypocritical and I am actively against any further spending into third party enforcement officers. As per the article, "Council[s] commitment to keep Reading tidy", I will explain out how ineffective they are.

- These contractors only operate on Broad Street & Oxford Road, whereas most of the litter and fly-tipping is actually on residential streets like Great Knollys and Russell Street. When did you last fine kids littering outside the Academy? 

- Fining elderly, disabled, or blind people for accidental littering is unethical

- My bins haven't been collected at least twice every year, regardless of location, having lived here 18 consecutive years. Should I be asking for a refund for my council tax for those months?

- Some residents in the town centre like when I lived on Kings Road have zero recycling collection, it's all just general waste, with no limit on black bags.

- The plastic red/grey bins that aren't big enough even for recycling, I often have to stockpile recycling until there is enough space again. I think recycling collection should be every week.

- Uncollected street bins like on Russell Street and Baker Street. Bins are typically overflowing after 3 days since they've been emptied.

- I would rather you make it easier to volunteer e.g. Victoria Park local group's efforts in street cleaning, or incentives like paying volunteers to collect plastic bottles - this is already popular at other festivals like Latitude and in European countries like Malta.

- Multiple drains blocked on Broad Street that still remain unfixed including up to St Mary's Butts roundabout, and multiple wonky tiles on Broad Street that cause tripping - which could lead to accidental littering

- If people just pick up their litter and either take it away with them or bin it, then there is no crime.

It is a waste of resources putting more money into enforcement officers and I will not stand for my council tax being spent on this when it is clear that litter collection is not being done, incorrectly, and not where it is needed the most.

Scapegoats

I thought I was glad that I was born in an era of human history without ritual sacrifice, burning witches, or public hanging - and instead, access to medicine to prevent an early death, glasses so I can see, an inhaler so I can breathe, etc.

Then I researched and realised:

People still blame scapegoats: when a society faces massive, inexplicable stress, someone will start pointing fingers (Said René Girard etc)

40,000 BCE: animal sacrifice for successful hunts

12,000 BCE: human sacrifice exploded with agriculture to ensure a good harvest

500 BCE: religion and philosophy start to reduce ritual sacrifice

1500: burning witches begins at the same time science develops

1800: public hanging continues despite the advent of science. Cesare Beccaria etc introduces modern justice (proportional crime for reason with rehab). the killings move more inside prisons instead

2006: Farage blames immigrants as a scapegoat, instead of the wealthy elite of capitalism.

Public shaming, cancel culture and blaming immigrants is the modern live burial, temple sacrifice, gallows, or pyre.

Farage is taking advantage of a modern societal stress. Rather than the promise of a good harvest, it's about cost of living - but it's actually caused by the wealth divide. It's just easier to point blame at outsiders than the top 1%.

Edible Foods

Here's a full list of everything I eat because I'm fussy.

British/ American:

Salmon: fillets, smoked slices, parcels, sushi (sashimi, nigiri, hosomaki)

Mackerel

Prawns with cocktail sauce

Sausages (including vegan), frankfurters, saveloy, pigs in blankets

Sausage rolls

Beef or cheese burgers or sliders (prefer single patty) especially with cheese and caramelised onion

Impossible burger

Chicken burgers with mayo

Chicken nuggets, turkey dinosaurs

Quorn nuggets

Chicken wings like southern fried

Cereal

Tuna fish and mayo sandwich, tuna melt

Cheese and crackers with pickle

Cheese on toast with worstershire sauce

Ham and cheese toastie, Croque monsieur

Chicken Caesar salad

Sunday roast (not potatoes unless hot and crispy)

Breakfast: Sausage, Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Fries

Muller yogurts

Hot dogs

Pork pies

Dairylea lunchables, dunkers, mozzarella sticks

Steak with peppercorn sauce

BBQ ribs

Mac and cheese (though I've had many disappointing mediocre ones, M&S do the best with bcaon bits)

Italian:

Spaghetti bolognese

Spaghetti meatballs

Beef lasagne

Chicken arrabbiata

Chicken carbonara

Pizza: Hawaiian, pepperoni, ranch bbq, mini pizzas

Pasta: penne, tortellini, baked, rigatoni

Garlic bread

Mexican:

Chicken or pork tacos

Chicken fajitas (no pepper, onion)

Nachos (minus beans)

Churros

Quesadilla 

Indian:

Chicken korma

Pilau rice, or plain rice

Chicken tikka masala

Paneer tikka masala

Poppadoms

Garlic naan or peshwari naan

Shakarpara

Chinese/Thai

Sweet and sour chicken Hong Kong style (without veg)

Sweet and sour ribs, honey ribs

Crispy Wonton

Satay chicken

Egg fried rice, plain rice, jasmine rice

Roast puff pork pastry

Char Siu Bao

Japanese:

Sashimi: salmon

Hosomaki: salmon, tuna

Nigiri: salmon, prawn, tuna

Chicken katsu curry

Mochi

Doriyaki

prawn crackers

Chicken bao buns but without coleslaw

Misc:

Korean chili crispy chicken

Huel ready to drink (Berry, Strawberries & Cream) / hot and savoury

Calamari

Halloumi, including as fries

Crisps including prawn crackers

Sweet popcorn

Pot noodles

Graze flapjacks

Bratwurst

Veg:

Carrots

Sweetcorn including corn on the cob - but not in or combined with any other food

Lettuce

Tomato

Red onion (especially raw)

Beetroot (pickled)

Broccoli (not the stems)

Fruit:

Strawberry

Orange

Lychee

Guava

Pineapple

Grapes

Blackberry

Raspberry

Dragonfruit

Partial like of fruits, just not always the texture:

Apple

Banana

Mango, including mango lassi

Cherries

Coconut

Peach

Things I do not eat, don't recommend anything with these or any variation of them:

Aubergine

Avocado

Beans

Brussel sprouts

Burritos (because of the meat and veg mixed together)

Cabbage

Cauliflower (unless deep fried to be like wings)

Casserole (mix of meat and veg)

Chicken Goujons (often weird gooey texture inside)

Chicken Kiev (creamy inside is a horrible texture)

Chickpeas Coffee (anything flavored like coffee)

Dark chocolate

Eel

English muffins

Fish and Chips, as breaded fish like cod or haddock or batter is usually soggy, so this also excludes fish fingers

Focaccia bread - honestly the worst bread. Tiger bread is great.

French toast

Fried onions (all other forms of onion I like)

Fusili, Farfalle, Conchiglie, Rotini, Orzo, Linguine, Orecchiette, Fettuccine

Hot pot

Japanese fried chicken, Chicken Karaage 

Kale

Kimchi

Loaded fries - any type

Melon, watermelon (soapy taste)

Mushrooms

Olives

Omelette or scrambled egg

Onion rings, again it's like tempura batter

Peas Peppers

Potato including mash or potato skins, or sweet potato fries

Prawn toast (it's nothing to do with the oil)

Prawns in any other form except for cocktail sauce or nigiri

Pulled pork burgers, though in tacos they're fine

Pumpkin

Rocket

Salt and pepper chicken, because often soggy

Salty popcorn

Sea urchin

Shepherd's Pie / Cottage Pie, because of the mixed meat and veg and potato

Soy

Spinach

Temaki

Tempura

Teriyaki

Turnip

Unagi

Capybara

I think top-down, in that I consider myself to be quite chill, on the fence a lot, and in the middle. Spirit animal might be a capybara.

However many people I meet seem to be bottom-up thinkers, with a series of deep knowledge, rules and systems of their own that are complex, and take them all very seriously. Whereas there are little things I take seriously. I don't have any tattoos, or piercings (Existential Flexibility), I don't think I'm committed enough to anything like that, the most I commit is having graphic tees, plushies, and setting my background.

I think my key philosophies/tenets are:

• YOLO so nothing matters (Optimistic Nihilism)
• pacifism over violence
• respect regardless of your background
• most problems are caused by systems not individuals (Sociological Empathy)
• it's okay to not be okay
• ideas are essential to survival, so creativity and play are more important than exams (Constructivism, Visionary Individualism)
• we aren't perfect organisms, we make mistakes, and the brain tricks you, so we shouldn't hold each other to such high standards (Cognitive Humility)

What does insecurity look like?

Insecurity forces people to behave with heat over heart.

Attack or defend prematurely

Misinterpret neutral situations as threats

Instead: Accept humility, it's okay to be vulnerable 

Loudly assert dominance or correctness

Covers up a fear of being inadequate

Instead: Remain calm

Build walls instead of bridges

Prioritizing self-preservation over actual relationship-building

Instead:  Use empathy and open communication

Why do people support Reform?

People are rightly angry at things they can't control (like the cost of living crisis), and so they listen to the person (Farage) who can easily point blame at the problem (immigration) and markets themselves as an underdog rather than part of the establishment (has lots of photos taken having a beer at a pub).

People like Farage are the real problem: trillionaires, billionaires and multi-millionaires hoarding wealth, like Farage.

"AI is bad"

Writing a letter to your letting agency to terminate your contract isn't being creative. Asking AI to do it for you makes sense. But you're also wrongly treating AI as a monolith. AI has already been in your spam filters. Detecting cancer cells in an x-ray. Handling your cruise control. Flying your plane. The only difference now is LLMs are more easily accessible. So you can't say AI overall is bad.