Scribbled Notes

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 22:44:41 +0000

Been tinkering with my Obsidian setup today. Testing to see if this actually posts where it’s supposed to. It should end up on Mastodon, via micro.blog, using the micro.publish plugin.

If you can see this, the new workflow is working. Hurrah! (Hopefully.)

#obsidian #microblog

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 21:50:43 +0000

So it seems Digg has been resurrected! I’m not sure I hold out much hope for it, but I made an account and wrote a little about it over here: fairieswearboots.org/blog/digg…

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:12:55 +0000

Today didn’t go quite as planned. But… I found a new idle game to play (Upload Labs), I signed up for an account on tilde.town, there was a new Ren drop, and The Skinner Brothers announced a festival date later this year.

So not a bad day at all, really.

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 22:47:59 +0000

I’ve been tinkering! Managed to revive my neglected site with Eleventy and the help of an excellent template. ❤️

fairieswearboots.org/blog/my-j…

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 21:12:55 +0000

Feeling extra tired today, so think I’ll head to bed early and read for a little while.

This little monster will keep me company. She seems to like snuggling up beside me when I’m reading.
📷🐈‍⬛😻

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:33:42 +0000

Currently reading: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman 📚

Tomorrow

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 10:44:00 +0000

🎶 Tomorrow by U2

I woke up this morning from a pretty vivid dream. That’s not unusual for me at all, it happens fairly regularly. What was unusual, was that there was a song playing in the background of my dream. Which of course was immediately stuck in my brain and is now refusing to budge, despite having listened to it several times before writing this.

Given that I generally spend quite a lot of time listening to music, you’d think my dreams would have a soundtrack more often. That’s definitely not the case though, in fact I can’t remember a single other time when that’s happened. My dreams are frequently weird and sometimes quite terrifying, but never musical. Oh, apart from that time I dreamt I was stuck in the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that was more about the show than the music.

Why the song Tomorrow? You’d have to ask my dream brain that. From what I remember of my dream, it probably just fit the mood. I don’t remember many precise details, (other than sex in a very luxurious hotel room - yeah that was definitely a dream) but as always I was left with an impression of its mood. In this case that would be dark and sultry, with an air of danger. Which I suppose meshes with the song pretty well.

Outside, somebody’s outside
Somebody’s knocking at the door
There’s a black car parked at the side of the road
Don’t go to the door
Don’t go to the door

I’m going out
I’m going outside mother
I’m going out there

I always assumed the song was primarily about life during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. Obviously in a much more subtle way, compared to songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday. A quick search revealed that though this may have also been an intended theme, the song is actually connected to the sudden death of his mother when he was 14. Whatever the precise meaning, it’s an incredibly haunting and powerful song. I think it holds echoes of both - overwhelming grief being a connecting central theme.

Who broke the window?
Who broke down the door?
Who tore the curtain?
And who was it for?
Who heals the wounds?
Who heals the scars?
Open the door, open the door

It’s not a cheery song by any means, but it is one of my favourites of theirs, and features on one of my favourite albums, October. I was a massive fan of U2 during my teenage years and eagerly consumed anything they released. Sadly I fell out of love with them once they’d released the album Rattle and Hum. As with so many bands, they changed direction (a change that really began with the album The Joshua Tree). Which is absolutely fine - growth is expected of artists so I’m not complaining. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the changes.

The thing I loved and admired most about U2 was the emotional rawness and the honesty of voice within that. On those early albums, you knew that when Bono sang he was pouring every ounce of depth and emotion he had into those songs. You could feel it when he sang. His live performances were incredible. Sadly I only got to witness those through video, something I’ll always regret but at the time couldn’t do much about.

Those early albums (Boy, October, War) are amongst my favourites of all time. If you never listen to any of their others, you should listen to those. They don’t necessarily make for easy listening, especially October, but they are masterpieces that will belong in my collection of favourites until the day I die.

Finished Reading: The Wells of Hell

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 10:53:00 +0000

Finished reading: The Wells of Hell by Graham Masterton 📚

It’s a small victory (see my previous blog post) but it feels very satisfying.

It was a re-read, having first read it decades ago when I was a fresh young 15 year old. I was obviously entertained a lot easier then, because I definitely didn’t enjoy it as much as I remember. I knew it wasn’t one of Masterton’s best, but still.

It’s a slightly cheesy horror novel featuring highly questionable decisions, people who turn into giant lobsters and not particularly deep (though likeable) characters. Think 80’s horror b-movie but in words. It wasn’t absolutely terrible, I mean it did feature an amazing cat and it was an easy read with a decent pace.

Plus it did get me reading again so I can’t complain too much!

Revised rating: 2.75/5.

Plans for 2026

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 23:44:40 +0000

I’m determined to make some changes this year. These are not resolutions - I don’t do those. They are just a couple of things that I’d like to actually achieve in 2026.

Change One

The first one being: read more. For a variety of reasons, I’ve fallen out of the habit of reading for more years than I care to admit. I used to consume books more than any other media apart from music, and I miss it! I do have some obstacles to overcome, the main one being difficulty concentrating due to a variety of factors (ADHD and depression, plus the worsened symptoms of both due to menopause).

I’m determined to make that change though, and have already started by re-reading an easy horror book that I last read when I was 15 (I’m now 52): The Wells of Hell by Graham Masterton.

I’m almost finished with that book, so I’m off to a good start at least!

Change Two

The second thing I want to change is related to writing. Specifically blogging. I’ve been blogging over at Bad Brains for a little over 6 months now, but I could do more. I want to concentrate on building that up more this year.

Alongside that, I want to actually start properly posting to a personal blog. I’m not sure yet where that will be, as I have several domains on the go currently (all of which are neglected). Here is a strong contender, especially as I found a great little plugin that allows me to post Obsidian notes straight to micro.blog. I’m actually writing this in Obsidian, which I use a lot, so hopefully it works!

Change Three?

There’s a third possible on my list too - photography.

I was finally inspired to pick up my camera again last year, and attempt some gig photography when I went to see The Skinner Brothers at both Leeds and Birmingham. Given my equipment is super basic (Canon 700D and a 50mm prime lens), and I rarely do indoor photography let alone at a gig (this was my first time), I was pretty damn happy with the results!

Here’s a few of those photos:

In an ideal world, I’d like to start picking my camera up more, too. My ability to do this depends a lot on my health however, so we’ll see. This is on the “nice to have, but no big deal if not” list. At least for the time being.

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 16:06:49 +0000

From the archive: Liverpool, UK, 2013.

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 11:33:03 +0000

From the archive: Bedroom tax protest, Hull, UK, 2013.

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 10:30:00 +0000

From the archive: Liverpool, UK, 2012.

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:00:34 +0000

Currently reading: Lock In by John Scalzi 📚

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 01:00:27 +0000

From the archive: Liverpool, UK, 2012. #streetphotography

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:32:03 +0000

A shot from the archive: Beverley, UK, 2012.

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 13:45:49 +0000

Another from the archive. It’s Caturday, so how could I not include one of my lovely Panda! Sadly no longer with us, but never forgotten.

Winging it

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 03:17:00 +0000

I’ve been threatening to start photography again for a long time. I’ve said it several times over social media, posting in the hope that I will feel accountable and actually start doing it. Thus far it hasn’t happened but lately I’ve really been feeling the urge to create again and nothing scratches that itch for me quite like photography does.

Yesterday a friend asked if she could have a copy of one of my images (you know who you are, thank you!). She’s intending to not only print, frame and hang it on her wall, she also wants to do the same for family christmas gifts. I was genuinely floored by this (and definitely flattered) and I think it’s helped to give me that kick up the arse that I needed.

So today I’ve ordered a couple of new camera batteries. On 7 December I’ll be going to my second gig on The Skinner Brothers tour and I’ll try my hand at some concert photography for the first time. Keeping in mind that my skills are extremely rusty as it’s been 10 years since I used my DSLR, and also my camera isn’t the latest and greatest, I’ll be thrilled if I get one or two good images!

Past experience in low light settings has been minimal too, but I’ll just push the ISO up as far as I can, prioritise shutter speed and shoot in burst mode. Then hope for the best! The band are very dear to me, so I’ll be over the moon if I do manage to pull off some good shots.

If it’s a complete disaster and I end up with no useable images, it’s still valuable experience and I’ll know better for next time. Also the gig is in Liverpool, so I may spend some time in the city the next day doing some street photography which is much more within my comfort zone.

The only other snag is editing software. I’m really only familiar with Lightroom but am hesitant to become trapped in their god awful subscription model! That said I don’t have bundles of spare cash to lay out on a full license for other software either, so I may be forced into the hostage situation that they call their monthly plan.

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 17:24:01 +0000

Today’s image from the archive. Taken at Pickering train station in Pickering, UK. (It’s a lovely place if you ever get the chance to visit!)

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 23:53:50 +0000

Thought I might post an image each day from my archive. It might motivate me to pick up the camera again!

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 02:54:48 +0000

Tonight’s adventures in procrastination have brought me this: jac.omg.lol

Actually seems like a nifty service for the price. Haven’t really looked into all the other features besides the hosted profile yet, there’s a lot for the money!

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 02:46:23 +0000

Just testing the ios app. Then I’ll maybe see about setting up cross posting to Bluesky and / or Mastodon.

I need sleep though, so that’s a job for tomorrow.

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 02:12:34 +0000

Ok, it’s gone 2am now. I should probably stop exploring micro.blog and go to bed.

Welcome to winter

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 01:13:44 +0000

Winter is closing in once again. It’s felt pretty chilly the last week or so!

What better time to re-evaluate your online presence? During the past week I’ve torn down my old blog with the intent of starting fresh. I’ve toyed with the idea of using Hugo again, or a different static site generator. I will eventually get that set up, but it’s going to take a while to learn new things.

So, for now at least, here I am. I’m quite excited to have a new toy to play with!