2026-11-04 06:27:33
I'm working on a project at work for entity mapping; using semantic triples to describe a knowledge graph of a client's content ecosystem. It's mostly a boring spreadsheet so I was wanting to visualise it as Nodes and Edges so it's easier to understand for less technical people.
In my quest to find some off-the-shelf software that can turn an Excel file into a picture deterministically, I discovered Turtle, a Python library for drawing diagrams using path descriptions in (mostly) human-readable steps:
import turtle
SIDE = 15 # length of each side in pixels
turtle.fillcolor('yellow') # Set the fill color
turtle.begin_fill() # Start recording the shape to fill
turtle.forward(SIDE) # Move forward
turtle.right(90) # Turn 90° clockwise
turtle.forward(SIDE)
turtle.right(90)
turtle.forward(SIDE)
turtle.right(90)
turtle.forward(SIDE)
turtle.right(90) # Final turn returns the turtle to its starting direction
turtle.end_fill() # Fill the shape with yellow
turtle.done() # Keep the window openThe cursor crawls along the (invisible) path like an adorable baby turtle.
from turtle import *
color('red', 'yellow')
begin_fill()
while True:
forward(200)
left(170)
if abs(pos()) < 1:
break
end_fill()
done()As the docs say, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination!
2026-11-03 05:22:20
I was served a cup of Earl Grey in a café recently; Picard's brew of choice, if memory serves.
I rather enjoyed it so I bought a box from Twinings and they have a story on the side where they claim to have invented it.
The blend was put together on the instruction of the then Prime Minister of England, Earl Grey, who liked it so much he gave his name to it.
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
2026-11-02 04:54:54
The British (original) version of anthropomorphic steam train drama for children, "Thomas The Tank Engine" was originally narrated by Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr.
Ringo was replaced after a few seasons by soundalike Michael Angelis who was married to Corrie's Gail Platt (the lovely Helen Worth).
This I already knew, tbh. But what's news to me is Michael's brother, Paul, was the voice of Ringo Starr in the Beatles' animation for "The Yellow Submarine" bringing the whole thing full circle. Or something.
2026-11-02 04:45:16
Happy November!
Here are a few photos from my phone from the last month with neither rhyme nor reason to the theme.
2026-11-02 04:10:20
#blessed by a postcard perfect Autumn day: crisp and clear, not too cold, the sunrise gold competing with the moonlight silver at dawn. It's 0640 and the moon is still winning.
I got my annual flu jab like a good citizen.
The next morning awoke to thick fog befitting of the season; the vibrant leaves given a soft and milky backdrop to really show off their glorious fiery hues. I took my film camera with me on my morning walk to run down a roll and lamented it was black and white! I forgot my glasses so there's 20-odd shots relying solely on the split viewfinder. An interesting experiment.
Spent the week in Belfast doing a boatload of tourist things: Titanic Museum and SS Nomadic, Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, and The W5. Even managed a stop at the famous St George's Market. I wholeheartedly recommend the city; it's different enough to England to be exciting but similar enough to not be overwhelming — the main difference is basically everyone is friendly!
Checked in on work when I got back to Blighty (I'm not a complete saint!) and the new developer is absolutely flying! Everyone on the team is super excited by the work he's been doing; little added delights here and there amongst some solid "to ticket" delivery. Very pleased!
People don’t see things and hear things as objectively as they might think. The visual and auditory information that enters the mind is distorted by experiences, thoughts, circumstances, wild fancies, prejudices, preferences, knowledge, awareness, and countless other workings of the mind.
Toshikazu Kawaguchi, "Before The Coffee Gets Cold"
PS: Went trick or treating dressed as Lemmy 🤘
2026-11-01 05:29:24
"Tempest" by Victoria Aveyard. I've been a fan for about a decade and have been very much looking forward to her first foray into adult literature. I'm hoping it's much more swashbuckling than romance though.
I am bigly into fantasy and Bridget Collins is doing something interesting in that space and I haven't read its like before; whether that's due to my narrow experience or Collins' writing is left as a problem for the reader to solve themselves. If you haven't already, check out "The Binding".
The Penguin Classics version of Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is sublime.
I'm currently ploughing through Toshikazu Kawaguchi's "Before The Coffee Goes Cold" series and, while I haven't yet actually shed a tear, I've found it profoundly moving and emotional.
"Perfect" is bloody difficult. Even harder to define in the singular. Susanna Clarke's "Piranesi" and Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" are both incredible books. I am a slut for "Twilight" and I wish I was talented enough to have written Lev Grossman's The Magicians. The entire "Redwall" back catalogue is largely faultless. I can't narrow it down to just one.
I could not bring myself to finish "A Scanner Darkly" by sci-fi legend, Philip K Dick. I was put off by the Beat-era hippie slang that only got worse as the story dragged on.
JT LeRoy's "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things is a fabulous, if bleak af, story that takes the idea of an unreliable narrator to a new level. LeRoy implied the book was autobiographical but was later discovered to be a complete fabrication herself! A pen name for another author with an actress roped in for public appearances. It was quite the scandal at the time but, interestingly for a “gimmick” the book itself stands up well.
As appears to be tradition on these kind of round-ups, "favourite author" falls to Ursula K Le Guin. I've read more than ten books and consistently rate her North of 4. If I was to recommend something to someone it would be either "The left Hand of Darkness" for the sci-fi fans or "A Wizard of Earthsea" if you're more High Fantasy minded. Although I think everyone should read "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" at least once in their lives.
Now it's your turn to tell me about your "Great British Book Off". Get in touch by email, hit me up on the Socials™, elsewhere online, or –better yet– write your own blog post and send me the link — I'd love to read it!
Here are all the titles in an easy-to-copypasta code block:
On Your Marks — A Book You Can’t Wait To Read
Signature Bake — A Book From Your Favourite Genre
Showstopper — A Book With A Beautiful Cover
Soggy Bottom — A Book That Made You Cry
Hollywood Handshake — Your Perfect Book
Leaving This Week — A Book You Didn’t Finish
Star Baker — A Five Star Read
And The Winner Is — A Book By A Favourite Author