Tantai Jin Apologist

Books & Film

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 10:04:15 GMT

Went to see Project Hail Mary this week. Twice! It was so good, & very faithful to the book. A few things got cut or condensed for time, or tweaked to work in a visual medium, but overall it was a perfect adaptation. I got a free beanbag afterwards too, similar to the ones seen in the film.

Second time I essentially got my own private screening, as I went to a small independent cinema on a Wednesday afternoon & it's a few weeks into its run, so it was just me. Did nearly get lost in the place, even though it only has 3 screens, because in order to fit within the fairly small building its located in, the layout is odd & the hallways are a maze.

I'm rereading the book now, because it's been a while since I read it.

Speaking of books, I managed to pick up a copy of Ways of Seeing by John Berger from WH Smith (or whatever its calling itself these days) for £1 on clearance. I absolutely was not expecting that. Just went in because I needed stationary & that shop is so overpriced, the clearance section is the best option. I such a good book & I've wanted by own copy for a while, so randomly stumbling on one like this was very nice indeed. There was also a fun art book (Journal With Purpose by Helen Colebrook), that might actually encourage my creativity. Every art guide aimed at beginners is like 'Just draw things! Be creative!' & I'm like OK, but draw what? My mind is as blank as the paper I'm looking at. Or they're step guides on how to draw specific things that I don't necessarily want to draw ('Do you mean step-by-step guides?' No, because they don't have steps. It's like 'Step 1: Draw some circles & then some lines between them. Step 2: Fill in a shitload of detail & you're done!'). This book is full of little motifs & designs to try out doodling in order to add decorative touches to stuff & play around with. This is exactly what I want. I don't have any grand designs on being some skilled artist. I just wanna doodle stuff & have fun with shapes.

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Sun, 01 Mar 2026 12:25:28 GMT

I really need to catch up on DW. I've not checked my flist for a few weeks.

I've been doing some online classes recently to gain MS Office certifications. Now I'm in the process of getting the Excel Expert cert (having already done the lower level courses for Excel, Word, & PowerPoint to gain the Specialist level), so my brain has been turned to soup.

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Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:39:19 GMT

Small panic this morning when the lass who works in the shop underneath my flat rang my buzzer to tell me there was a leak coming through their ceiling. So despite having plans I had to sit in waiting for the landlord to send a plumber out. Except nothing in my place was leaking, & the water is coming from somewhere in the middle, where there's only empty floor. After some investigation, it seems to be a blocked gutter that's backed up with water from all the recent rainy weather, overflowed & spilled into a hole or crack of some kind in the roof of the lower floor where the shop is (which is slightly bigger than my flat), which has then taken a circuitous route through the shop's ceiling until it found a weak point.

Annoying that I wasted a day, but at least it didn't mean extensive repairs to my flat.

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Kitchenalia Part 2

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 13:48:58 GMT

Months ago I chucked a bunch of kitchen utensils, bowls, & assorted stuff in a box, as well as packing up my microwave, after realising I don't use most of the stuff cluttering my kitchen cupboards & drawers. I had a bunch of recipes in my notes app that I wanted to try out (some stuff I've made before but not for a long while, & some I've never tried) & decided to go through them all.

The end result: I've whittled own the number of recipes I have saved to a few favourites at I'll know I'll make again. And the box of assorted kitchen equipment got taken to a charity shop yesterday, without even glancing at what is still in it. I did cheat a little - there were a couple of things I took out for a recipe, but I hated the result, & will therefore never make it again, so using the item didn't count & it went back in the box.

Same with the microwave. Once in a while there's been something I've wanted to heat & being able to just stick it in the microwave would be convenient. But there's always been other ways, or I've decided it's not worth bothering.

There are one of two recipes left, so that part's not finished, but they don't require equipment I don't already have.

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Good Day!

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 21:56:06 GMT

I now have a Switch! Yes, a Switch 1. I'd been toying with the idea of getting one for a while, but knew that prices on the secondhand market would inevitably drop once the Switch 2 was released & a bunch of people sold their old consoles & flooded the market. So I waited. Now it's been months & I figure prices are as low as they're going to get. I did briefly consider aiming higher & buying a Switch 2. But eh. It's more money, & sure it's more powerful, but I'm mainly looking at it to play fun indie games on the go, & also try some Nintendo exclusives while I'm at it (first console I owned was a PS2 & I've stuck with Playstation ever since, & before that the kids I hung out with were all Team Sega. So aside from briefly checking out the Wii before deciding it wasn't for me, I'm a complete Nintendo newbie). I already have a PS5. Buying a Switch 2 would be like owning a Ferrari, going to buy a bicycle for chill rides around town, & deciding to get a souped-up bike that goes faster. Like that's cool & all, but it's not what I'm here for. Maybe I'll get a Switch 2 in a few years when prices come down a little, if I enjoy my experience with the Switch.

I did get an OLED though. I also picked up Breath of the Wild to play on it.

In even better news, on the way to buy my new(ish) console, I ran into my friend Tina, who announced that she'd had her last chemo session (fingers crossed, touching wood, pending a confirmation check-up in a few months) & is (hopefully!!!!) cancer-free. So we're meeting up for coffee next week to celebrate that.

Also... WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME THE THAT THE SOUND AT THE START OF SWITCH ADS WAS ACTUALLY THE SOUND THE CONTROLLERS MAKE WHEN YOU SLIDE THEM ON??? I thought that was just a random sound effect they added as a kind of jingle.

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Rian Johnson really doesn't miss

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:36:52 GMT

Wake Up Dead Man was so good! A little slow at the start, though that's mostly because I hate religion. And ngl I was still expecting standard film pacing, which is a mistake in a Knives Out film & I really should know better at this point lol. I'm currently chilling in a Tim Hortons afterwards, enjoying a pistachio & white choc latte, & picked up some timbits for later.

I definitely need to rewatch at home to catch everything I totally missed. Though I feel this won't be one I'll watch over & over like the previous two.

First time I've been to the cinema since before covid (last film I saw in the cinema was Rise of Skywalker, which would put anyone off wasting money on cinema tickets, especially considering how much they cost nowadays). To be fair, there's been stuff since that I might have been interested in seeing, but the cost of tickets means I have to be sure I really want to see something, & have money to burn that I'm willing to make a risky bet with. And have the time. This was the first time all those things have applied.

Also today I checked out a vintage kilo sale on my way to the cinema, but didn't see anything that interesting.

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So, I got a new pen

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:38:45 GMT

I mostly write digitally on my Surface, but I still like to have an actual pen & notebook around to write things out on actual paper if I feel like it. But it was frustrating to have a bunch of different coloured pens around, considering I prefer the Surface (I don't have to transcribe everything in order to post it, & also I can easily erase stuff). But I like using multiple colours to keep things organised. You can get pens that offer 4 colours in 1. But you don't get to pick the colours. You can have boring colours, or quirky weird colours. But if you want a couple of standard colours like black & red but also want something more interesting? Tough luck.

Then I stumbled onto the concept of customisable multi-function pens. I can pick my colours! Not only that, but I can pick thickness, which is extra useful as I have awful handwriting & a fine tip makes it slightly less illegible. I got the 5 colour version of the Uni-Ball Style Fit, with black, red, violet, & rose pink inks (all in 0.28mm), & a pencil.

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Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:22:38 GMT

Restarted computer & the startup sound has gone back to the normal Windows 11 sound.

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Sat, 28 Jun 2025 15:23:56 GMT

Holy shit am I going crazy? I restarted my (Windows 11) computer after an update & it played the Windows 7 startup sound at me?!?

(Especially confusing as I have the sound set as my text message notification tone on my phone, so it was like, oh I got a tex- wait hold on the sound isn't coming from the phone?)

Confused but delighted. The Win11 one was boring. I'm on an Insider build so no idea if this will stick around. Fingers crossed it does.

Now if they'd bring the *scrunch* sound when you empty the recycle bin back, that'd be great.

EDIT: Apparently it's a bug & they're planning on 'fixing' it. ;_;

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Sat, 21 Jun 2025 20:51:29 GMT

Says a lot about how ridiculously hot it's been the past few days that I can hear people outside cheering the rain (& accompanying thunder & lightning)

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Tue, 10 Jun 2025 17:58:55 GMT

The work computers updated to Windows 11 today. Absolute scenes, let me tell you. Had to show everyone how to align the taskbar back to the left.

Also I saw a bunny.

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New (Old) Camera

Mon, 26 May 2025 19:33:31 GMT

So I have a camera now - an actual non-digital film photography camera. I'd vaguely thought about taking it up, because there's something about having to figure out good shots for yourself looking through a viewfinder, not relying on a screen showing the image you'll get & knowing how it'll come out, & having to wait to see if you actually captured the shot properly. Plus having to actually think about the photos you're taking because you only have so many. But whenever I saw cameras in charity shops & flea markets they're often £10+, &/or are not guaranteed working, & the possibility that a particular camera model might be shit even if it is working & you need to research, so it's a gamble so I'd have to be sure.

Then a few weeks ago I went to a car boot sale & a guy had a whole box of cameras for sale. Not tested, & most were grimy & had clearly been left on a shelf somewhere gathering dust & dirt, but they were only £1 each, so not too big a loss if I choose poorly. I rummaged through the box, &... recognised one of the cameras. I was the one my family had as a kid. A Hanimex 35HS. Bought it for the intense nostalgia alone. And also since I'd used it before, I knew it took decent pics. Though sadly when I got it home, away from the crowd, it was unlikely to work, as something was rattling around loose inside. Still, it was nice to know the make & model of camera I learned to take photos on.

Then a week later I was in a vintage/antiques store, & there was another one. This one would be more than £1, but had a higher chance of working, but there was no price. A tag had been attached, & there was even a £ sign, but no price, & the lady at the counter explained that the guy who valued stuff & set the prices wasn't in that day, but I don't live in the town so I couldn't just come back.

At that point it felt personal so I went on eBay & looked & someone was selling one boxed with the manual for £4, so I bid & won.

Now I have film for it (which cost more than the camera did lol). Just got to find stuff to take photos of that are worth the cost of developing them.

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Wed, 30 Apr 2025 01:14:12 GMT

My life is basically just Horizon Zero Dawn right now. Any spare time I've had in the last 2 weeks, that's what I've been up to.

I thought I'd give it a shot & get it out of my backlog, where it's sitting been for years, after being reminded by the PS5 remastered version. It occurred to me that it may have been an unwise purchase, considering I suck at both archery & stealth (which the game heavily involves) & I also have completionist/trophy hunter tendencies that could turn a more open-structured game into a series of step-by-step instructions. Plus crafting can feel like work when you're constantly juggling resources & barely managing (already get enough of that IRL).

So instead I decided take a more laidback approach. I set it to story mode & eschewed the guides in favour of simply exploring & figuring stuff out myself. Admittedly it works out as a strange definition of 'laidback', since I explore every little thing & do every random side quest & errand & farm resources. It's been working out pretty great. For instance, I found out you're meant to revisit the ruins as an adult buy literally stumbling into them while wandering around & seeing there were new areas you could open up, which felt way more fun than simply checking a guide that said to do that & then doing that. Even the crafting has been fun, because story mode means less pressure & I'm just using what I've gathered to make things.

(Technically I am checking guides for some collectables, but only because pretty early on I unlocked the maps to find a bunch of collectables, & while they're clearly marked, some of them - mainly the vantage points - are a nightmare figuring out how to get at, & it's frustrating knowing something is right there but in order to actually reach it you have to approach from a particular direction & turn the camera to a particular angle & if the stars are in alignment you can see the handholds to climb up... So having a couple of guides to the flowers, vantages, figures, & vessels saves me some frustration when I can't figure it out.)

I've got 61 hours of playtime & am pretty sure I'm ridiculously over-levelled, but I'm not even halfway through the main story.

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Ugh

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 22:22:31 GMT

Signed up to a challenge to write 250,000 words in 2025, & so far it's been a washout. I managed something in the first few days, even if it wasn't much, & was hoping to get into a steady groove. But I've been feeling like absolute crap for the last week & not exactly in the mood to write. I have the immune system of a tank so rarely get ill, so whenever I do feel really bad I know it must hit hard. It's not covid though. The only symptoms I have for that are the generic, vague ones that it shares with every other illness out there (oh, you have a cold? a cough? cant sleep (no shit you're not gonna sleep well like this)? Any time I've had so much as a sniffle the last few years I was running a covid test, & every single time its come up negative, even the one time I felt sure I had it & ran the test again the next day to be sure. And that was when I had a whole stack of tests (because I went in for one pack & the pharmacist pushed another on me because there were 2 packs of tests left in the box so giving me both meant he could get rid of the empty box). I am not wasting my time.

I have been doing my best to kill two birds with one stone though. If all I'm gonna be doing is vegging out under a blanket I may as well spend the time doing something that would otherwise distract me from writing. I stalled on Sackboy: A Big Adventure months ago because while I love the idea of platformers, in practice they are frustrating as fuck, especially boss fights. But it turns out there's an infinite lives setting. I've turned that on & now I'm actually able to make progress & the game is now both significantly more fun during the boss fights & the trickier platforming sections. Amazing how much better things are when you don't have to replay the whole bloody level because you took more than 3 hits.

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Tape victory!

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 14:58:14 GMT

Wandered down to a local event (basically an artisan/independent market with some entertainment), expecting I'd that I'd just wander round, maybe buy a brownie or two, maybe a lip balm because there was supposed to be a seller there who made them & I need some. The lip balm seller wasn't there, but I got a mug I'd been eyeing up at previous markets for half price (& it was £10 so that was a bargain). And there was a vintage stall in a separate room that I'm not sure was part of the same event that had cassette tapes! There were a few good ones, but at £2 that adds up if you're buying a couple, & most of them were good as in 'I kinda like the artist & it's a decent album I guess but I ain't exactly desperate'. Apparently they have a store, in a town that's not that far away, but I've never had reason to go there, so I'll go after christmas & see what their full selection is like, since I doubt they brought everything. I did buy a Queen greatest hits album, because there's just banger after banger with no dud tracks.

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Durham Trip

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 22:05:42 GMT

Holy shit Durham is expensive.

I fancied a day out & it apparently has a couple good shops for secondhand books & vintage clothing. I got an early bus & was running a little late, so decided to skip breakfast, figuring I'd grab something when I go there.

Huge mistake. Walked into a random cafe, not even a fancy one, checked the menu, & 8 QUID FOR A SANDWICH????? Sure it was described as a doorstop sandwich. But a sandwich is a sandwich. For that price you better have unicorn meat as a filling. Tried other places & same sort of shit. Even the cafe in the market hall, the sort of place you'd expect to be reasonably priced, was insane. I'm sorry but £7 for a panini?

I've never been so happy to see a Subway. Not exactly quality, but at least it was less than a fiver. Though getting anything there felt like getting blood out of a stone. Can I have a meatball marinara? No sorry meatballs aren't ready yet. Okay guess I'll have tuna. What bread? Oh no we don't have Italian herbs & cheese. Only 3 out of 7 breads available. Spinach leaves? Don't be silly. Your only leafy option is lettuce. Sauces? You have a choice of 3 & one has no visible label. Please I just want food. And it only occurred to me after I'd left & they'd started eating, but they never offered to toast it & I forgot to ask, so the sub was pathetic. And I had to leave to eat it even though it was freezing because inside there was just a single small table & no seating. Sure the place was tiny but they could surely fit a stool in? And the 2 employees seemed awkward at the idea of having customer. Was this a money laundering front or some shit?

Mentioned my frustrations to a woman working in a charity shop & she recommended a place which she swore had reasonable prices, giving me a convoluted series of directions to find it. Which I didn't bother trying to memorise as soon as she mentioned how great its brunch menu was. No place which has a brunch menu is in my budget.

On the plus side I finally found a copy of Tales from Watership Down! And I picked up a christmas present for my mam. So the trip was worth it at least.

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Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:22:16 GMT

Microsoft celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Windows Insider Program by making the icons for Start & Search invisible on my taskbar I see. Well I suppose it keeps things interesting.

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Who wants to see a selfie of me?

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:53:22 GMT

( hello it's me )

Also: Proof I go outside occasionally

Went for a nice walk in some woodland & wandered around some 900 year old ruins.

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Look at what I picked up in a charity shop today!!

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 18:57:44 GMT

It's a Sony CFS-W301L, late 80s (funnily enough I guessed 1987-ish & some googling of the model number tells me Radio Museum agrees with me & I was able to find the manual which also suggests I'm correct so, like, yes!)

It only cost me £5!

Look at these beautiful tactile buttons!

It's a bit scraped on the front, but eh whatever if I decide I fancy listening to a long or medium wave station, I can still figure out tuning the radio even without being able to see the frequencies properly

They say they tested the tape player working in the shop, but I don't have any tapes atm, so I'll have to get some. Considering it needed a bit of cleaning externally, the tape heads will probably need cleaning, so I'll see if I can get a cleaning cassette as well

Bonus photo: Old Sony & new Sony

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The sheer dumbassery I just witnessed

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 16:43:46 GMT

It's pretty windy today, & when I heard a loud bang, I looked out to see what had blown over & saw a large dumpster in the road behind some guy's car, evidently having hit it (he's got his phone out taking photos of the bumper). Some lady who is passing grabs the bin & moves it back behind the building it came from & locks the wheels so it'll stay in place.

Great, right? Except nope, because instead of dragging it against the wall where it's meant to go, she backs it right up to the building's FIRE EXIT & locks it into place so it can't be moved. Not even just overlapping the doors, or a little way in front so you can open the doors a little (enough to squeeze out through the gap) but not get them fully open. No, right in front, dead centre, pushed right up to the doors.

She looked at the pair of doors saying "FIRE EXIT! KEEP CLEAR!" on each door & went 'yep, perfect place'. And the building is a restaurant & the exit is for the kitchens (y'know, a place with a high chance of fire) I went down there & moved the thing & she's all like >'well it hit that guy's car so I was moving it out the way'. Okay but you can move it an extra few feet & it'd be even more out of the way & NOT BLOCK THE FIRE EXIT FOR A BUSINESS WHERE FIRE IS AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD HOLY SHIT

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Wed, 31 Jan 2024 21:52:36 GMT

Chapter 5 of Always Read the Fine Print on Spirit Deals is done, & just needs editing

Which ain't gonna happen tonight seeing as Sony have a State of Play starting in a few minutes & I got work in the morning

So maybe there'll be an update tomorrow

We'll see

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Adventures in VR

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 23:04:58 GMT

So I very briefly owned a Meta Quest 2 & damn F- would not recommend. Who designed that thing? It was actually painful to wear to the point where I'd start getting a headache about 10 minutes after putting it on, & yes the straps are adjustable, but it does need to be held against the face, so if I loosen the straps so it's not pressing against my forehead then it just slips down my face & I can't see shit

'Well how else can a VR headset stay in position?' you may ask. Like idk Sony managed it. Twice

Yeah I traded that shit in after only a day of owning it & got myself a PSVR2. Solid, well-designed piece of kit that

And my opinion of the MQ2 actually went down even further, because when I tried playing Beat Saber on the MQ, & was struggling to clear levels on normal difficulty that I'd aced on expert back when I played it on PSVR. 'Damn,' I thought. 'I'm really out of practice!'. Except no! Because I breezed through a level on expert first time. (And, no, playing on MQ2 didn't count as practice, as I could barely get any play time in before the headset got painful, & also I found I could play songs I either haven't touched since I played them on PSVR 4 years ago, or have never played at all because they're newer.) I'd noticed my heads starting to cramp a little, but put that down to me being used to the move controllers. But I had no issues with the PSVR2 sense controllers. They fit perfectly in my hands

So yeah. Bad design all round

Only issue I have with the PSVR2 is the earbuds not staying in my ears but that's cos my ears are weird & reject earbuds, & I prefer over-ear headphones anyway. I used my PS4 gold headphones on the PSVR, & they'll probably still work here. Gonna have to investigate options

BTW if you're waiting for a fic update from me then sucks to be you I guess? Was really intending to get some writing done this week, but... oops?

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Old Projects 3

Sat, 11 Nov 2023 23:10:08 GMT

Final rug, I swear! This one I made during lockdown, for my bedroom.

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Old Projects 2

Sat, 11 Nov 2023 23:06:08 GMT

Another rug I made, this one in 2018. Ridiculously colourful as whoever decorated my flat had an obsession with beige (though they’ve added some browns & whites for ‘variety’) & I needed to cancel the blandness out.

( Progress pics )

I actually kept note of time & materials on this one.

I bought the canvas for cheap on ebay & started work on the border more than a year before I did anything with it. Then I got a VR headset & decided I needed something to mark a play area so I didn’t wander too far & trip over the coffee table or some shit. And that gave me the kick up the arse I needed to start working on it again, & after a year of no progress I finished it in two months. I also had to ship the wool from Germany because Hobbycraft stopped selling it after I'd bought my first batch & I wasn't going to undo all my work up to that point.

Dimensions: 2m x 90cm

Materials: 38 balls of MyBoshi No.1 (196 Schwarz x 5, 163 Violett x 3, 159 Saphir x 3, 150 Wolke x 3, 158 Meerblau x 2, 184 Neongrün x 3, 113 Lowenzahn x 4, 181 Neonorange x 3, 132 Signalrot x 3, 135 Bordeaux x 3, 162 Magenta x 2, 142 Rose, x 2, 161 Candy Purpur x 2)

Approx cost of materials: £155 (not counting €20 or so for the final 2 batches of wool)

Time: 121 hours

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Old Projects 1

Sat, 11 Nov 2023 22:47:53 GMT

While digging through my Tumblr to find old posts I made so I can post them here so I have a sort of online mirror of my Tumblr posts, I remembered I'd posted about some rugs I made

First an awesomely hideous rug that I finished towards the end of 2015. Mostly done freehand (though I plotted out a pattern for the wavy interweaving lines) & making it up as I went along.

( Detail shots under cut )

Design loosely based on this one:

Not sure how long it took me to make, but I was doing an Elementary rewatch while making it & I got through several seasons.

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