“Let's make a grave…” And that's what we did. Everyone was crying for the poor dead bird as they went around murdering flowers Keiko-chan, the eponymous "Woman", is different; it's not explained how or why but that's not important, you can draw your own conclusions, or not. She learns how to mimic being "normal" by...

27th April - 3rd May I passed a clump of Welsh Poppies in the graveyard, bowing their heads in the rain like respectful mourners, and felt a pang of jealousy that mine hasn't yet flowered. On my return, I noticed they, in fact, had! Floral "Baader Meinhof" effect? I finally managed to log the buzzard on Merlin. I...

Happy May Day, Beltane, and Calan Mai! Here are a few photos from my phone from the last month with neither rhyme nor reason to the theme. Thanks for reading this post via RSS! Let me know your thoughts by sending me an email: rss@thomasrigby.com.

I have never come across a book so hard to classify before. Firstly, this book is beautifully written; a triumph for a first person point of view. Piranesi (the character) is kooky enough that effulgent and flowery prose is not incongruous. Framed as their journals, we open in media res with our narrator explaining...

I can be a bit of a curmudgeon and focus on the negatives when I feel the pressure. I know it's not good for me to get into that negativity spiral so reflecting like this is important. So, without further ado, here are some things I have been enjoying lately. The feeling of a fistful of dry sand slowly running...

20th April - 26th April There are few things more joyous than a small child's birthday party. I finally finished the mandatory training module on work's learning platform for "how to write good prompts for AI". Personally, I didn't feel the course addressed many of the inherent issues with LLMs nor the issues...

Reading Matt's post, "Why I Don't Use A Dedicated Music Player", with great interest. A dedicated Music Player is something I keep coming back to, time and time again but never actually get around to buying. For much the same reason as Matt; in the cold light of day, I can't quite see the point! I don't listen to a...

13th April - 19th April I always feel like Autumn is my jam because I'm all goth and shit but I do love Spring. I think the shift has happened now I'm back in the countryside; syncing with the rhythms of nature and bonding with the Earth. Or something. Anyway… The forget-me-nots from the wood have spread into my...

In the previous installment of Tomi Adeyemi's West African inspired magical high fantasy, the story ended with a cliff-hanger that cut short a rolling boil. The last book in the trilogy wraps everything up neatly while adding more complexity — a bold move for an Act 3 novel! Spoilers aheadThere is some discussion of...

There's a music industry trope about the weak second album that, it must be said, is a cliche for a reason. Musicians spend their lives to date crafting their debut and eighteen months banging out the follow up. Midlands' chanteuse Holly Humberstone is bucking that trend with brand new release, "Cruel World". Album...

I've been struggling with setting up an AI Agent for a client. I mentioned it in my recent weeknotes and suggested it's because I'm used to a specific type of computer and LLMs don't marry with my mental model. Then I thought, the fuck am I blaming myself for? I feel non-technical people get along with LLMs better...

6th April - 12th April This week has gone so quickly! Forget-me-nots are carpeting the wood and the desire paths are lined with yellow tulips and daffodils. An angry blackbird suggests I fuck off. A tree fell in the woods, bright down by Storm Dave. I was not there. I did not hear it. I've been struggling at work...