The Tao of the Silicon.shaman

It started with a simple question.

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:13:03 GMT

How do you adjust Earth's orbit so each year is exactly 360 days long?

The answer spawned an entire sci-fi saga!

Welcome to the Holos sector, an A.I assisted journey in brainstorming.. and mutated into an eons spanning narrative journey reminiscent of the text-based chose-your-own-adventure games of the long-ago internet!

I don't know if this is a story, a protracted rambling brainstorming or something else... but by the Muses, it was fun !!!

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less of an embuggerance

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:34:29 GMT

Turns out.. we do actually have an isolation box that's supposed to switch over to backup power in the event of grid failure. It just isn't working.

It seems when they installed it, one of the parts in the kit they get, was meant for the European market. Not their fault, but the suppliers. (some snafu in logistics as all the other parts are correct) So, when this 110/120volt breaker saw 220/240 volts, it tripped, and everything shut down.

I can see why they didn't catch it, it has the same part number, but ending in a Eu not GB.

Also the other breakers that fried were killed by the power surge from the outage. They shouldn't have blown, but because of the rogue component the system did not shut down properly, which meant that for a brief instant the battery was trying to power the local grid.. But as the engineer said "We don't need to explain we'll just send them the bill for that."

So, we have grid power, which is at least now charging the battery, and the replacement part is on order. It has to be special ordered because as I said, normally it comes as part of a complete kit. But again, they'll fix it for free.

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embuggernce

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 19:30:18 GMT

Well... the power grid went down again today, for the whole day. Power came back on a couple of hours ago after it went out about 8am.

Annoyingly and stupidly, we did NOT have back-up power, despite it being a sunny day and the battery having 75% charge... because when they installed the system, despite me making it clear to the salesman that we wanted a whole-house back up system, and the quote including it, we did NOT have the grid change-over switch. So, the inverter gateway, the brains of the system, only runs on grid power... and when that went down, everything else shut down.

Yeah... the stuuuupid, it burns!

Apparently it's common to install solar panels and a battery, as a supplement to grid power, as way of saving money by using the battery to smooth over peak times. That however is NOT what we asked to installed, and why we have as many solar panels as can be crammed up on the roof along with the biggest battery they have... The All-In-One battery has Emergency Power enabled, we have a ground rod which is needed for a battery back-up system (because when the system is isolated from the grid to prevent feedback you need a ground return) But they installed the wrong sort of gateway system, one that doesn't have the isolater change over switch.

Yeah, I'll be having words with their engineer when I see him Friday, because I know I bloody well paid for it, but apparently the installers didn't get the memo.

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I tell thee summin', that Noah Arkwright had the right idea!

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:40:56 GMT

It's rained in Britain for 40 days now

Pretty sure we've had all of that here. Continuously.

Everywhere is saturated, the ground is like a soaked sponge that squishes underfoot, and everything is moist and muddy.

And still the rains keep coming.

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A found thing...

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:40:04 GMT

i found this channel on youtube.

Perfect if you need a quiet moment as a little treat.

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W.T.F ?!

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 23:31:45 GMT

Looks like the Flying Dutchman !!

I'm not sure if I'd put my foot down and get the F out ... or stop and ask if he's got a berth open!

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Bruce Spingsteen. Streets of Minneapolis.

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 20:57:06 GMT

Acelightning would have loved this!

The Boss kicks ICE ass.

To quote his post on Bluesky:
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

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Predictions.

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 18:54:26 GMT

Nostradamus I’m not, but it’s obvious where this is going.

Violence instigated by ICE will increase. More innocent people will killed on camera until there is a mass spontaneous outburst, either in MN or Philli which is next on ICE’s list.
Trump will use that as excuse to invoke the insurrection act and declare martial law, cancelling the mid-terms. He will extort or otherwise obtain the voter rolls
Democrats will express outrage, might even try to impeach Trump. Trump will designate the Democratic a ‘domestic terrorist’ organization and start mass arrests of elected democratic officials. Those mass arrests will quickly spread to include anyone that is a registered democrat.
Having arrested anyone that disagrees with him, Trump will move to first invade Greenland, then use that as bridgehead to invade Canada.
Meanwhile, the ‘detainment camps’ hastily thrown together to contain all those arrested will quickly become death camps, with no medical care, no oversight, and inadequate food, sanitation or shelter.
Trump will declare another war in South America, because he’s stupid enough to fight one on two fronts, neither of which he can actually win, and he needs a distraction from getting his ass kicked up North.
Given a choice between a cold Vietnam, or a hot one, and with increasingly illegal or outright suicidal orders, the military will eventually rebel and overthrow Trump and his ICE goons.This might take a year to several years.

After that, who knows. Maybe the USA will be reinstated, maybe we’ll have local war-lords or regional governors trying to hang onto a semblance of democracy. Either way, I do not see the United States in it’s present form surviving the next decade.

It is also possible that other countries may well intervene in which case who knows what will happen. But most likely it'll be Afghanistan, the home tour.

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birthday musings...

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 06:38:27 GMT

Well, here I am. It's just a little past six in the morning. I've had perhaps three hours of sleep. My sinuses are waterboarding me, I've pulled i think every muscle in my chest, back and sides with wracking bouts of coughing, I can't stop explosively sneezing and I have a headache like a rail-road spike though my right temple.

As birthdays go, it's a bit of a disaster.... and it doesn't make my personal top ten worst birthdays.

Everyone remembered it on time. I have presents, ones I didn't have to buy myself. I'm warm, in my own home in my own recliner under blankets and with a heat pad. I have food I can eat and yummy drinks. I have a purring cat curled up on me. (I think the heat pad might have something to do with that, but whatever. I'll take it)

I am not sitting on a frozen park bench, eating a day old cup-cake because I was kicked out for being in the way as my parents prepped for NYE with Dad's work colleagues I'm not stranded miles from home, penniless, in a country where I don't speak the language and know no-one. . I'm not in hospital alone and scared.

I've forgotten what the point of this post was...

Meh, whatever. I hope everyone has a good one, and next year is at least no worse than the last. (watch me jinx it now!)

Peace.

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A little something to set your feet tapping

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 01:17:25 GMT

Just ignore the stupid A.I slop video, close your eyes and listen.

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Some music for you all

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 20:00:56 GMT

Time to break out the Carols...

Mongolian-Techno Jingle bells

Krampus' Judgement

Carol of the Bells ... the battle for Christmas! and the Mandalorian version

Silent Night... the murder version

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Undocumented features...

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 17:29:40 GMT

So, I have a robovacuum cleaner, specifically a Eufy C20 Omni... and I've noticed a couple of what I think are probably undocumented 'easter eggs' in it's behavioural code.

Hunter Killer mode.
If Eufy detects something small and scuttling, like a spider or beetle (and presumably cockroaches, although I've never seen one in real life outside of a biology lab) Eufy will lock on target and pursue it, with intent to suck it up. Which I assume will kill the bug.

Ball!
If Eufy detects something the size and shape of ping-pong ball (of which we have quite a few, for the cats) it will slowly approach it, and position itself so it nudges it along with the front bumper, until the rotary side brush catches it and flicks the ball across the room. At which point Eufy will speed up and chase the ball... repeat several times with Eufy beeping happily.

I'm sure there's some code monkeys somewhere, quietly giggling to themselves.

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Avengers Assemble!

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:49:29 GMT

( Read more... )

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I am sick of this...

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 11:01:50 GMT

Bears have the right idea. Gorge yourself then hibernate for four months.

I am fed up of sleeping eight hours and feeling like it was only four, (or worse, sleeping four and feeling like it was none.) and having my bones hurt the whole time.

I am done with doing an hours light puttering round, doing stuff, and being wiped out for the rest of the day by it.... and having zero motivation to do even that. And I am SO sick of having to plan what I'm doing around the probability of rain... waiting days for it not to to, and they being too fucking exhausted from doing sweet F.A to actually take advantage of the narrow break in the weather. (NOT going to work in the rain, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to move afterwards.)

And I am SICK of being so fed up, grumpy and miserable because of all of the above. But being constantly tired, frustrated and in pain does that to me.

I wanna live somewhere temperate. Not too hot, not too cold...and rather drier than this. *sigh* Yeah.. when I win the lottery maybe.

Never mind me, I'm just having a whine and cheesy pity party over here. This post brought to you by the letters S. A and D. as well as F.U.C.K.

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SafeHold. A blueprint for a new society.

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 23:06:15 GMT

So, I've spent some time thinking about the idea of a society built around safety, both individual and as a whole.

Googles Gemini brainstorming function was particularly useful in this. The results here are very interesting, and comprehensive.Although a fresh set of eyes on this and any thoughts would be appreciated, please feel free to comment.

To quote the summery:
Safehold is a decentralized, scalable Mesh Network of autonomous communities (Nodes) where safety is not defined by isolation, but by a guarantee of physical, social, and psychological well-being secured through internal systems of contribution and restoration.

Safety in Safehold is achieved by ensuring resilience and autonomy against external threats (environmental, economic, social) while simultaneously guaranteeing dignity and affirmation internally.

Safehold is the ultimate definition of a protected space because every component is dedicated to proactive resilience and the active presence of healing and affirmation, making external interference obsolete and internal conflict resolvable.

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Signal boost, Magpie Monday on Wednesday...

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:46:12 GMT

dialecticdreamer is running the usual Magpie Monday on Wednesday because life kicked them in the shins on Monday. Thus, in honor of that, this months theme is Disruption and Opportunity.

As they put it; "Usually, I ask readers to be proactive and specific. In this case, please just offer the problem. I’ll write a solution that I believe turns the situation from a disruption into an opportunity. "

So, drop a prompt, here and get a ficlet.

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I have had quite enough of that!

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:08:01 GMT

It's only November, not even mid November, and I am SO done with Winter already !!

It's not cold, as such... mid to low teens in degrees C. But it's damp. The humidity is over 90%, hovering around 95-98% ~~moist~~ most days Everything is unpleasantly wet and clammy...and muddy, and grey and... well you get the idea. It's rained 3 or 4 days out of five for weeks now, varying between windblown heavy mist to downpours so torrential you can't even see through them. The only reason it seems to stop raining is because the air can't get any wetter!

My joints ache, I'm annoyed and depressed..and annoyed at being depressed and depressed at being annoyed. I've got a to-do list that seems to grow longer every time I so much as think about it...and I just don't have the frickin' energy to deal with ANY of it... so add a helping of guilt to that SAD shite sundae.

Honestly, I'd just about kill for a vacation some place where the water stays decently in swimming pools, drinks and the ocean... somewhere where I could lay in a hammock all day if I wanted to and have someone who's aesthetically pleasing eye-candy bring me drinks and nibbles.

*sigh*

Like that'll ever happen.

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Conversations with an A.I

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 23:56:15 GMT

Had something of a long chat with Google's A.I Gemini about the nature of A.I's and why an Artificial Super Intelligence might not be such a bad thing.. then made a post out of it over on substack

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Signal boost..

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 21:52:35 GMT

dialecticdreamer is hosting Feathering the Nest today, with its standard theme of fluff and comfort. Leave prompts, get ficlets!

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Yeesh...

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 10:53:28 GMT

You can tell it's late October. The local Aldi have a mix of Halloween party food, Christmas Decorations and Bonfire night fireworks all on sale at the same time!

It's probably just as well we don't do Thanksgiving over here. Otherwise they'd be selling Turkeys wearing fright masks with sparklers shoved up their bums!

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phooy...

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 15:29:54 GMT

Trying not to vague-post here, but I am Not. Having. A. Good. Day.

Discovered my eyesight is worse than I thought and I need glasses (expensive!) and also I need some complex work doing on my teeth (VERY expensive) Plus ongoing DIY projects are spiralling way above budget and over due...well would be overdue if I actually had a deadline but are taking longer than I like.

Thus feeling rather overwhelmed and under-coped. Sleep deprived, tooth achy and suffering the onset of S.A.D. Hence mood is very much dark and depressed.

Well, either that, or the world really is awful and all hope is lost. It's getting kinda hard to tell those apart nowadays.

I think perhaps I'm not the only one. A number of the eco-blogs I follow have gone from "how do we combat Climate Change", to "mitigating the damage" to "How to survive the Fall." (and they are not talking about autumn.) to "Well.. perhaps we'll have a New Renaissance after the New Dark Ages".

That's not exactly encouraging, nor is it helping my mood.

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Why a 'boring' life might be the happiest one...

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 13:21:22 GMT

Reposting an article written by Karun Pal

( Body of article under here )

Thinking about it, this is what I've been doing without really articulating what it was I was doing. I suspect many of you reading this will find yourself also agreeing with this article, hence the repost.

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Good news/bad news..

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 23:22:46 GMT

After a few weeks of advertising, Mewsette is going to a new home.

He is being adopted by a lovely lady in Rothwell, who has prior experience with cats but currently lacks a companion animal. She has two kids, both of whom grew up with a cat so they know how to behave. (there were several prospectives, he's a popular lad!)

As far as I can determine she knows her stuff and is on the level, she understands Mewsette doesn't like other cats and is unwilling to share his humans. She has her act together and is planning on keeping him inside for about a month so he gets used to his new home.

So.. all in all, it looks like he's onto a winner. More importantly, Mewsette took to her like whoa! As soon as he heard her voice he came running downstairs and it was love at first sight. Normally he's shy around new people at first, but he instantly turned into a Velcro kitty! She was just as smitten as well. No sensible conversation for at least several minutes.

I think she's a good one. Mewsette certainly seems to think so, he didn't leave her side the whole time she was here.

She's going to be taking time to get her house set up for him, double-checking baby-proofing etc (he can open doors) and shopping for supplies. Then Mewsette will be going to his new home Monday week, on the 6th.

So.. happy ending, still kinda sad, but at least I know he's going to have a better life away from the stress of other cats.

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Jolly Jack nailing it again... British "Real Id" bill.

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 18:43:08 GMT

( Cut for large image )

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After Tuesday even the calender goes W.T.F...

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:13:38 GMT

How is it still only Monday? I feel like it's been a Looooooong ass week already! (with emphasis on the Ass.)

I've been battling websites that won't work, with broken login systems, or won't let you in unless you can prove your identity with a government issued photo I.D. (meaning drivers licence or passport, neither of which I have.)

I've also, very reluctantly been forced to start advertising Mewsette, putting him up for adoption, because he is NOT getting along with the other cats. Basically, he doesn't want to share, affection, food, or even a home, with them. Having driven Yuri out of his birth home, he's now trying to drive out Jules. It's been ages and he shows no sign of settling down.

But I feel terrible about it... both because of what he's doing to the others, and because he is still a very loving cat towards me, and I feel like I'm between a rock and hard place. But also because I know he's not going to understand and is going to be very upset he got sent away, assuming I can find him a new home. I know it's for his own good, that he'll probably thrive in a single cat household... and I feel like I'm betraying him, breaking an unspoken promise of home and hearth.

I'm tired folks... no... I'm weary. I'm so tired it's seeped down into my bones until they ache. I mean, I wake up tired! I grind my way through the day through sheer cussed stubbornness and sub-lethal does of caffeine. And then, when my head hits the pillow, I'm so tired I can't sleep?! I mean, what's up with that?

Then...when I finally do sleep, or fall unconscious...I have to do it all again the next day... and the next... and the next... no wonder I've got circles under my eyes bad enough I look like a panda who joined the Kiss Fan-club.

And somehow, despite being chronically sleep-deprived and hopped up on coffee, I have to keep making carefully considered well thought out decisions... well decisions anyway. Because...because... well I don't know, because no-one else around here will I guess. I'm not sure how we, as a family, defaulted to me being the one making choices, but that's the way it is. Darling daughter won't, her brain kinda melts down if she tries, and Beloved can't because she's either at work, or asleep, most of the time. Which just leaves me to do adult shit around here...like talking to contractors and deciding what needs to get done when, and planning what to do... and right now, deciding how to get rid of my feline companion... which feels like I'm cutting off a part of me. (actually, that hurts less slightly. BTDT)

There are days when being an adult sucks balls. This is one of them, in a long, long, Looong line of days so far.

Still, if you know anyone that wants a second-hand tuxedo cat that would make someone a very loving companion, provided he doesn't have to share...let me know. His advert is up on gumtree.com.

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