Today isn’t the last working day of the year for me. I have a commission I want to wrap up before NYE and I’m this close to finishing it. But not close enough. So I’ll be chipping away at that after Boxing Day.
I hope everyone else is winding down for the year. It’s been, well… a year. Another one coming right at us. 2024 finished badly, with the news about Andrew Reilly. My heart breaks for his friends and family.
I heard this morning that Andrew Reilly has died. He was only here a couple of days ago, making me smile with his usual deft wit.
Some of you knew Andrew better than I did, and some not at all apart from his comments here and at the Boob.
Either way, he is a great loss to us all.
But mostly of course to those who knew and loved him best.
I was going through my iPhone this morning, deleting a bunch of dead, unused apps and downloads, getting ready to switch to a 16Pro after Christmas, and I came across a 2011 document in my Notes app that feels like it must have been a draft for either an old Blunt Instrument column or maybe the sports column that I was writing for The Bulletin back then.
This was written ten years ago. A billionaire warning other billionaires that they are fucking everything up, and soon enough there will be a price to pay. Interestingly, the billionaire prophet says one of the reasons he is a billionaire is because he has a fcility for seeing things coming. Not because he’s extra intelligent or boast some off scale technical brilliance. He’s just less risk averse and he sees things coming.
Pitchforks, mostly.
Had to put the car in for a service yesterday and was anticipating a very spendy bill. Which is what I got, plus a 24hr delay because of all the work I was paying for.
Honestly, thought it was probably time I started putting one together. It’s my kind of prepping.
Only started this morning. Happy to take submissions.
Phoebe Bridgers - I know the End
Jane ordered a new office chair last week, some spendy bit of gear from a specialist supplier in the Valley. It was supposed to come the day I flew down to Melbounre.
That’s fine. Thomas was home. He could take delivery.
It did not arrive.
And it continued to not arrive for many days after. Being a catastrophist I assumed it had been delivered and quickly stolen before Thomas could get it inside. Parcel thievery is a booming business at this time of year.
… Google doesn’t just abandon them like almost every other cool thing they’ve stumbled into. And, of course, assuming they’re even telling the truth.
It measures just 4cm squared but it possesses almost inconceivable speed.
It’s been a long time since I was a regular gamer. I’ll fess up why - I’m an addict. I can’t control myself around an Xbox. As spotty as my productivity has been over the years, it would have been nonexistent if I’d kept gaming.
