Terry Scott Taylor has an incredibly deep back catalogue on his Bandcamp page - some pretty middle of the road, and some totally weird, worth having a rummage and seeing what you get… For those who don’t want to play lucky dip, there’s the full soundtrack to Neverhood, plus a couple of related albums (Songs from the Neverhood Vol 2 which was the platformer sequel, and Return to the Neverhood - which was released as a companion to the graphic novel).

I used to use this as an icebreaker, until I got a very uncomfortable response from a female colleague. Turns out that whilst men’s “worst dates” are usually weird or awkward, and tend to make for good light entertainment and a little window into their lives, women’s are way more likely to be sexual assault related… Made me wonder how many answers I had heard in the past were glossing over some trauma that didn’t need to be brought up in a social setting.

I now usually rely on the way more positive “what’s the next thing you’re looking forward to?”.

My only complaint as a user (without considering any of the economics, or environmental impact) is that there has definitely been a bit of an adjustment period for the drivers - I’ve seen a few standing passengers go flying when the buses accelerate from zero like go-karts.

As call and response in the office whenever two “absolute top priority, over all else” tasks arrive in quick succession;

If everything is urgent?

Nothing is urgent!

Bob Vylan is the band - if they’re singling out the frontman, they mean Bobby Vylan (not to be confused with their drummer, Bobbie Vylan). Feels like they might be getting outraged before engaging any reading comprehension…

Well worth checking them out - loads of upcoming dates, all over the UK, EU and US. Get 'em while they’re hot!

Been using my Pixel 4a for almost 5 years now - had a case from day 1, which started to disintegrate somewhere during year 4. Figured the phone would crap out well before a second case, so took the Ivan Drago attitude (“if he dies, he dies”). Never dropped it, barely losing any charging capacity, and a better user experience with a (relatively) small, light phone.

Huh, TIL - it just works so naturally as a typo that I assumed it started there.

Any other good examples? Only one that immediately came to mind was “borken”, and even that usually gets used as “borked”

As someone who was considering taking a week off work as I would have needed to attend Donald Duck style to avoid fabric-on-leg contact, tell me more about this well tolerated topical

If you’re finding it hard to get started, totally strict exclusions can force you to start actually thinking about what you’re putting in your mouth. Even if you don’t particularly care about veganism from a moral/ethical viewpoint, try following the diet for a while. You’d be surprised how much snack food contains milk powder, or other animal products. Strictly following the rules eliminates mindless consumption, then after a while you find yourself thinking whether or not something is worth consuming, rather than just sticking it in your mouth because it’s there.

Weigh yourself consistently (i.e. same time, same outfit) - I find it easiest to do straight after jumping out of the shower in the morning, post-poop and pre-breakfast, but ymmv. And the important part, record it. I have smart scales, which makes life easier, but absolutely not essential. There’s something very motivating about watching the line go down - and will quickly highlight if you’re on the right track, or if you need to cut back a little more.

I find it easier to maintain a hard no-snacking policy, than to try to reduce snacking but with case-by-case exceptions. Stick to eating at mealtimes only, rather than allowing yourself to rationalise that slice of cake (it’s a colleague’s birthday, rude not to), bag of chips (I only had a small lunch) or dozen donuts (they’ll go stale if I don’t eat them, that’s wasteful).

• Calva Louise - Third Class Citizen
• Heriot - Coalescence
• Capra - The Locust Preacher
• Ex People - Dread
• Cassyette - BOOM

Edit - thought of a couple more…

• Black Moth - Blackbirds Fall
• Vodun - Mawu

Most trips are organised around arbitrary goals, why not beer? People want to try pizza in Italy, or see the northern lights, or swim with dolphins - all geologically locked, ultimately frivolous goals. But if it brings you joy and you can afford it, why not?

Why? A material change was made to the item after the point of import. This would be like taxing a timber importer as though they were importing furniture.

I wouldn’t consider this particularly lightweight - it’s a bit of a battery monster, even with the moving background turned off

Bandcamp link here - one of my all-time favourite VG soundtracks. Never heard anything like it before or since!

My partner and I have a joint account that is used to pay for any shared expenditure (boring stuff like housing and groceries, as well as fun stuff like dinners out together and holidays). This account is funded unevenly, and that split is reviewed any time either of our incomes change - but it’s always funded to the point that it covers our joint expenses each month. If required, it is topped up at the same split. Anything we are left with personally can be spent or saved at the individuals absolute discretion.

Friends through eternity, loyalty, honesty

We’ll stay together through thick or thin

Tension builds, and never really resolves - it’s a frustrating listen