Paul Collingwood named as interim head coach. least the fielding should be up to snuff.

A brilliant fielder doesn’t automatically become a brilliant fielding coach. Also, one has to wonder about the athletic qualities of various players in the field in recent times. Hopefully you’re right, so let’s see.

Apparently Gillespie is on the shortlist for the F/T role.

Homemade pizza.

So it appears there’s a Technic F1 Mclaren on the cards for 2022. Only 1400+ pieces though, so I’m not expecting it to rival the Bugatti et al for detail.

Langer has just stepped down. I wonder if he’ll be approached about taking over. Not sure I can see him in an England camp, but his style might shake things up a bit.

Well, there’s this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-59595952

Genocide’s pretty bad, right?

I think so, yes. I listened to some podcasts about this last year and there’s a wealth of information and photos of those re-education camps. &*()ing horrendoous.

We just don’t have many good players.

Yep, something has really gone awry since those series’ against WI and Pak in 2020. That was a very entertaining summer. A few changes in personnel for sure, but as 2021 went along I couldn’t help but feel shades of the 90s all over again. Part of me thought we could get some momentum by winning that last Test again Ind (which they ‘cancelled’) but they probably would have proved me wrong anyway.

Looking forward to the WI in a few weeks and just take it for what it is.

For those of you who liked Dopesick (on Disney+), check out The Pharmacist on Netflix. It’s a true life account of a father who searches for his son’s killer after he got hooked up in the world of opioid addition (created by PP in Dopesick).

For something more lighthearted, we’re nearing the end of Young Sheldon S3. For a family show about family dynamics, it’s just plain brilliant. Not necessary to have an appreciation of Big Bang Theory.

I’ve tried loads of todo/task apps over the years and Todoist still comes out on top. Cross-platform, quick, intuitive, feature rich and solidly reliable. I use it for most of my personal tasks/reminders and also as an inbox for all the stuff that comes my way.

Woman’s ashes test…..wow, how awesome was that.

Yep. Went to bed last night with the Aussies something like 90-2 and assumed the game would fizzle out to a draw. Oh no, it was very much alive for both sides this morning.

And the men’s T20 decider is looking rather tasty too right now.

My mum got me the 8860 for Christmas when I was about 8 or 9. I remember enthusing over it in the model shop and being ushered out by my elder brother and really hoping it would end up as my ‘main’ present. When the day came, my brother helped me build it and then presented me with a motor (probably 870). Within minutes he got it up and running and suddenly the car was going up and down the living room. This was proper next level stuff to me and I was over the moon, but I also had a huge tantrum by accusing him of wearing out the batteries before I could have a play!

Strangely, I can still remember the foamy feel of those mahoosive tyres… and being fascinated by the working pistons, the rack and pinion steering, the suspension…

Here’s roughly how it would have looked on that day:

EDIT: I’m sure we had a remote control too, but I might be imagining that.

We just watched Puppet Master the other night. Its absolutely insane!

^^^^
THIS. It really is bonkers, and only 3 episodes.

We finished Startup last week. A real rollercoaster that mashes up Haitian gangs, Russian mobsters, tech startups and other shizzle across Florida. Fast paced and – so long as you’re prepared to suspend disbelief – it carries you along on quite a journey. Preposterous, but highly watchable.

I’ve been using it a lot more over the last few months and have shifted some random stuff, eg driveway gates, tired old fence panels, bags of wood chips, plus ‘normal’ things like a games consoles, board games, TV, toys, bike stuff etc. Most have been hassle free.

Have been receiving an increasing number of scammers from French people believe it or not, so they get blocked.

Cash in hand always feels good too.

Had that and many other issues with Spotify and Alexa for 2-3 years. Neither party seem interested in getting along despite many complaints from people. So we switched to Apple Music and so far so good.

That collapse, from a position of relative authority, was worse than any other on this tour. Absolutely shambolic.

And Crawley goes immediately after.

It is, but I can’t help but feel any expectation of victory is rapidly slipping away with that second wicket. I know ‘expectation’ is a crazy word to use, but our middle order really has the chance to see out this victory if they show some balls.

So we get the Aussies out for 300 first innings and what do our openers do? Yep, you got it… they last no more than 8 overs with the score 29-2. FFS.

No mandating here. Some people have them on every time, others rarely. Makes no odds to me. I (believe I) can tell when people are present. However, I have done a fair bit of coaching so I’m probably attuned to listening to what is – and isn’t – being said more than the average bear.

even if it’s likely to be humiliating as a Pom.

Although following on appears out of fashion, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you see our openers gracing the wicket for a second time tomorrow after tea.

+1 for Bananagrams and Qwirkle – both simple to play and fun for all the family

Latest games here are:

Memoir 44: Excellent for WW2 fans. 20 odd scenarios based around D-Day missions. 2 players (but more could team up and confer). Sure, a bit of luck is involved with drawing cards, but ultimately it comes down to figuring out strategies for taking/holding various positions. I’d heard it was good and it really is. Loads of expansions available too.

Arcadia Quest Inferno: An expansion for Arcadia Quest. Great fun for 2-4 players if you have a penchant for fantasy creatures or simply like a good old hack n slash / loot n shoot. Flexible rules allow you to work together or tear into each other. Excellent quality miniatures, cards, artwork etc. Hero upgrades are fun and encourage you to play harder levels. Does take 5-10 mins to set up though.

On the radar:

Mage Knight: Said to be the ‘best’ adventuring game out there with plenty of scope to buddy up. High quality miniatures. Bloody complex though, and hard to get hold of at present.

Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion: The more I look at this the more I think I’ll get it. Far easier to learn than the full GH, with booklet-based scenario maps meaning super quick set ups.

I picked up a Higher State waterproof lite jacket for £40 recently (RRP £140 so they say). Independent reviews were very positive so I thought it was worth a punt. Have worn in several times in various showers and am very impressed so far. Packs down really small too.

Wow, that was an astonishing collapse even by England’s standards. Shameful.

Are we having a sweepstake on what time England lose the Ashes? I’m going for 3.15am

I thought that was a good shout before play commenced. But with Stokes and Bairstow lasting only a few overs. methinks this may be all over before lunch.

DDG our saviour again. Could easily have been 3-1 and that wouldn’t have flattered Newcastle.

Yup. Another disgraceful performance up there with those against PL titans Norwich and Watford.

We are so bad at doing the basics. Can’t pass. Can’t move. Can’t find space. Can’t pick up. Shocking.

Oh well, 7 overs in and both openers gone. Hmm, what chances the Aussies are batting by before close …

They are bigger and better than ever.

The Great Dane says “Hi!”

maybe even ride a bike or something.

What is this bike thing you speak of?

The original Matrix was enough for me – a novel idea executed really well. Both Reloaded and Revolutions were unnecessary IMO and dull. Judging by the reviews, Resurrection isn’t going to improve on that.

My mate’s wife gave him tickets to a Wim Hof talk 2 years ago. He was mesmerised. The next day he woke up and took a cold shower and was hooked. He’s dabbled with a few other cold water activities but for some reason has maintained the shower thing and swears by it.

Well, regardless of how he got himself out, Buttler has shown plenty of backbone for sure and redeemed himself somewhat. Too little too late IMO and we need a longer term replacement once this tour is over. Pope and many others need to take a good look at themselves. Plus the selectors need a rocket.

Well, with that flurry of Aussie wickets before 6:30 this morning I dared to dream. Then, with 4 and a bit sessions to bat, I hoped Burns and Hameed would just stick around for at least an hour. But no, Hameed goes for a duck and slowly but surely we’re back to relying on the middle order. This could now be over by lunch tomorrow.

That’s optimistic!

Yup. Hameed gone too. Could well be deep into the middle order by close.

So, what’s the betting we’ll see Root and a nightwatchman at stumps today?

I bought a MBA 16Gb 8/8 last Nov straight after the first official reviews came out. It’s my daily driver and still astonishes me with how effortlessly it handles everything thrown at it; video prod in FCP, graphic design, 20-30 Safari tabs, Parallels, Office all running simultaneously.

Also, it’s totally quiet, cool and the battery lasts forever, even when using SwitchResX to run my display at 2048×1280. It powers my 4k LG screen effortlessly – no lag whatsoever.

Before the recent refresh event, I thought I might consider upgrading to the newer M1, most likely a 32Gb Pro. But TBH, my M1 MBA does everything I need so there’s no point throwing £2500+ at a machine that will only give me a slight real word performance advantage.

EDIT: like a lot of people, I found Chrome to be a battery hog when I ran it back in Dec/Jan. So I removed it and switched permanently to Safari. Not sure if that’s been fixed yet. Google Sync (or whatever it’s been rebranded as) can be a bit niggly too – you won’t lose any files, but you might occasionally have to use Finder to open something instead of going via Recents.

@sweaman2 By Labyrinth do you mean the MB (or whatever) game or the Movie game? We have the latter and it’s definitely kid friendly.

I’m assuming it’s the maze-like game where you find secret treasure by moving tiles around? We played that a fair bit when monkey jnr was maybe 6-9yrs. Simple and good for what it is. Enchanted is another where you hunt down ‘secret’ treasure. Requires more use of your memory than anything, but decent enough for kids.

My Extreme (and other SS items) finally arrived on Fri after going walkabout in a Hermes depot for 9 days.

I was expected the red to be pretty garish, but TBH is’s a soft matt finish and not at all in yer face. Fit is M which I’d say is close to spot on for someone who often takes a L.

Haven’t worn it in anger yet.

FTR my missus’ Ground Control turned up earlier in the week and she seems very chuffed with the extra face protection offered by the hood. It’s also very light and packable.

BTW I’ve just ordered Memoir 44 because junior now has interest in WW2 after studying it for this term’s topic.

It’s been on my radar for a while and always highly regarded so I figured we may as well give it a go. Lots of expansions available too.

Sequence is a game we picked up before Covid to play with the elders.

Is that the one with the board of playing cards?

Yep, sounds like it. Deceptively fun fo sho.

Maybe they sold it elsewhere, eg Facebook or Gumtree, and made more money.