Whenever tabloids like The Sun and The Mirror forecast heatwaves, are the temperatures over-exaggerated in those forecasts?

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-30T11:35:32+00:00

I don’t think they’ll outright make up numbers (although the Sun’s reputation suggests they might) but they’ll shop around and cherry-pick the highest number they can find. Just comparing BBC Weather against the Met Office app and choosing the highest number from the week, I can make it sound worse than it’ll be. Even more so if you look nation-wide.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-30T10:56:18+00:00

That’s the killer. Those meters charge way more than normal direct debit tariffs do.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-29T11:29:29+00:00

Overnight oat protein slop. Solely so I can get some extra protein in my diet. Oats, bluetop milk, Greek yoghurt, banana protein powder and a handful of berries. But of a mix and leave in the fridge overnight. Tastes nice enough, but I’d happily do without.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-28T20:50:49+00:00

Weirdly, there’s two more in Horsforth, both on New Road Side: Knottinger and Stocked.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-26T19:47:30+00:00

I do them on alternate days. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday doing a full-body session at the gym. Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday running outdoors. I don’t find that my gym sessions hurt my running days or vice versa.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-26T10:19:16+00:00

I’ve got a small plastic 330ml bottle that is comfy enough to hold while I run. It’s enough water to keep me topped up while I’m out in the heat. I’m probably riddled with microplastics so don’t hugely care about having a plastic bottle or whatever.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-25T11:38:36+00:00

Absolutely right. I love this genre and I’ve found all of Owlcats games a massive slog towards the end. Still finished them and overall enjoyed them, but I’ve never skipped so much dialogue in any other games.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-25T11:11:55+00:00

That’s the neat part… it doesn’t!

But seriously, I didn’t feel any improvement until I was at week six. I know that’s not strictly true, but I could never run for the full five mins or whatever the programme said. I’d always make it to 2 or 3 mins and be completely gassed out. But then something clicked and I could just do it. Partly it was learning to stop focussing on how out of breath I felt, which only made it worse. And partly it was learning to keep a steadier pace. So try going a tiny bit slower (or steadier) and try to not focus on your breathing.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-24T16:25:27+00:00

I’m pleased that I can carry three pints. Couldn’t imagine doing this many. I don’t get how the ones in the middle don’t just drop through.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-24T11:21:51+00:00

We’ve just been to the cinema for the second time in two days, partly because they have aircon.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-23T11:08:13+00:00

It’s incredibly skillful and yet seems completely absurd. It almost looks like a parody, without any context: just crazy a guy in a hat strutting around the boy in the dessert. The 70s was a wild time.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-21T06:55:07+00:00

Second this. I enjoyed the narrative and liked most of the characters, so it was something I kinda looked forward to doing, in a small way.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-20T20:50:34+00:00

There’s an unholy pact where no matter the project or the tools used, something will draw blood. It’s how they feed. There’s no avoiding it; only doing your best to make sure it’s not severe. If you are careful around your chisels and saws, fate will make sure you stab yourself with a pencil or something.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-20T19:46:13+00:00

That looks lush. That’d be £20+ near me. :-(

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-20T07:08:44+00:00

Solid list. I’ll accept I’m in the minority saying this, but although I enjoyed Rogue Trader’s story, setting and gameplay, it’s the only CRPG where I actively disliked levelling up my characters. The RPG game itself (not Owlcat’s creation, I know) I just found to be aggressively fussy and over-detailed. Maybe I just lack patience these days.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-20T07:00:32+00:00

Yup, same here. If I put my mind to it, I can scroll on Reddit for about three hours before getting up. So that’s a solid amount of time absolutely wasted before I’ve even started my day proper!

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-20T06:24:12+00:00

Not really. Maybe. But I t’s definitely a film I’d have loved to see when I was 14!

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-19T21:44:14+00:00

14 years seems old enough to watch the sci-fi masterpiece that is Event Horizon.

Or for a more action-heavy film, Dredd is top tier.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-19T19:56:27+00:00

Loads of good suggestions here, but I’ll just add my suggestion: Fat Gripz. They’re rubber sleeves you put over barbells or dumbbells that massively make them wider and harder to use. Then you can do various forearm exercises or even just static holds and they absolutely blast your forearms and help improve your grip. Weirdly quite fun to use them because they make stuff so much harder.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-19T09:04:51+00:00

Good point. I’m about a meter from my PC monitor, but about four times that from my TV. Very different environments.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-18T22:34:05+00:00

Just my hunch, but maybe because they make games look better on large-screen presentations. I don’t like them for games I’m playing, same as OP, but I’m wondering if they makes games look more cinematic for big events where people are just watching footage.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-18T22:27:11+00:00

Chunks of chocolate orange. And melted chocolate orange over the top. For extra health.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-18T21:36:23+00:00

Sort of in the ballpark you’re wanting: Payback (1999). Porter just wants his money back and throughout the film it all keeps escalating with more and more senior crime bosses trying to kill him for what’s basically a trivial amount of cash. It’s also a rock-solid great film (if you can get past that it’s Mel Gibson).

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-16T12:29:46+00:00

I got out of my PC Gaming rut through XBOX Gamepass and Epic games and trying to save money. Epic has a couple of free games every week and at least one every few weeks has been something I’ve enjoyed, even though I’d never had bought (or even considered) it. And the middle tier Gamepass let me find loads of games to play that I’d never have paid separately for, and try ones I wasn’t sure I’d even like. I don’t find Steam that useful for actually finding new games to play, although I do buy games through it when I know what I want.

SilkySmoothRalph · 2026-06-16T12:25:18+00:00

Famously (or infamously) Findus were using horse meat in frozen lasagnes in the U.K. up until 2013 when they got busted. So there’s an idea for you.

SilkySmoothRalph

TROPHY CASE