Tom Royal
@tomroyal.com
Stupidity tries. Code, cats, cycling, existential dread, parenting in South London. Making America Kittens Again, again (sigh). Mostly at tomroyal.com
The UK is not a real place and yet here I am in it
September 27, 2025 at 3:38 PM
The UK is not a real place and yet here I am in it
Got an (unsolicited) free trial of the Duolingo AI thing and.. no, it’s still dogshit (it also suggested I use 高い instead of 高い, which is.. er..)
September 17, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Got an (unsolicited) free trial of the Duolingo AI thing and.. no, it’s still dogshit (it also suggested I use 高い instead of 高い, which is.. er..)
Ugh, fake Emergency Alert related emails (on a pretty good fake of the Gov UK branding) now going around.
We've seen several from "Companies House" lately, too.
We've seen several from "Companies House" lately, too.
September 12, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Ugh, fake Emergency Alert related emails (on a pretty good fake of the Gov UK branding) now going around.
We've seen several from "Companies House" lately, too.
We've seen several from "Companies House" lately, too.
Well who wouldn’t I guess
September 5, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Well who wouldn’t I guess
Back from our annual pilgrimage to the woods. Again very much recommending the countryside in Sweden as somewhere to get away from the city, look at the stars, maybe swim in the lakes a bit and chill out. Not too far, not too expensive (cough Norway cough) not ridiculously hot.
August 30, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Back from our annual pilgrimage to the woods. Again very much recommending the countryside in Sweden as somewhere to get away from the city, look at the stars, maybe swim in the lakes a bit and chill out. Not too far, not too expensive (cough Norway cough) not ridiculously hot.
August 25, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Just emailed* a client the attached image of a "cats dressed as a bucket of KFC" instead of a report on AWS usage, and then realised that it very clearly belongs here instead:
* 30 second undo feature - life saver.
* 30 second undo feature - life saver.
July 7, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Just emailed* a client the attached image of a "cats dressed as a bucket of KFC" instead of a report on AWS usage, and then realised that it very clearly belongs here instead:
* 30 second undo feature - life saver.
* 30 second undo feature - life saver.
Heroku either going full Pravda or maybe they lost the status database in yesterday's shitclasm, who knows?
June 11, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Heroku either going full Pravda or maybe they lost the status database in yesterday's shitclasm, who knows?
Make America Kittens Again v3.0.0 finally (re)introduces custom block- and allow-listing.
Currently out on Chrome. Should be doable on FF, I just need to check the local storage permissions. Probably won't be possible on Safari for a while due to *argh*.
#MAKA
Currently out on Chrome. Should be doable on FF, I just need to check the local storage permissions. Probably won't be possible on Safari for a while due to *argh*.
#MAKA
June 1, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Make America Kittens Again v3.0.0 finally (re)introduces custom block- and allow-listing.
Currently out on Chrome. Should be doable on FF, I just need to check the local storage permissions. Probably won't be possible on Safari for a while due to *argh*.
#MAKA
Currently out on Chrome. Should be doable on FF, I just need to check the local storage permissions. Probably won't be possible on Safari for a while due to *argh*.
#MAKA
Very much enjoying the gisei-manga of Greenwich Ikea (should have been Emo Slayer, tho)
June 1, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Very much enjoying the gisei-manga of Greenwich Ikea (should have been Emo Slayer, tho)
Supplier: the name field has a limited length, so watch out for that.
Me: Thanks, I'm sure it'll be fine
Our new DD instruction:
Me: Thanks, I'm sure it'll be fine
Our new DD instruction:
May 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Supplier: the name field has a limited length, so watch out for that.
Me: Thanks, I'm sure it'll be fine
Our new DD instruction:
Me: Thanks, I'm sure it'll be fine
Our new DD instruction:
Mysterious user /Aa has Screen Time settings on their device that prevent them from enabling extensions.
Don't be a dick like mysterious user /Aa - if there's a link for support, maybe try clicking it?
Don't be a dick like mysterious user /Aa - if there's a link for support, maybe try clicking it?
May 4, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Mysterious user /Aa has Screen Time settings on their device that prevent them from enabling extensions.
Don't be a dick like mysterious user /Aa - if there's a link for support, maybe try clicking it?
Don't be a dick like mysterious user /Aa - if there's a link for support, maybe try clicking it?
Missing this fluffy idiot more than usual today. Last summer he discovered the joys of sleeping in the sunny patch next to the sink all day.
May 2, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Missing this fluffy idiot more than usual today. Last summer he discovered the joys of sleeping in the sunny patch next to the sink all day.
Bought some masking tape and it looks like I’m about to attempt the world’s dullest special effects shot
April 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Bought some masking tape and it looks like I’m about to attempt the world’s dullest special effects shot
Facebook is, at this point, essentially a tool for the separation of less sophisticated Internet users from their money, at scale.
(Have reported to @bitlyofficial.bsky.social and the registrar..)
(Have reported to @bitlyofficial.bsky.social and the registrar..)
April 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Facebook is, at this point, essentially a tool for the separation of less sophisticated Internet users from their money, at scale.
(Have reported to @bitlyofficial.bsky.social and the registrar..)
(Have reported to @bitlyofficial.bsky.social and the registrar..)
Promised myself I wouldn't write any more about heat pumps but then I read the asinine comments on a Boiler Upgrade Scheme advert and felt compelled.
TL/DR: they work just fine, but are every bit as boring as they look.
tomroyal.com/2025/04/02/w...
TL/DR: they work just fine, but are every bit as boring as they look.
tomroyal.com/2025/04/02/w...
April 2, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Promised myself I wouldn't write any more about heat pumps but then I read the asinine comments on a Boiler Upgrade Scheme advert and felt compelled.
TL/DR: they work just fine, but are every bit as boring as they look.
tomroyal.com/2025/04/02/w...
TL/DR: they work just fine, but are every bit as boring as they look.
tomroyal.com/2025/04/02/w...
Should I sponsor a random roundabout in Shropshire (YES/YES), and if so what on earth would I do with it?
I'm thinking "sit in a deckchair, with a cow, Lynch-style"
I'm thinking "sit in a deckchair, with a cow, Lynch-style"
April 2, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Should I sponsor a random roundabout in Shropshire (YES/YES), and if so what on earth would I do with it?
I'm thinking "sit in a deckchair, with a cow, Lynch-style"
I'm thinking "sit in a deckchair, with a cow, Lynch-style"
(£90 in TK Maxx, no less. And my size!)
March 28, 2025 at 12:33 PM
(£90 in TK Maxx, no less. And my size!)
A few times a week I check in on the hellsite, where our work account receives a steady flow of “London is fallen” stuff.
And then on Fridays I take a nice walk through the middle of fallen London, weaving amid the chaos somehow.
Mind you, I did see a pair of £90 wellies. That’s end of days shit.
And then on Fridays I take a nice walk through the middle of fallen London, weaving amid the chaos somehow.
Mind you, I did see a pair of £90 wellies. That’s end of days shit.
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 PM
A few times a week I check in on the hellsite, where our work account receives a steady flow of “London is fallen” stuff.
And then on Fridays I take a nice walk through the middle of fallen London, weaving amid the chaos somehow.
Mind you, I did see a pair of £90 wellies. That’s end of days shit.
And then on Fridays I take a nice walk through the middle of fallen London, weaving amid the chaos somehow.
Mind you, I did see a pair of £90 wellies. That’s end of days shit.
Ah yes, only an elite hacker could crack this one
March 23, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Ah yes, only an elite hacker could crack this one
March 19, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Search for Book of the Road on Amazon and you get.. uh.. the Cormac McCarthy novel. Which is just.. great, and makes this rather nice Book of the Road almost entirely invisible.
So we've put it on sale, and you'll probably only ever find it via this link:
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Road-Da...
So we've put it on sale, and you'll probably only ever find it via this link:
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Road-Da...
March 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Search for Book of the Road on Amazon and you get.. uh.. the Cormac McCarthy novel. Which is just.. great, and makes this rather nice Book of the Road almost entirely invisible.
So we've put it on sale, and you'll probably only ever find it via this link:
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Road-Da...
So we've put it on sale, and you'll probably only ever find it via this link:
www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Road-Da...