About
Dalliance.net is Pre’s homepage, index of his projects, updates on his blog. That sort of thing. You can subscribe in various ways.
Projects
Blog
My blog, mostly monthly summaries of the Fediverse Account.
Visit at dalliance.net/blog
Or check out the categories index
Starship Schrödinger’s Destiny
Ongoing: An Interactive Sci-Fi story for Virtual Reality about the adventures of the crew of a flying saucer.
Visit at starshipsd.com
Wordcloud Tarot
Ongoing: My tarot decks have the meanings of the cards written on the card in a world-cloud. There’s also a video show with a reading about politics most weeks.
Visit at wordcloudtarot.com
Tentacles, After The End
A 30 minute animated movie about the last woman alive on a planet ravaged by tentacle monsters from outer space.
Tentacles is complete, visit the archive at tentacles.org.uk
Book: Do Dream Sheep Bleat?
A short story book about magic and memes and reality.
Dreamsheep is complete, you can buy a copy or read it online at dalliance.net/dreamsheep
Book: Yes, The Conspiracy Really Exists, And Furthermore It’s All Your Fault.
A long rant about how stupid humans screw up humanity.
The book is complete, you can buy a copy or read it online at dalliance.net/yes
Loopy
After the band broke up, I took to playing with myself via a loop pedal. Sometimes, very rarely, even in public.
Bookshelf
An album of songs inspired by some of the best books on my bookshelf.
The album is complete, you can listen to the songs at dalliance.net/bookshelf
Handsome Jack’s Showband
My punk cover’s band.
Despite some online-only gigs, the band didn’t make it though the pandemic, you can watch some old gig videos online at handsomejacks.co.uk
Joust Adventure
A little web-game I made back in 2011 with the hope people might pay me to make level 2.
I don’t think anyone ever finished level 1. Too hard.
Can you do it?
The project is abandoned, you can still play level one at dalliance.net/joustadventure. So far as I know, I’m the only person to ever complete the level. Let me know if you do!
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Diary
My diary from the Fediverse.Status at - Sat, 09 Aug 2025 15:26:23 +0000
I usually spend my Saturday faffing about not doing anything because I'm lazy but now I'm faffing about not doing anything because I can't because of a broken wrist. Definitely more frustrating.
Status at - Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:02:08 +0000
It's funny how the pain has become located more where the x-ray shows the break is, since I saw the picture.
Before that it was more in the heel of the hand and across the wrist.
Could be the plaster going on I suppose.
More likely that extra knowledge of the location of the damage affects where I feel the pain in my brain.
Status at - Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:44:31 +0000
This month's digest/newsletter is on the way to the age-verified kosher normal people who signed up for it in their email.
The rest of you unverified anarchists can use your VPN and access it here.
https://dalliance.net/blog/jul25/
Compiled distinctly slowly with a cast on one arm, it features the story of how that wrist broke and festival stories and great fediverse boosts section this month.
Status at - Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:37:45 +0000
So fun things with this camper conversion. The day after I dropped it off he tells me a medical crisis is gonna stop him being able to do the work.
Later find out that now he's over 50 he decided to go on a health kick, and only drink distilled water.
🤦♂️
So he ended up flushing all the electrolytes out of his system and having a nervous system crisis the week he was supposed to be working on my van.
😆
Consult your doctors about your health-kicks people!
He managed to fit a kit thing, rather than do the custom job. Seems possible that will be enough and it won't be rescheduled, but live in it a bit first to find out.
Managed to sleep in it okay, even poorly parked on a slope and with a fractured wrist.
Status at - Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:42:20 +0000
Or anyone know of a great VR game that can be played without a left hand? No handed games?
Status at - Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:28:33 +0000
Well i can't work or play piano for a while so, um, what's good and really long with many seasons that I haven't seen? Haven't seen much on Apple TV I guess, or HBO.
Have seen Severence and will finish Andor today.
Status at - Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:12:12 +0000
Well, went to the a&e for what I assumed was a purely precautionary visit that just wastes everyone's time but apparently not. Fractured bones. Plaster-cast for a couple of weeks. The whole bit.
There go a couple of weeks worth of summer plans.
Status at - Sun, 03 Aug 2025 20:11:42 +0000
Had a great time at Good Vibrations Society this weekend.
First act I saw was the most entrancing. Rozsa stroking a harp and singing angelically with a backing track. She was great.
The North London Gospel Choir doing Graceland was pretty cool. They got some mad energy, all those gospel synced dance moves. Lovely to hear that album in a new way.
Enjoyed the Gentlemen Dub Club and Riot Jazz and So Solid Crew. Watched a nice sunset at camp.
Lovely small site, great crowd. Hung with some friends and met old ones I hadn't seen for years.
Also tripped over a guy rope in the dark on the first night and hurt my wrist pretty bad.
Walked away after a moment on the floor assessing damage but visited the medical tent. My wrist swelled up so much the next day I had to have my wristband replaced. Drive home somewhat more perilous as a result. Thank goodness for automatic gear boxes.
Status at - Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:14:53 +0000
Watched all of "Ghosts US", the American version of the UK spooky sit-com.
There's like seventy episodes that I watched in less than a week. This is how I like telly to be. Relentless.
The show's weaker than the UK one in some ways but that shear continuity, the endless-seeming perpetuity of it, drove it into my brain.
US Ghosts are always trying to cop off with each other. Sexy ghosts. Pairing up. Don't remember much of that in the UK one. Perhaps when you make it 5x longer you're left with little else in the way of story to write.
Anyway, it's over now. I miss it in the way you might miss an infuriating neighbour if they moved out.
Status at - Tue, 29 Jul 2025 11:47:39 +0000
Still not seen any requests to get carded for my age on websites. Not on Discord, not on Reddit, not on porno.
Presumably the VPN I routinely use means I'm not getting selected for it even though I generally have a UK exit-point.
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Bookmarks
Things I have bookmarked lately.Age verification: what's the harm? - Girl on the Net - Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:02:48 +0000
So, since July 25th most porn is now either age-gated or blocked to UK
users entirely. You might think this is good, because isn’t that the
point of the law? Ehhhh. Kind of. But also not really. The sites that
child safety campaigners are usually thinking of when they make these
arguments are the big, flash, video-based tube sites which offer porn for free.
Those sites have the money and tech expertise to implement age
verification without trouble, so they aren’t going anywhere any time
soon. At the other end of the scale, though, smaller sites and hobby
sites which don’t make a profit are more likely to struggle. As
mentioned above, many of them are already shutting down or blocking UK
users from some or all of the content, meaning those who are looking for
erotic material will end up turning to the exact sites that anti-porn
crusaders are so up in arms about.
Didn’t Take Long To Reveal The UK’s Online Safety Act Is Exactly The Privacy-Crushing Failure Everyone Warned About - techdirt - Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:04:40 +0000
"Let’s be crystal clear about what this law actually accomplishes: It makes it harder for adults to access perfectly legal (and often helpful) information and services. It forces people to create detailed trails of their online activity linked to their real identities. It drives users toward less secure platforms and services. It destroys small online communities that can’t afford compliance costs. And it teaches an entire generation that bypassing government surveillance is a basic life skill."
Why taxing the rich won’t trigger an exodus - Richard Murphy - Sun, 03 Aug 2025 19:27:01 +0000
Will the wealthy leave the UK if they were taxed more? [no]. If they did leave could they take the UK's wealth with them? [no, they would have to sell UK assets which might get cheaper so other people could afford them]. Would we be worse off if the rich fucked off? [No] - Great explainer video from Richard Murphy.
Surviving A Nuke With Quantum Mechanics - YouTube - Tue, 29 Jul 2025 14:34:26 +0000
kurzgesagt video about the quantum immortality paradox. Looking forward to doing the experiment on my death bed but reckon I'll leave it until then.
Jack Dorsey pumps $10 million into a nonprofit focused on open-source social media - Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:34:36 +0000
As a result, the team at “and Other Stuff” is determined not to build a company but is instead operating like a “community of hackers,”
The entire history of English in 22 minutes - YouTube - Sun, 13 Jul 2025 13:50:19 +0000
Nice 20 minute history of the English language. How is it that the King James Bible is translated into "english" if so many of the words in it weren't english words till it was written? 🤔
Practically-A-Book Review: Byrnes on Trance - Sat, 12 Jul 2025 12:17:33 +0000
Scott reviews a series of blogs about the nature of consciousness and self. The homunculus model in which the brain models itself as having a central decider making decisions is no more valid than one in which it models itself as being in the control of a hypnotist or god.
This column does not express support for Palestine Action – here’s why | Owen Jones | The Guardian - Wed, 09 Jul 2025 20:58:19 +0000
"Millions of people are aware that their
government has facilitated a grave crime, and to protect themselves from
scrutiny and accountability, the powers that be must silence those
challenging the crime. Democracy becomes ever more imperilled.Remember:
it is an offence to show support for Palestine Action, which is deemed
legally equivalent to al-Qaida and IS. If that law is broken, prison
awaits. The proscribed organisation promotes civil disobedience and
non-violent direct action in protest at genocide. This column has been
checked over with that in mind. Ask yourself if this is normal in a
self-described democracy. Then ask yourself searching questions about
where this is all headed."
The destruction of Palestine is breaking the world | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian - Mon, 07 Jul 2025 10:24:49 +0000
The implications of this collapse are profound for
international, regional and even domestic politics. Political dissent is
repressed, political language is policed, and traditionally liberal
societies are increasingly militarized against their own citizens.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Make Them Uncomfortable - Tue, 01 Jul 2025 13:16:42 +0000
The Bear: "The real scandal isn't the chant - it's The Mail on Sunday's
deliberate fabrication. Turning "Death to the IDF" into "Death to
Israelis" wasn't sloppy journalism. It was character assassination
designed to transform political protest into genocidal incitement. When
major newspapers can simply invent quotes and attribute them to public
figures without consequence, we've moved beyond press freedom into press
lawlessness."