Picture of me, long black hair in a tentacles shirt

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

Blog header image, me silhouetted against an orange/yellow sunset

My blog, mostly monthly summaries of the Fediverse Account.

Visit at dalliance.net/blog

Or check out the categories index

Starship Schrödinger’s Destiny

A crew of five stand in a green field with a flying saucer behind them next to a planet like earth in the sky.

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

A spread of cards scattered around. Each has a picture, and also a world cloud in the background

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 woman in a blue dress and a red and chrome robot flee from tentacle monsters chasing in the background

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 white pocketbook with the icon of a black and white fat penguin

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 book cover with a starburst, pyramid and eye

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

Pre behind some keyboard

After the band broke up, I took to playing with myself via a loop pedal. Sometimes, very rarely, even in public.

Bookshelf

dusty old books in a bookshelf plus logo

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

A semi-circular logo and silhouetted crowd of arms

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

Screenshot of a game, made from pictures of plush toys and balloons

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!

  • Diary

    My diary from the Fediverse.
    Status at - Tue, 01 Jul 2025 18:08:35 +0000

    If I chant "Death to the IMF", it doesn't mean I want to kill all bankers!

    Maybe I do, maybe I don't, but that statement doesn't resolve it.

    😆


    Status at - Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:49:24 +0000

    I dunno who needs to hear this but that's not and those aren't


    Status at - Tue, 01 Jul 2025 11:23:05 +0000

    The media focus on this one criticism is insane, just massive focus on ensuring everybody is quoted as being against Bob's chant.

    The manufacturing of consent in plain view. No support of Bob allowed to be quoted, only condemnation. No focus at all on the horrors committed by the army itself, just condemnation and contrition from all corners.

    And all so much louder than the coverage of death and hunger and destruction and genocide being committed by that army.

    Our media environment is so focused and in lock-step, even though it's in theory free. Yet not a single newspaper saying, you know, the Vylan character has a point! Maybe we should disband a criminal army!

    Got confused about the date in the show here, but the reading's about right. The bandwagon rolls on because it's a victory for everyone. The media gets to condemn someone, and they don't have to condemn Israel.

    wordcloudtarot.com/readings/20


    Status at - Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:09:03 +0000

    Aw, Keir Starmer got his name chanted at Glasto this year after all! And he thought they'd never chant his name like they did Jeremy Corbyn's name.

    Wait....

    👂 👈

    I'm hearing they weren't chanting "Oh, Keir Starmer", but instead some profanity!

    How rude!

    Not wrong, just rude.


    Status at - Thu, 26 Jun 2025 17:04:54 +0000

    Content warning:UKPol, Palestine Action, Email to my MP

    Dear Emily Thornberry,

    I don't usually bother to write to you on most issues because I figure there is pretty much no point communicating with a whipped MP in a safe seat under first past the post. Such an MP has no reason to listen to their constituents at all, and is entirely a tool of the party leadership.

    I make an exception today since I hear your government is about to classify Palestine Action as a terrorist group. Despite them being peaceful, non-violent, and dedicated entirely to preventing the greater crime of the ongoing genocide of Gazan Palestinians.

    This is obviously a gross overreaction and a completely unjustifiable act designed not to prevent domestic terrorism but to cover up British forces and UK government involvement and collaboration with the genocide in Gaza.

    If we are taking suggestions for groups to ban as terrorists even though they aren't terrorists, I would like to suggest the Labour Party! The party has helped facilitate a genocide abroad, and continues to supply the perpetrators with arms and intelligence to aid their actions.

    I don't expect you to take that suggestion seriously, but maybe Reform will take it seriously when they get elected in a few years and I suggest it again to them. After all, a precedent will have been set that groups which aren't terrorists can be banned under anti-terror legislation anyway. Democracy will have already been eroded.

    I was ready to be disappointed by this Labour government, but I confess that the level of gut-wrenching visceral disgust I am experiencing at them surpassed all my wildest expectations. Taking money from the disabled to buy new war-planes from a fascist US president while abetting a genocide in Gaza makes me wonder if Reform wouldn't be better in the end anyway. At least they might do electoral reform and nationalize the water companies.

    Labour's only hope, the country's only hope, is to remove Starmer. I wish you had won that leadership election instead of him.

    Anyway, as I say, I don't expect it to make any difference at all because under this election system even MPs in safe seats are nothing but tools of the party leadership and the party leadership seems determined. But I thought I'd let you know that I see you. I see what you are doing.

    I support Palestine Action more than I support this government. Let me know where I should hand myself in for my "crime".

    Yours sincerely,

    Adam


    Status at - Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:22:02 +0000

    Update on the watch that wouldn't charge and then came back from the dead 3 days later like Jesus.

    I guess it's in heaven now. Charging worked for about 2 days then stopped working again and now it's been flat and dead in the cradle for quite a few more days.

    ☹️

    Oh well.


    Status at - Tue, 24 Jun 2025 10:52:31 +0000

    Humm, some downsides to that new lighting render as well as the upsides. Need to adjust where the spotlights shine slightly for the next one I guess. Comes out overall darker, with less ambient light, some shots here far too dark.

    dalliance.network/w/seDLZGzw1D


    Status at - Mon, 23 Jun 2025 23:01:15 +0000

    Look at the crowds shadows there under the yellow spotlight, and the flare off the stage spot, and the reflections off of the floor and catwalk.

    It never looked this good in 4.0

    Well done , I dunno what you did between V4.0 and V4.4 but it looks great.


    Status at - Mon, 23 Jun 2025 22:44:30 +0000

    Interesting thing about tomorrow's tarot show, rendering now, is that I upgraded from Blender 4.0 to blender 4.4 and it's quite a bit nicer to look at the timeline editor.

    Was sad to find that the render time was up though. From about 3 seconds per frame usually to more like 12!?

    Trying it with an old version I see that the lights and textures look way better with 4.4 than 4.0 though. A substantial step up in the way the show looks without me even doing anything other than waiting four times longer per frame.

    Seems to be heavily dependent upon lighting now. The slow frames are like 12 seconds but the fast frames with minimal lighting and close up on the video are more like 2.

    Looks too beautiful now to go back though. Upgraded my cloud-remote render machines too. We will render on four machines tonight. FOUR! The power of it all.

    g3.4xlarge is no faster than g3.large but g6.xlarge seems to be twice the speed.

    But hard to be sure really coz of the massive variance in time depending on the lighting.

    Anyway, great show coming tomorrow. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm trying to do with it but tomorrow's show is the answer. Hide the angry bitter political rant behind a strange CGI tarot show. When the rant comes together well I like it.

    wordcloudtarot.com/@wordcloudt


    Status at - Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:17:12 +0000

    I support Palestine Action more than I support this terrible genocide-enabling so-called "labour" government.

    Does that mean I'm going to go to jail? Will I have to hand myself in?


  • Bookmarks

    Things I have bookmarked lately.
    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."

    Is a Glastonbury chant the real problem, or Israel's genocidal violence in Gaza? - Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:53:54 +0000
    "By arming Israel, by organising spy flights over Gaza from RAF base
    Akrotiri on Cyprus, and by providing diplomatic cover, Starmer has
    effectively glorified Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian children in the
    enclave. Bob Vylan’s chants of “Death to the IDF” have a far more
    dangerous counterpart in Starmer’s recital of Israel’s “right to defend
    itself” when that “defence” involves Israel mercilessly starving Gaza’s
    population of food, water and power. Bob Vylan are a punk band;
    Starmer is the British prime minister, the man who directs Britain’s
    foreign policy and directs its army."

    You Cannot Negotiate with the Zionist West - Craig Murray - Mon, 23 Jun 2025 10:37:39 +0000
    "Israel attacked Iran during negotiations between Iran and the US, with the next scheduled meeting just three days away – including assassinating the lead negotiator.
    Trump then gave Iran a two-week ultimatum
    to agree a peace deal. Iran held one foreign-minister-level meeting
    with the UK, Germany and France and scheduled a second meeting. Trump
    then attacked Iran with 11 days of the ultimatum still to run.
    Plainly the Zionist West not only has zero interest in peace, it is
    engaging in morally abhorrent levels of dishonesty and deception,
    attacking under a false flag of truce. The idea that Iran should now
    return to “negotiation” with such appallingly deceitful interlocutors is
    risible."

    She Won. They Didn't Just Change the Machines. They Rewired the Election. - Wed, 18 Jun 2025 08:24:24 +0000
    evidence of election rigging?

    Sales Pitch: Give Us Your Ad Business or We’ll Sue - Wed, 11 Jun 2025 08:15:06 +0000
    musk sues his customers to get them to spend.

    📺 Introducing the Fediverse: a New Era of Social Media - Tue, 10 Jun 2025 23:37:30 +0000
    Four minute fedi explainer

    Trump's Relationship With Musk Collapses in Nasty War of Words | TIME - Thu, 05 Jun 2025 22:57:44 +0000
    Time sums up the word's first global Forum Admin Spat in it's full glory.

    CD / Blur - YouTube - Thu, 22 May 2025 18:44:34 +0000
    Captain Disillusion looks at unblurring, inverse fast furry transforms and convolutions.

    Thank God for immigrants - by Ian Dunt - Striking 13 - Fri, 16 May 2025 17:56:32 +0000


    A third of my friends are immigrants of one kind or another and they are all great. Wish I could deport all those who want to stop immigration. It enriches us. We are better because of immigrants. I am better because of immigrants. Here's Ian Dunt: "Imagine how much poorer the world would be without British
    Asians in general. I'm not talking about the subcontinent. I'm not
    talking about Britain. I'm talking about British Asians themselves, as a
    distinct group, quite apart from their other loyalties or their other
    identities. Imagine how much more impoverished we would be, in food and
    music and literary life, in social habits and intellectual and political
    history. Imagine how poor we would be, the vast riches which would have been taken away from us."

    The Misconception that Almost Stopped AI - YouTube - Sun, 11 May 2025 10:54:59 +0000
    Some interesting visualizations and good explanation in this video about why training a neural network by gradient descent doesn't get stuck in local minima as you train. We tend to find it hard to visualize a higher dimensional landscape, let alone one with billions of dimensions. What loos like a local minima when mapped into a 3d visualization of a 2d landscape has all sorts of escape routes in the higher dimensions. It has a good visual on the way the landscape mapping can change as a result of changes to the other parameters, creating new "wormholes" as they change. Great video.

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