Maty's blog
| 2026-10-04 |
| Summer Love |
| Well, that was summer. I think I definitely got my money's worth out of the all-too- short season. In fact we rather jumped the gun by starting out summer hikes alongside still-frozen mountain streams, and over the course of the early summer we visited most of the local peaks. However when it got really warm we ditched hiking boots and rucksacks to hit the lake. What I like about going to the lake is that one can combine a number of different things. We play a sort of volleyball with a frisbee in the water where I spend literally hours floating on my back. Also because it is a large lake, one can kayak to secluded beaches that are unreachable by power boat. If one so desires it's possible to spend a morning in solitary splendour, picnicking and lazing in the sun. Then when the summer drew to an end, it was back to the mountains. On Wednesday we did our last hike. Not because the trails are closed by snow (though we have already had some on the mountains around town) but because hyperphagic bears are fattening up for hibernation and not too fussy where their food comes from. As it is, coming back from the shops this week we came across a black bear that looked around the size of a small cow. I was happy to be in our jeep. However, my summer sabbatical has come to an end. I'm gearing up for the new term at Cambridge, I have a set of proofs to read for one publisher and another has sent me the contract for my next book. Fortunately – because I can't stay away from ancient history even when on holiday - most of the research has been done and my notes are organized. I just need to write the thing. If I put my head down before and after Christmas, I should have the first draft finished in time for another long, lazy summer holiday. |
| 2026-09-06 |
| Latin and firewood |
| Two packages were waiting for me at the post office this week. (Hereabouts people are too few and far between for postal deliveries – we go to the post office and collect the mail.) One item was a Japanese edition of a book I wrote recently - 'A walk in ancient Rome'. The other was a replacement Estwing hand maul. These two items rather neatly summarize my lifestyle. This morning I was translating Catullus for an article I am writing. This afternoon I shall take aforesaid maul, and use in in tandem with a hydraulic wood-splitter to break up this season's firewood. It has been a rather hairy fire season this summer, and some substantial firebreaks had to be bulldozed to protect the town. This included taking down some old-growth trees, so we got salvaged firewood in the form of cross sections of trunk (called 'rounds') over a meter across and sixty kilograms in weight. These very large lumps of wood need to be broken into woodstove-capable chunks, and my editor's deadlines need to be respected. So I tend to spend an hour translating gnomic academicese into something people read for pleasure, then go outside and whack at wood for a while until I am tired enough to come in and return to the paperwork. Doing the academic stuff indoors in necessary, because last time I was seated on the deck I didn't notice a black bear snuffling around the back yard, and these bears are starting to look for their pre-hibernation rations ... |
| 2026-08-05 |
| AI, meet catfish |
| There is no doubt that AI is incredibly useful. When I remember (for example) a quote in Catullus but can't quite place it, I ask my helpful AI to find me the exact reference in a reputable website. Then I go and check it for myself to make sure the AI is not 'hallucinating'. These hallucinations happens annoyingly often, but the AI also sometimes produces other references from ancient sources I would have never considered. And its Latin grammar is a lot better than mine. Sadly I'm not the only one who finds AI useful. There used to be a time when scammers produced wonderfully eccentric emails with idiosyncratic spelling and bizarre stories. These days their operation is much smoother. I find myself very much in demand by reputable magazines, book clubs and broadcasters. All of them are eager to have me publicize my work to a large audience, and often offer to pay me handsomely for doing so. Oddly, the representatives of these broadcasters, publishers etc, seem to prefer using gmail rather than the contact address on their official website. Also, they all require that I contribute to an administrative fee for setting up the interview before we proceed. In the days before AI setting up such a scam would have required a lot of research, both to find a suitable person to impersonate and then to pretend to have enough detail on the work they want to 'commission' or the 'interview' they want to conduct. These days it is all done with a few clicks of the mouse. Catfishing on an industrial scale. It's almost enough to make me miss the days when it was exiled Nigerian princes who wanted to make me rich. |
| 2026-07-05 |
| Robbery by Design |
| Here's a masterclass on web robbery by 'dark design'. I ordered a product, and failed to see the 'autorenew' note in 2mm high letters at the bottom of the page. After my bank reported the payment, I wanted to cancel. So I went to the 'Membership centre' – sadly the page offering the cancellation autodefaults to a page selling more products. However, by turning off javascript I forced my browser to remain on the correct page. There I had to click every link on the page, because none of them offered 'Cancel subscription'. It turned up under this link sequence. My Account/My Benefits/My Products/Benefits/ (each with a list of larger alternative links and buttons offering other products and 'upgrades'.) On clicking the button 'more benefits' under 'Benefits' I was finally able to reveal the 'Cancel subscription' link. A note said that a verification code would be sent to my email address, and I should enter that code within 40 sec. No email arrived, so I had to start again from the beginning. This time I noticed a small greyed-out button saying 'get'. The trick is to click that, get the email and enter the verification code all within 40 sec. Then I received a 'confirmation email' with a mass of information, other offers and a little note at the bottom saying 'are you sure you want to cancel?' with the 'no' box already checked. I unchecked the box, and several hours received an email with the anodyne header saying 'Information'. This turned out to be from aforesaid pirates and informed me 'It is impossible to cancel your order at this time, please try again during our [unspecified] working hours.' At which point I went directly to my card company and blocked the payment from that end. Moral of the story. Make sure your bank can cancel an online order, because the wrong supplier sure as hell won't. |
| 2026-06-04 |
| Time - or the lack of it |
| They say work expands to fill the space available for it. Seems to be true in my case. I deliberately decided to step beck a bit from the pace of the last two years. Writing three books while teaching several courses and also pursuing my own research was a bit excessive. In retrospect I should have paced myself a bit more. At one point I was writing notes on the origin of the Huns at 2am until my wife more or less dragged me from the computer. Thing is I enjoy my job/profession/hobby rather to the point of not doing much else, which means the garden goes unweeded, crucial bits of paperwork get neglected and housework gets done under duress. So partly from necessity I am aiming to do one book this year and one course per academic term. And I'm busier than ever. Spring came early this year, so I spend one day a week hiking around the local mountains – living in one of the most scenic places on earth rather demands I take the time to appreciate it. Also I have been roped in as lyricist for a the songstress Ainsley Blackwell, and am learning things like Dorian rhythms, mimesis and perfect fourths. Music is actually a highly technical business. Also because I now have the time, I've done a few book reviews (leading to me making notes on the development of Nicene Christianity at 2 am ... but at least I weeded the garden first.) |
page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 page 14 page 15 page 16 page 17 page 18 page 19 page 20 page 21 page 22 page 23 page 24 page 25 page 26 page 27 page 28 page 29 page 30 page 31 page 32 page 33 page 34 page 35 page 36 page 37 page 38 page 39 page 40 page 41 page 42 page 43 page 44 page 45