Maty's blog
| 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.) |
| 2026-05-03 |
| Death and ... |
| May usually starts with a sigh of relief in the domus Matyszak. However there's also some mixed feeling here. It's because we file our taxes at the end of April and it's a long tedious business that I'm glad to get over with. I and the UK and Canadian governments have a rather complex financial relationship. Basically I get income and royalties for the first quarter of the year. This is then paid to HM Revenue and Revenue Canada (with the United States IRS also taking a bite). Then the Canadian and British governments give me that money back over the rest of the year as installments on my pension. It might be easier to just let me keep the money in the first place, but that would put a bunch of administrators out of a job. Not to mention the accountant whom I hire to work out (for example) if a book sold in Chine by a British publisher means I have to pay taxes in China, Britain or Canada. Also I work from home and count as self-employed so stuff like heating, house tax etc are also business expenses, as are medical, new computers and so on. My accountant negotiates with the tax authorities how much I pay and to whom, but there's a shedload of paperwork that needs to be assembled first. It's all rather exhausting and time that could be much better spent – for example – on working out how men and women used Roman bath houses. (My current project.) However, my duty to both nations is now done. I have paid my bit towards the running of the British and Canadian governments and when I see Messers Carney or Starmer waffling before parliament, I have only to consider whether this was money well spent. |
| 2026-04-03 |
| Oh dear ... Spring is here |
| You will forgive me if I do not join in the general rejoicing that spring has not just arrived, but by the usual standards of these parts, it has arrived half a month early. This means that instead of winter lasting from mid-November to mid-April we have had only four and a half months. By my count that is not a lot, as I do enjoy my winters. There are a number of places hereabouts where one can enjoy splendid walks made even more pleasant by the cabins scattered around in the mountains where one can relax by a wood fire and enjoy a toasted meal before plunging into the cold once more. Then evenings by the fire with a glass of whiskey, while the snow falls gently outside. I love it. Spring though is not a good time to be in either mountains or forests. A number of creatures – mostly bears – are waking from hibernation and are not particular where their next meals come from. The other creatures eager to start the season with a good meal are little brutes that buzz and bite. Ticks, blood-sucking flies and mosquitoes swarm ravenously about anything warm-blooded at this time of year. Meanwhile the trails I hiked so happily in snowshoes have turned into soggy, boggy morasses that won't dry out till June. Anyway, I'll be too busy dealing with the outcrop of dandelions in my lawn, planting the season's veggies and other domestic duties to get out even if I could. So I have to wait through a season of interminable rain showers and await the summer. Picnics in the park, kayaking in the lakes and hikes in the forest. It's just a pity we can't go straight from winter to mid-summer. |
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