Fernandes should be reprimanded by his own coach

hat terrible leadership from captain Fernandes. Usually I don’t mind who wins the derby, but when you kick a player when he’s down, it should be an instant red card.

Foden was bullied; he hit back.

The FA should punish Fernandes.

Derby ongoing

‘ve just published Part 181 of a long series about what we went through. I gave some background information for uninitiated readers.

In my experience, the bullying tactics have involved throwing disinformation our way; or a variant: throw some baits our way, see if we eat them.

This is a pattern of attacks on media in the UK (and elsewhere), so we need to do something about this whole phenomenon.

Don’t capitulate, fight back.

Consider the SLAPP industry in the UK. We’ll need see which one gets fish (business of SLAPP), then study the fish and talk about it. We’ll see what triggers the SLAPP companies, then focus more on that. We’ll get warmer and closer to their “skeletons in the closet” over time.

I reckon I can spent another decade dealing with this problem.

Water is life

ast month our government formally advised people to prepare for climate problems (natural or man-made disasters) and/or war. I think it meant the latter, but officials tried to avoid causing panic or panic-buying. It basically urged stockpiling, focusing on things like water, canned food, maybe essential (life-sustaining) medicine.

Putting aside food and the NHS, let’s focus on water today.

In the UK, rain-catching barrels (or very large plastic containers) are unlawful. I didn’t check why, but I think it’s for sanitary reasons (people drinking from it, getting ill, asking NHS to intervene, i.e. becoming a burden on the state’s capacity/budget).

Suppose a war broke out, water supplies got disrupted, and people here would rather die than recycle and drink urine (a feasible survival strategy by the way).

In a country like ours, for two adults, you can assume 1) no tap water, no sewer, but waste can be managed another way/s (liquid absorbed by soil if you’re not in a high-floor apartment); 2) about 5 litres per day for a couple or 150 litres consumed per month; 3) water is preferable (over other liquids); 4) insulation needed (for all liquids). Boiling not an option if power is out.

For a typical household, water usually runs out first; food is less critical than water because we’re about 80% water. People tend to underestimate how much water they consume (digested, not washing/bathing related usage) and people can consume their own muscle and fats (the body metabolise its own mass). It’s all OK, except for water…

No doubt water is essential.

I am not saying we’ll 1) have a war soon and 2) it will disrupt the water supply.

I am only describing a scenario where people stockpile the wrong thing/s. Or prioritise (weight-wise) what’s more expensive and less critical.

First season for both in their repsective teams

hree hours from now the derby commences (kick-off 4:30PM) and so far I’ve seen only United jerseys in town, no City shirts/gear/scarves. We spent several hours there and came back.

“There are many things that Manchester City and Manchester United have in common,” BBC says, “but one thing decisively separates them this season.”

I never particularly liked the derby as I want neither club to lose. That made me mostly uninterested or apathetic.

City must win (by 2 goals) to stay top.

Time flies

can’t believe it’s almost mid-September (in a month with 30 days 15 is halfway). We’ll be in 2027 within 3+ months and it already feels cold.

2026 was exceptionally productive for me – probably most productive since I was a teenager.

The other day, on the way back home, I recalled all the many activities I did when I was 15. I can’t believe I managed to squeeze in TV, computer games, tennis etc. into my day/s. It’s not that these recreational activities were “gainful” (probably a waste of time more than anything else), it’s just that I didn’t let school and homework take over my life. I did that in moderation. I even used to work out in school (with the facilities available). Towards the end I swam there.

I think my efficiency is peaking right now.

United too attemped to sign Elliot Anderson.

t is derby day today and the new signings helped get 4 wins in a row. It seems likely blue will win. But it won’t be easy.

It seems like Anderson is a bit like Haaland – blue since a young age. Irrespective of who wins, I intend to focus on next week’s EPO publications. We have some amazing stories to publish.

What we can tell future generations and why many of my generation can probably relate

still vividly remember when I was 21 and began my Ph.D. degree at the Victoria Uni. of Manc. (before the UMIST merger).

The Web was just over a decade old back then. There was a lot of stuff people could not find on the Web. Spamfarms did exist, search engines certainly worked, but no slop was taken seriously (yes, it could be produced even back then, maybe it would be called “chaff” rather than “AI”).

Nobody would take slop seriously back then. There was no justification for the costs, either.

I remember looking through old archives of mine looking for things I can scan and upload. I wanted to add material to my personal site. To a certain extent I did. Some was already digitalised.

Now, in 2026, the Web is a junkyard. There’s little need to add anything to it unless it’s unique and of real value.

New stuff can barely be considered discoverable, unless it’s outsourced to some social control media and the user “mines” (wastes time on) ‘friends’.

The Web has generally been devalued not because of “bad people” who joined it. Bad companies are filling it with trash and erecting walled gardens.

RIP, Web.