Tom Raillin - The Last Hearth and Haven

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Old, But New, and Very, Very True.

Copyright & Trademark Blizzard Games.

Today I stumbled across this gem from six years ago, but watching it today it is still so very relevant, and hits home the undeniable truth of what it's like when bumping into old friends within World of Warcraft.

This fun video was produced by Viva La Dirt League - a great and creatively fun group of people with true gamer spirit and humour. If you want to see more videos by this crew, click on their name, and you'll be taken directly to their YouTube channel.

And if you're a WoW player, past or present, this will resonate, especially for those seasoned veterans who have 'retired' from Azeroth... for the time being.

Enjoy.

Monday, 23 February 2026

A Polite Request for Your Help.

So it would appear — to me — that all my viewing numbers seem to be driven by web crawlers and bots.

But this is only based on the geographical data shown in Blogger’s stats window, which is, at best, not very reliable.

To this end, I have a request for anyone of the flesh & blood persuasion who does actually read and visit on a regular or semi-regular occasion to let me know. At least then I can continue posting, knowing that someone, somewhere does actually read my rambling thoughts and posts.

All I ask is that you type a single upper-case letter as a comment and post. It’s all anonymous, but it will show that I do actually have reader traffic and not just 100% bots. At least then I’ll have a better incentive to continue with my blog, and not be left feeling like I’m talking into an uninhabited void.

Thank you — and now some music:

SYML - "Mr. Sandman".

Monday, 9 February 2026

Dice, Maps, and Chaos: Why I Miss Being a DM.

So, I'm back, and it struck me today - I miss running role playing sessions of Dragon Warriors and AD&D.

In part, because I was out and about on a dreary, cloudy, damp day, which for me, is perfect weather for being indoors with your friends having a good session of your favourite role playing game.

I miss writing out the scenarios, creating the NPCs, drawing maps and creating floor plans of a tavern or dungeon, and populating it with all kinds of wonderful traps, creatures, encounters and a scattering of treasure here and there.

Then follows the physical routine of setting up.

My game sessions were always run on a Sunday evening, and kick-off would be at 18:00 hours. So an hour before, I'd get the table positioned and dressed. Chairs placed, character sheets, pencils and DM screen in position, and finally make sure the kitchen was sorted for tea or coffee.

Is Blogging Worthwhile? An Honest Question to Myself.

After reading old and present posts, this is my question to myself:

"Is blogging truly worthwhile?"

Really. What am I getting from it, if I'm being brutally honest? Simple answer is - nothing.

If I had created a blog for bot crawlers, then I'm gold - I've succeeded. Other than that, I might as well be whistling into a hurricane. I have to face the blunt truth of the matter:

It's dead.

Previously I said I loved blogging, writing down various thoughts, anecdotes and musings on day-to-day life. So have a million+ other blogs.

Today is a turning moment. I have two options:

Do I continue with blogging, or do I stop, and call it a day?

I sit here, leaning towards the latter. Yes, I'm pissed. Yes, I'm frustrated - I've reached that point where I'm not sure if I can continue talking to myself through this blog.

I once had a two year hiatus, and came back in 2021. I feel like I've given it a good shot - ignoring 2024's pitiful single posting.

I think my best course of action is to sit back for the next few days and give this serious consideration, and not act on impulse - which only ever leads to regret.

I have to consider if I have anything to offer that is of genuine interest or not, and where I, and my blog, go from here.

I’m done for now. Time to wait and see.

Monday, 2 February 2026

Crawling Everywhere.

Logging in to my blog today, I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge uptick in post viewing activity.

At last! Was my initial reaction. And then I paused. Stopped what I was doing and looked deeper into the statistical information of my blog.

Interesting.

Clearly not human 'viewers', but rather, web crawlers and bots.

Think of them like this:
Web crawlers (also called spiders or robots) and bots are automated programs that move across the internet, visiting websites, reading content, and performing tasks without a human clicking around. They’re the “silent workers” of the web.

So it would appear that my setting up the Google Form for yesterday, tickled their interest, as I had to dive in and out of said post several times, causing a pseudo-spike in activity.

Either way, it gave me a very brief flush of hope. Not the end of the world.

04:29 AM

The dull, but intense headache sitting behind my eyes and laying flat across the centre of my brain has succeeded in waking me up - and not for the first time.

This is not a one-off. I know exactly the cause - it's the cervical region of my neck, around C3-C4 that's the issue. The joints have become tight and less inclined to function as they were intended. As a result, the muscles around the base of my skull and either side of these areas have now become hypertonic, and become worse when I lay down and lay my head on my pillow.

Maddeningly, the headache can become so intense that it will make its presence felt in my dreams, manifesting as part of the dream, once again, demanding attention. It is like having a child tugging at you arm, insisting you wake up because they can't sleep.

I just need my head gripped and twisted, so my cervical joints pop like fire crackers, releasing the joints and muscle tension accumulated over the weeks. I'm not a fan of having it done. But I know it would be the solution.

Memories of the Future.

As a regular visitor to my blog — yes, I’m pointing at you, my one, solitary returning reader (thank you to you, if you are a flesh-and-blood person and not just some bot) — you’re probably becoming aware of a theme in the majority of my postings: recalling the past to make sense of what’s yet to come.

Reflections on the past.

Maybe you’ve had the thought cross your mind, “Why doesn’t he ever post about looking forward, of things to come?”

A valid and reasonable question — and one that has sparked this very post: why don’t I talk about the future?

Contemplating future events, or things to come, requires certain elements to be in play.

Planning ahead.
Invitation.
Certainty.

Planning ahead — ideas, schemes, arrangements, and designated events or functions. These are things we have to make plans for regarding future events, outcomes, and results that have some kind of impact on our lives, be they intentional or happenstance.

Creeping Online Solitude: When Voices Fade.

In the early days of the internet — and this is going to make me sound old (to some) — everything was dial-up, and our blistering connection speed was a wonderful 56kb.

Hearing that squeaking, squawking and droning-buzz of your modem dialling into the internet via your landline sent a shiver of excited anticipation up your spine. It honestly felt as if you were waiting for a secret portal to open, and allow you to step into another world.

And back then, it truly was.

CHATROOM MAYHEM.

Chatrooms were the internet social hubs, and you had — for the time — weird and wonderful names popping up. The chat was intense. Rooms were created for specific topics, and considering the early era of the internet, policing was quite low key, so online conversations could get heated and spicy.

I recall one Saturday morning, being bored, I logged onto the internet and headed to the chatroom portal. I discovered an Asian chatroom dedicated to learning English. So I thought, “Why not?” and joined. To my great surprise they were doing a chatroom version of karaoke.