Tom Raillin - The Last Hearth and Haven: 2026

Friday, 10 April 2026

Self Reliance - A Fact.

Time has trickled by and I've been reluctant to post, primarily because I 've had very little to say, plus so very little of note has caught my attention, or happening within my life.

One aspect has changed for me - the sad realisation that you can't rely on other people, and that will sometimes extend to those closest to you.

Case in point was a friend I've known for over a decade through our mutual interest in online gaming, met via a game called 'Smite'. Oddly enough, it was through a different friend that I was introduced to this guy (who I'll call James - not real name); the two had teamed up in some earlier matches and hit it off, so my buddy brought this new player into our inner circle. He and I clicked and have known each other (and gamed together) ever since.

That was up until roughly eight weeks ago, when suddenly, and without explanation, James stopped responding to my WhatsApp messages, not answering Discord messages, and generally not gaming.

After ten-plus years of problem-free friendship I found this both odd and very concerning.

Get Physical.

So after a period away from my blog, today is a short post regarding exercise.

Today I'm posting my short exercise routine. I say short, as for medical reasons I've been advised not to exercise at all - but screw that, I'd go mental if I don't do some form of physical movement.

The principle behind this routine is short, sharp, moderately taxing, aimed at getting the heart rate up and making the lungs work. I suppose in a way it could be looked upon as a mini HIIT session.

In all there are three exercises:

1) Push-ups, with elbows flared away from the body to roughly forty-five degrees. Gentler on the shoulders.

2) Mountain Climbers. I tend to count off the right leg, so left-right = 1 rep.

3) Body Squats. Keep the form strict as possible, feet shoulder-width apart, eye line always fixed above head height - helps with posture.

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.

Regret.

Regret is one of life's unintentional diamonds.

It's not something you find, rather it's something that finds you - no choice, no option. Bang! It's there.

But what is it, really?

"Regret" is generally defined as an emotional response to realising or thinking that a past action, or event was wrong, misguided or missed opportunity, often accompanied by a wish that things had been done differently. It's a mix of disappointment, self-blame and sorrow, sometimes coupled with a desire to undo or change the past - even though we know that is impossible.

In terms of psychology, regret is often tied to decision-making: you regret choices when you perceive that an alternative would have led to a better outcome.

There is also a distinction between: Feeling bad about something you did - 'Action' regret. And it's alter-ego, feeling bad about something you didn't do - 'Inaction' regret.

Submitting Short Fiction and Poetry: My Experience So Far.

Writing is a strange beast. A creature that can be both subjective and objective at the same time, depending on the context, purpose and elements used. Sometimes it can be instinctual and from the heart, then there are moments where your brain is the overriding force pushing the narrative and structure.

It is a mercurial thing, without a doubt. And a slippery bugger, too. There have been times that I've wrestled with an idea, but the thing just won't rest and continually wriggles on the page, demanding your attention.

Think pampered pooch on the sofa next to you demanding more belly rubs each time you stop.

Regards submitting, now this is a relatively new activity for me, but already I can see what a frustrating ball-ache it can be.

Why?

Intolerant.

I have a confession - I am intolerant. There. I've said it, and boy, what a weight it is to take off my chest.

Consequently, this admission also comes with a realisation: this is a manifestation of the last decade. Prior to that, as a person, I was pretty chill, but not so laid back as to be oblivious.

As to my intolerance? Put bluntly, stupidity, lies, manipulators, shills and propagandists. Basically every form of Mainstream Media today.

By extension it has infected film, television, music, arts, radio - anything that has a wide public appeal and audience.

Let me be clear, this is my own personal point of view. But this is also something I see, and experienced - those of a differing opinion to the narrative are reviled, hounded, ostracised, insulted, accused, threatened, and even, in some cases, assaulted. Just for having a differing opinion.

That should never be.

All this has turned me into an intolerant individual — intolerant of being lied to, manipulated, and treated as intellectually disposable.

How Artificial Intelligence (Potentially) Ruins your Writing.

Seems a pretty rough thing to say considering so many folks have 'authored' books and stories with the 'help' of AI (Artificial Intelligence), but there is a reason which I will come to further along in the post.

Before I continue I want to offer one caveat: I am in no way qualified to understand, analyse, dissect nor improve Artificial Intelligence performance and/or behaviour. These are just my personal observations, thoughts and conclusions based on direct interactions with AI.

I wanted to give a definition of what Artificial Intelligence is, and thought who better to ask but AI itself.

I chose to ask GROK - my reasoning is that CHATGPT can be a bit of a waffler - and the reply I received was that 'there is no single universally binding "official" definition of artificial intelligence (AI)'. Instead it provided half-a-dozen varying 'descriptions' about AI.

To this end, I insisted GROK choose what it considered to best describe AI, and this is what it gave me:

Hilarious - But Was it Really?

When was the last time you witnessed (or heard) something so funny that you came near to wetting yourself, or laughing so hard and for so long the very act of drawing in oxygen felt as if it had become temporarily suspended?

That, my friend, would have been something truly classed as hilarious. Not funny, nor amusing, but absolutely 100% bang-on-the-money, HILARIOUS.

If such an adjective were listed in relation to intensity I would place it thus:

Revisiting: Unexplainably Strange (3 of 3)

Out of all my choices for revisiting a post from the Life in the Blogoverse incarnation, this particular one stood out by a mile—particularly due to the 600+ views it received at the time of posting. To be honest, though, these events still creep me out, and to this day I have no way of explaining them away.

I still walk the route on a daily basis with our dogs, Chica and Aldo. Chica is still the nervous, alert-to-every-little-thing dog. Nothing escapes her senses—her hearing being so sharp she’ll alert me to approaching people minutes before I see them, whether on foot or riding a bicycle.

As a result, I’ve become a more observant dog walker, always paying attention to the behaviour and attitude of both dogs—especially Chica, my four-legged “early warning system”.

For the Love of Blogging.

What is it you do that you can, with hand on heart, honestly say you love to do?

For me, it is blogging. Yes, I enjoy exercising and keeping myself 'fit and healthy' as a by-product, but do I "love it"? Hell no - it's torture at times. I do, however, appreciate, and to some extent, enjoy the discipline it instils within me. But love? Not unless I was into the S&M thing - I'm laughing here just picturing some of you fitness people getting all huffy, "I'm not into S&M, I just love training!"

Gotcha.

But back to blogging - it's a great way for me to unwind. I view it as allowing my mind to sift through the mixed paperwork of my thoughts, ideas and ramblings. Once done, I might get lucky and have a topic or conversation piece float to the surface.

There are other times, usually with the quiet of night settled over the house, my desk clock quietly ticking to itself, that I lean into the conversational side of my thoughts. I sit and write as if having a one-to-one with an old friend, as we sit on those well worn, yet so very comfortable chairs, sipping a warm brew of our favourite drinks - kicking back, letting the flow of conversation meander like an exploring distributary of a river, and see where it leads.

Revisiting: The Perfect Sentence? (2 of 3)

For today’s revisited blog post, I’ve delved into my blog’s second incarnation, The Open Hearth — undoubtedly the longest running banner under which I posted.

This is from the era when I discovered the writing community within the blogger universe - it was thriving, energetic, warm and friendly, and very, very supportive. There is no question in my mind, this was the happiest portion of my blogging 'life'.

Hand on heart, I can unequivocally state it was this period where I learned the most regarding the craft of writing, and the one responsible for igniting the flame within me that drives people to write, write and write some more - regardless of topic, subject, length, tone or form. This was a wonderful time to be a blogger.

Revisiting: Dragon Warriors - My Game of Choice (1 of 3)

Greetings, and today I thought I'd look back at three different posts from three different incarnations of my blog.

Part 1 focuses on a game that shaped my traditional role-playing game Dungeon Master 'career' - and not only that, over time gave me the voice I write with today, and opened up my imagination to such wonderous stories and tales for my players to lose themselves within.

It's incredible to think three decades have rolled by since that day when I purchased the Dragon Warrior book series in paperback. Dungeons & Dragon snobs scoffed at it, dismissed the system as "too basic" - but that was the attraction for me. No clutter of rule-upon-rule for players, or myself to get bogged down in. It was a framework, and one that worked beautifully.

Falling on Deaf Ears.

Ever had one of those head-banging moments, when someone you know, who is quite clearly in need of help/assistance/guidance - or all of the above - and you are clearly the best person to do this for them; and yet they will not listen?

I experienced that very recently, and this individual is trying so hard to get to the pinnacle of their mountain, but are still bimbling around at basecamp. And they can't see it. To me, however, it's as clear as day. Screamingly so. I might as well set my arse on fire and wiggle it in front of them for all the good it does, such is the exasperating deafness of the ears to which I've tried to speak.

I got to a point where every option, every tactic with which to offer them help was stonewalled, to such an effect I might as well been whispering in a hurricane.

It's not as if I'm a total dipstick when it comes to communicating with people. Hell, it's the main thrust of my profession. But this individual just seems hellbent on sticking to their own path, even though from where I'm standing, will only garner the same, very limited, almost non-existent results.

ARC Raiders and a New Year

My new gaming 'addiction' of late has been Embark's new game, ARC Raiders – a PvPvE extraction shooter. For those unfamiliar with the initialism, it translates into the following: Player versus Player versus Environment.

As games go, I have a tendency to steer away from PvP orientated games, especially when it involves gathering items, equipment and loot, only to have it all lost and stolen when another player takes your character down. I find it about as appealing as a cold shower at 5AM on a snowy November morning.

But… and this is the surprise for me, ARC Raiders has captured something of a unique niche, primarily driven by player behaviour in solo PvE. The more positive interactions you have with other players, the more you help each other, and not take players down and rob them, the more you will continue to be placed into games with like-minded players – or so the devs at Embark would have us believe.

For the most part, it seems to work. For 98% of the time, in my 45 hours of playing experience, which isn’t bad at all. There is still that niggle of nervousness and edge of distrust when you encounter another player. This is made all the more suspicious when the encountered player doesn’t use voice or the built-in emotes to communicate, but rather skirts around you in total silence. Like a shark.

Friday, 10 April 2026

Friday, 13 March 2026

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Monday, 23 February 2026

Monday, 9 February 2026

Thursday, 5 February 2026

Monday, 2 February 2026

Sunday, 1 February 2026

Saturday, 31 January 2026

Thursday, 29 January 2026

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

Saturday, 24 January 2026

Friday, 23 January 2026

Sunday, 18 January 2026

Tuesday, 13 January 2026

Friday, 9 January 2026

Thursday, 8 January 2026

Wednesday, 7 January 2026

Monday, 5 January 2026

Saturday, 3 January 2026

Thursday, 1 January 2026