I'm writing this from Reus "Barcelona" airport (Barcelona gets air quotes in the same way that "London" Luton does) after a week in Tarragona (see!) for a work trip. The European heatwave is still in full effect and I've never experienced higher temperatures or humidity than this week. Not the best setup for long, intense days meeting my all-remote colleagues in person for the first time, but when life gives you overly-hot lemons, you... make warm sangria?

I haven't seen my kids or partner for most of a week and I'm very excited to be home and to see them, although they'll all be asleep by the time I finish writing this, board my flight, and figure out the quickest way home from the airport on a Friday night.

A quick family holiday follows next week, and then we move house in the first week of August. Our first move in over eight years, and our first with kids. It's a huge moment and likely represents the absolute peak of my spreadsheet-planning organisation goals. I'll almost be sad to no longer have a "project".

It'll be hard bidding goodbye to our home. My daughter was born in the house, for one thing. We've transformed it from a generic-looking show home into something with a little personality, and the various improvements, enhancements and quirks we've given it will (hopefully) be valued by the new owners. The new house is objectively better in almost every aspect, minus (of course) the presence of a garden shed fully outfitted as a music studio. I'm going to miss that place.

Apparently “AI dating” is on the rise, at least, if you believe the podcasts and breathless lifestyle journalism. I don’t buy it: does anyone who ends up in an unhealthy dynamic with ChatGPT really believe the bot is their girlfriend? But perhaps all romance is built on delusion at some level… though I imagine it’s typically in favour of an actual human being.

I’m getting this second-hand via my partner who’s been listening to a relationship podcast which interviews people with “AI girlfriends”. Apparently some of the blokes are claiming that they’re using the bot as training for an actual, real-life partner. If this turns out to be true, then it’s way more worrying.

I use LLMs for work and have to constantly remind myself that they aim to please; they tell you what you want to hear; they confidently assert untruths and they will never challenge you unless you specifically prompt them to do so. Who wants a partner like that?

Well: a man who doesn’t want a relationship with a human being. A man who hates women. A man who does not expect to ever have to change their behaviour in response to feedback from others.

What a flake. I restarted this newsletter after a year-long gap, wrote four issues, then disappeared for a month. My loyal fan (not a typo; thanks T) was outraged. I'm sorry!

I alluded to this last month, and now I can be clearer: my employer announced a large restructure and layoffs in mid-May, and I spent the rest of the month uncertain if my role would be affected. Having already danced this particular tango just 18 months ago, I was keen to avoid it again.

I found out a couple of weeks ago that my role is safe, but plenty of my talented colleagues didn't have the same luck, and dealing with the fallout and anxiety has been tough. We're in the process of buying a new house and the risk that the entire thing could collapse (not the house, I hope) was a real source of stress and discomfort for me.

We're doing well now and work is even starting to feel normal again, but May wasn't much fun. But I have high hopes for the rest of the year: a new home, a new phase in our lives, and I might even buy a new vacuum cleaner. Expect a dedicated newsletter about my hopes and dreams for the Henry model I'll inevitably buy.

So much is happening in my life, work and brain this week that I'm unable to even begin to express it all here. Suffice to say that uncertainty and change are the two biggest forces operating in my universe right now, though hopefully for a limited timeframe.

I've picked out some interesting reads this week that have helped me examine the world, learn new things, or just laugh – give them a look.

And also: a book recommendation. I was a big fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time (a must for any sci-fi fans) and someone at work recommended his more recent Service Model, which I just finished.

Yesterday we got the results of the local elections, which took place on Thursday. On the day of voting I was busy playing space-themed mini golf with my son, whose school was closed for the day because it's the local polling station.

This always infuriates me: partly because I have to take a day off work (or risk parking the kid in front of a TV all day while I try to attend meetings), and partly because it's asking a hundred local children to lose a day of education so that—if we're lucky—40% of the eligible local voters actually show up and participate in democracy.

But this time they did turn out: our local, longstanding Labour candidate lost by a couple of hundred votes to the Green insurgency. I felt for her: she's been very visible locally for a long time, and made things happen when we needed her. But I also suspect that voting Labour in 2026 is a very difficult ask, even for former party loyalists.