About Outsidecontext.com
On the nature of art, a definition
"Art is that human endeavour which illuminates the contiguous nature of reality. Momentarily breaking us free from our illusion that the Universe has a dual nature." Writes Basho. Find out why...
The Iron Church: Why Most ‘AI’ Fitness Apps Are Just Marketing (And How I Built One That Actually Works)
7 AI Pipelines ? 5 AI Prompts, 2 Deterministic Engines. Discover the technical strategy behind building The Iron Church—an AI fitness trainer defined by periodisation science, multi-prompt architecture, and serious consideration of your real equipment. This article is the [...]
Basho rewrites: Rime of the Frostmaiden – Sunblight
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Sunblight!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 46 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my own [...]
Jawbreaker – Ultimate AI Upscaled 4k edition
I was at the gym and, as usual, I was watching downloaded films on the gym's TV while cycling or rowing. I decided to watch the documentary "Samsara" by Ron Fricke and was amazed to see that I had [...]
Things Will Change – a Basho travel film
Things Will Change A travel film exploring humanity's journey through history, touching on themes of faith, nature, technological advancement, and the essence of human connection. The film is divided into four chapters, each reflecting on [...]
Beijing and the Great Wall – Our final days in China
"So," said Cesca loudly and clearly, just as I was drinking from a water bottle, "What's all this about China and Tiananmen Square?" I almost did a spit take. "Quiet!" I said and I looked around, wiping water running [...]
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist | Dungeons & Dragons
**Caution this post contains spoilers for WDH!** My players (9-year-old children, my wife and her 70+-year-old mother) just completed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, and there follows my write up of the adventure. The piplins! [...]
Children of the Red Rose
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Children of the Red Rose!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the [...]
Varanasi City of Gods – Special Edition
How does it make one feel to be in one of the most “holy” cities in the world?
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
The Four Goals That Run Every Training Programme — And The Adaptive Engine That Serves Them When a new disciple opens Iron Church, we don't ask them to pick a "split." We ask them what they actually want. There [...]
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
Basho’s bonus modules: Rime of the Frostmaiden – an Adventure with Pirates
When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 45 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my own players! Our players: the piplins! [...]
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
“The Backroad to Bures”
"The Backroad to Bures" by Basho AI image upscaled from 2019. It would make a lovely computer background.
The day I met the Buddha, and killed him
Delhi. Many people say they have “done” Delhi, but in all honesty they haven’t. They have perhaps done the tourist parts of New Delhi, or maybe spent some time in an Ashram there – which amounts [...]
The Storm King’s Thunder and the Dragon’s Bane
There follows the campaign we have played all through the 2020 lockdown. It has helped us all resist the mental anguish of the COVID virus, recover from the infection itself and be a beacon of bright enjoyment for all. Truly the great value of this magical game cannot be overstated when played with attentive and imaginative children. So, I present the chronicle of my son, my daughter and my wife playing their first campaign after the starter set, Storm King's Thunder!
The Alam Clock Lesson
Early in my leadership career, I had a junior member of staff who was late to work. Nothing unusual about that, you may think, for are we not all occasionally late into the office? Most of us commute and moreover [...]
Yaks for tea and Tibetan Temples. Living the high life in Shangri-la
"You have to imagine," said the man in broken English, "that this..." he gestured his hands at the view in front of us, "big lake... flood wide and deep... great water!" He broke into a wide toothy smile.
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
And what the science — and AI — say about how to stop them. I would leave work after a long, hard day in the city and simply have no energy to attend my GoJu Ryu Karate training. I’d [...]
You’re the Pretender – a Tier 1 tribute
A loving tribute to 5 years of Tier 1 Military Simulations events. They say that it is only when you lose something that you realise the value it had. That emotional wrench requires a loss of access. Not that [...]
The Hidden Context in some Great Movies
I love the cinema and movies. I also make films myself. What stared as a simple passion for the action and adventure in films has become a life long urge to understand what the filmmaker, [...]
A Wild Sheep Chase
**Caution this post contains spoilers for The Wild Sheep Chase!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the United [...]
Hanoi, Halong Bay and Tet New Year – Part Three!
The travel blogging is back! Note: This is the third part of a complete three part article that completes our [...]
Malvern 2010 Show Garden – Losing Control, Releasing Nature
When Cesca first showed me the drawing plans for the UCS garden at RHS Malvern, I knew that it was [...]
Magpul PTS AEG – Part Two
The first thing that hits you when you are trying to sling the Magpul PTS is that it is not heavy. Even with a battery and loaded P-Mag in, it still is lighter than many AEG’s. This is due to mainly to the size of the gun, the skeletonised stock and the light but strong plastic in the hand guards. I slung it to a Chalker “Tactical Bra” sling that hangs the gun directly on the bodies centre line. It was short enough that when I knelt it did not strike the mud, but of course if you are tiny then this may still happen to you.
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation JAWBREAKER writeup
I have played many and been to many events where the organisers said they had reached the perfect balance point between real military exercises and a simple skirmish. I realise now that they either made the game too boring or little more than a skirmish with complex medic rules; milsim for the Xbox generation. In Operation Jawbreaker, Tier 1 also strived for that perfect balance themselves and in the most important respects I think that they came damn close to achieving it.
Endings and Beginnings – Basho and Cesca return home from their adventures
Endings are actually beginnings too. This is what I told myself as I sat in the tiny, oh so tiny, [...]
The day I met the Buddha, and killed him
Delhi. Many people say they have “done” Delhi, but in all honesty they haven’t. They have [...]
Laos P.D.R. – Mekong meanderings
“Life is a musical thing and you’re supposed to sing or dance along the way"
“Sophia” – Digital Watercolour
"Sophia" by Basho My first digital portrait painted in Rebelle 3.
Vietnam – Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh city
Vietnam was always on our list of countries to visit, but I must admit to having been slightly nervous about it. Not because it was Communist or “different” from home- by then, Cesca and I had been through all sorts of strange cultures including Muslim nations, Eastern Block style Communist havens and even Australia. What was actually getting us nervous was the constant reports from our friends about the Vietnamese unfriendliness. Time and time again people, who had already been through Vietnam, would display a sort of nervous laugh and glance at each other before answering our questions. This was exacerbating our reaction to another incident right back before we even left English shores.
iPhone Review: the best office PDA ever
Many people have jumped both onto and off of the iPhone release wagon. First it was touted as the next big thing, a mind blowing, life changing and stylish entry into the phone market. Bringing with it some amazing connectivity apps and the Apple pledge “that if you used this phone then you were officially cool” Even the price wasn't putting too many people off.
Sunset in Mumbai
The November terrorist attacks on Mumbai was something we had worried about before landing in the city, but to look [...]
Jaisalmer, sandcastle of India
Jaisalmer is a town located 575 m west from the state capital Jaipur. It lies in the heart of the [...]
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation SANDSTORM DVD release
I know I know, its a year late... but, finally my film of Tier 1 Military Simulation's Operation Sandstorm is complete [...]
Short Jolly Swagman Backpackers Review
A copy of my Hostelworld.com review: Jolly Swagman Backpackers, Sydney, Australia 25th Jun 2008, 3 [...]
Truth and knowing
Truth and knowing. "What is truth?" — Pontius Pilate, the Gospel of John. Truth is easy to explain but rather [...]
AIRSOFT: Longmoor Weekend Review
This weekend the Dark Angels attended the Longmoor FIBUA village near Liphook owned and used by the M.O.D.
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation SNAKEBITE writeup
I stood alone in the pre-dawn of the morning and the silence of the surrounding forest was punctuated only by the hooting of owls and the snoring of AQT players as they serenaded the coming sun. I was taking my turn on watch and the firebase was so dark that I couldn’t really see my way to walk around the inside of the perimeter. It was a large base by airsoft standards, about 70 meters long and 20 wide, with several small wooden buildings, huts and fire positions all surrounded by steel barrels acting as the wall between the players and the trees beyond. Every few steps I raised the NVG scope to my left eye and took a look into the gloomy and misty darkness. Through the NVG there were only dark shapes with blurry outlines, suggestive of men among the trees, but these didn’t move so I took them to be bushes. Nevertheless, I gripped my rifle tightly in my right hand.
Agra and the Taj Mahal
Ask a hundred people where in the world they would like to visit most of all and a significant percentage [...]
21 Days of EVE Online
I am currently working on a review of EVE Online for your reading pleasure. But, its deep! Very deep, and is taking me a long time to get to grips with. Nevertheless, this weekend expect my verdict on this amazing game!