My Predictions for 2026, 1, Technology & AI

  1. AI will be increasingly embedded invisibly in tools we use daily.
  2. The “AI hype cycle” will have crashed and some companies will have failed spectacularly; from the debris will be survivors who will be doing valuable work.
  3. Deepfakes will cause a major political or financial scandal that forces real regulation although I have no idea how the latter will be done.

Tomorrow, Work and Economy.

Christmas Reading with the ‘B’ sides, the ‘deep cuts’.

Christmas is such a fabulous time for reading especially a ‘Christmas’ novel. A few readers were enthused by my recent Sherlock Holmes suggestion. Here are some further ‘deep cuts’:

The Box of Delights by John Masefield (1935) A magical, mysterious Christmas adventure. Kay Harker receives a box from an old Punch and Judy man that can shrink him, take him through time, and more. Wolves in England, ancient magic, kidnapped clergy; it’s wonderfully atmospheric and strange.

Greenmantle by John Buchan (1916) A Richard Hannay thriller set during WWI at Christmastime. Adventure, espionage, and a race across Europe. Not “about” Christmas but beautifully uses the season’s atmosphere.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie (1938) A proper country house murder mystery set on Christmas Eve. Dysfunctional family, tyrannical patriarch, locked room murder. Christie at her devious best. (US title: “A Holiday for Murder”)

(The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892) A Sherlock Holmes Christmas story. A stolen jewel, a goose, and Holmes in magnanimous mood. Short story, perfect length, genuinely Christmassy in spirit. Previously mentioned.)

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. Thomas’s prose is musical, nostalgic, funny. “Years and years ago, when I was a boy…” Absolutely beautiful language.

The Dead by James Joyce (from Dubliners, 1914) Set during the Feast of the Epiphany (Twelfth Night). A Christmas party in Dublin becomes a meditation on memory, love, mortality. Joyce’s prose is stunning. The final pages are some of the most beautiful in English literature.

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (1997) Modern but already a classic. Darkly comic essays about Christmas, including “SantaLand Diaries” about working as a Macy’s elf. Hilarious and cynical; a perfect antidote to sentimentality.

The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain by Charles Dickens This is his other Christmas ghost story. Much darker and stranger than Carol, largely forgotten. A man is offered the chance to forget all painful memories…

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen (1845) Heartbreaking Danish Christmas tale. A poor girl tries to stay warm by lighting matches on Christmas Eve. Beautiful, devastating, classic.

Go read!

Almost there

I’m confident that The Tools of Excellence will be released 1 January 2026……final, final, final proofing is proceeding well.

What is a Tool of Excellence?

We are toolmakers; we are driven to create that which enhances our capabilities, be it a thing, an idea, or a process. The earliest tools were a flint that allowed the fast, clean preparation of an animal skin for warmth, a line of gut to catch fish for nourishment, and, of course, fire, once wrenched from a passing storm, which must have been the most life-changing of tools. Further tools were concepts: how to organise the hunt, how to verify food which was edible and the idea of a presence beyond the body for reassurance and explanation: a god, a universe, a spirit.

Now, of course, tools-from power drills to surfboards to iPhones-surround us with abundance.

I am fascinated by tools that make a difference. Some are glittery and seductive; those we get but never really use; those fresh pasta makers at the back of cupboards, for example. Some tasks are best done without any help at all: the fullest of hugs. But some tools, yes, use them well, and there is no stopping you. The best has evolved and will continue to do so; flint became sharpened flint. Sharpened flint was lashed to a wooden handle, multiplying force through leverage. The axe was born, a tool that would reshape civilisations through boats, bridges, and bravado.

From the introduction to The Tools of Excellence.

Encouragers

Everybody needs encouragers in their life. Hopefully it starts with parents, later great friends. Later still a good manager. I’ve had a few good ones who I still recall: a maths teacher; a boss; a girl-friend. Not so many but enough to get you through the tougher times, the doubts and the ever-present doubters.

A huge thank you to those who have encouraged me this past years with my posts, with my books and with correspondence. A specific shout-out to Michael and Kurt and Patrick. Their regular encouragent is incredibly appreciated.

Go be an encourager. Someone at this very moment needs it.