114

The Titanic sank 114 years ago today.

As I have written many times on this blog over the years, it's a historic moment that has fascinated me ever since I read a book in the mid-90s.

I spent a bit of this morning watching a YouTube video with a computer-generated recreation of the final few hours of the ship's fateful journey.

The people behind the video have been doing the live streams for quite some time. I believe it has been ten years. 

I'll catch the rest of it later on today.

Catching Back Up With Malcolm

I didn't watch Malcolm in the Middle during its peak. I came along a few years later, when it would air on Channel 5's sister channel (Fiver/Five Star) before Home and Away. Therefore, I'd catch it every weekday evening for a good year or two.

With that noted, I believe I can claim to have seen most, if not all, episodes across its seven-season run.

In December of 2024, I was one of the many fans excited to find out that the series was making a comeback of sorts. Well, the four episode mini-series - Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair - was made available to Disney Plus the other day. 

And.... I loved it.

It was so great to catch up with all of the major (and minor!) characters from the original series. Equally, it was also intriguing to be introduced to some newcomers like Malcolm's daughter - Leah - who played part in one of the funny subplots to this limited return.

Bryan Cranston's return as Hal was hilarious. We always used to see the patriarch of the family find himself in peculiar situations. As usual, Hal found himself in a manic arc that was right on par with what we should have expected from the Malcolm in the Middle writers. 

I laughed out loud at certain points. Just like the olden days.

The entire thing felt like a get-together of old and new as a tribute to the series. It was wonderful. I was actually quite sad once it dawned on me that I had seen all four episodes knowing that was likely it.

For now? 

Oh, I can only hope.

Mania Week Begins

It's usually one of my favourite times of the year. Sure doesn't feel like it right now.

But - here we are: WrestleMania Week.

I suppose it started off well. I woke up early, knocked the Apple TV remote as I was getting out of bed and it fired up YouTube.

Being recommended to me, at that time, was WWF WrestleMania VIII. 

As I have written many times over the years, here's one example, the 1992 Mania is arguably my favourite one in the now forty-two-year history of the event.

Seeing that thumbnail made me contemplate how things have changed since that amazing show from the Hoosier Dome (where the Colts played!) in Indianapolis. 

We've recently lost Hulk Hogan meaning both participants of the main event have now gone following Sid Justice's passing in 2024.

The other main feature of that show, and billed as part of a 'Double Main Event', saw Ric Flair lose the WWF Title to 'Macho Man' Randy Savage. 

Flair's the only one left from the four headline acts from that show.

I might click on that YouTube recommendation sometime this week. It'll fun to have it on as background noise.

I loved WrestleMania VIII. Going by the way TV has gone for this year's event, I could very well end up hating WrestleMania 42.

A Good Couple Of Days At The Aintree Office

Fair play - Microsoft Copilot did do a decent job in yesterday's post when I instructed it to select five horses to back in the Grand National.

As I pointed out, the AI assistant chose one 'main pick', two selections it regarded as strong backups' and a couple of 'long range threats'.

The main selection - I Am Maximus - won the race. 

But, that's not all. 

Iroko, who was categorised as a 'long range threat', finished in second place.

Incredible.

All in all, it was a brilliant week of betting for yours truly.

I was given a £2 free bet to wager on any of the races on Friday's card. I decided to use it on a double with names that stood out to me.

The horses I ended up going for were 'Jet To Vegas' because WrestleMania is in Las Vegas next weekend and 'Indiana Jones'. I chose the latter mainly because it's the nickname of the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback, Daniel Jones. I don't know if I would have selected it for the obvious reason of it being the name of the movie character had it not been for the Colts.

The first horse was 25/1 while Indy was 150/1. I didn't expect anything. I thought it would just be a laugh to have selected those two names. 

I happened to be in the living room following the second race and noticed Indiana Jones had placed. I opened my phone to check my betting account and there was £185 waiting for me.

Amazing result. I genuinely didn't think the bet had a chance. I only chose the names for fun.

Microsoft Copilot Goes To The Races: Grand National 2026 Edition

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I've decided to do what I did over the Cheltenham Festival and have Microsoft Copilot select my Grand National horses.

I asked the AI servant to come up with five horses using a series of methods it came up with itself. It suggested making the five picks in the following way - one main pick, two 'strong backup' horses and a couple of 'long range threats'. 

The five runners it came up with are:

Main Pick: I Am Maximus 8/1

Strong Backup 1: Haiti Couleurs 22/1

Strong Backup 2: Jagwar 15/2

Long Range Threat 1: Panic Attack 15/2

Long Range Threat 2: Iroko 14/1

I have made these each-way bets fully aware that Copilot went from great to terrible across Cheltenham week. 

We'll find out how it fares from 4PM today.

Pringles Mingles In The USA

I am aware of a couple of new Pringles flavours that are currently doing the rounds, so went on the potato snack's website to find out more.

My search led me to the US version of the Pringles website. Oh boy. What a find.

I came across some Pringles products other than the ones that are available here in the UK.

Take a look at these.

These 'light, airy crispy puffs' are shaped like Mr. Pringle's bowtie and come in some zany flavours. It was seeing these combinations of flavourings which made me realise I wasn't on the UK version of the Pringles website.

They have:

- Sharp white cheddar and ranch
- Cheddar and sour cream
- Dill pickle and ranch
- BBQ and pizza
- Jalepeno and queso 
- Cinnamon and sugar

They're called 'Pringles Mingles'. I guess the 'Mingle' notion comes from the two flavours mixing together.

Of the six varieties, I'd definitely pass on jalepeno and queso. I would also contemplate skipping cinnamon and sugar. With that said, I had tried a cinnamon-flavoured Pringles during Christmas 2013.

I'll keep an eye out for these products on my visits to the websites that import foods from the USA.

As for the UK products I am after - the snack food brand currently has a collaboration with Burger King. There are two limited edition flavours soon to be on store shelves (or already on store shelves, if you're lucky). One is 'Bacon Double Cheese XL' and the other is 'Chicken Royale'.

My mission is to find them. You'll be one of the first to know if I do.

A Plan For Saturday

I might have another go at getting Copilot to pick some horses for me. 

After the high (singular!) and lows (plural!) from using AI with my Cheltenham Festival picks, I am contemplating having it select a few horses for this Saturday's Grand National.

I'm actually more than contemplating it when you consider I'm actually writing this very post. Now that it's out there, I have kind of backed myself into a corner. 

So, yes, on Saturday, I am going to have a few punts using Microsoft Copilot.

If it's as good as Cheltenham Tuesday, I'll be happy. If it replicates the three days that followed, well - there could be another disaster on my hands.

I'm not going to ask it to pick anything now. I'll wait until Saturday morning.

You can see how my gambling on Cheltenham 2026 went by following THIS LINK.