Alistair Dabbs

Have I got a scary mask for you! Today's FREE Korean spam exhibit is a blinder Happy-happy Halloween Halloween Halloween, Silver Shamrock

Wednesday's FREE post from [Autosave is for Wimps] featuring the least scary mask you will see this Halloween plus a swimsuit model on a rug. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/have-i-got...

We’ve digitised your job, so goodbye! … Hang on, it’s f**ked! Is anyone left who knows what to do? “Move quickly and break things,” as the Louvre thieves chortled on their way out

"(a) It’s better to have received messages twice, albeit several months apart, than not at all. (b) You don’t know how many new notifications never got delivered during AWS's 75 lost minutes, and never will." [Autosave is for Wimps] autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/weve-digit...

Halloween creep: I switched off the AI assistant but who's to say it isn't still listening...? And send those five hundred toilet rolls back

"At our coworking place there's an ancient PC that nobody else will touch, let alone try to install anything clever on it. It’s my favourite PC. To my horror, tech support has just upgraded it to Windows 11..." Audio fun with [Con in 60 Seconds] autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/halloween-...

Whats the buzz? Oh that'll be my neck massager, courtesy of the time machine of Korean Spam Not just a FREE POST but a happy ending too

"While we’re looking at his face… why is that all the weirdos portrayed in Korean spam are westerners? Almost certainly Americans? (Don’t bother, I think I’ve answered my own question.)" Free Korean Spam on Wednesdays! autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/whats-the-...

Angoulême Festival's crisis resumes Angoulême Festival remains mired in controversy as the deadline for alternative showrunners entered its final days

The threat of an all-out creators' boycott of the 2026 Angoulême Comics Festival looms even loomier than ever, as explained (for the first time in English) by Dean Simons: www.comicsbeat.com/angouleme-fe...

British freelance journalists everywhere - even those living in France! :-) Your deadline for responding to the UK Government's consultation on late payment legislation is THURSDAY this week! That's 23 OCTOBER. Do it now! @nujparis.bsky.social @nujlfb.bsky.social

I have a running joke for you: my fitness gadget has, er, run out (and not just the batteries) I'd go for a jog but I don't have a cable long enough

Mme D has one of those fitness apps that switches into nag-nag-nag mode. “Keep it up!” it tells her. “You’ve reached your sixty-second goal!” – which makes no sense as Mme D doesn’t play football. [Autosave is for Wimps] featuring Wolf Alice. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/i-have-a-r...

Montpellier's archive building will host a free event tomorrow afternoon at which you can sit in the amphitheatre and listen to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

NUJ Paris members based in Strasbourg might enjoy meeting up with French freelancers for an apéro, organised by local adhérants of 'Profession : Pigiste'. pigiste.org/les-aperos-p... @nujparis.bsky.social

How to qualify for unemployment benefit when you're a freelance journalist in France. (tl;dr You need to prove you were on contract.) Courtesy of the fine peeps at 'Profession : Pigiste'. @nujparis.bsky.social

Everything gets assigned as ***SPAM*** these days, including legitimate email and unsolicited message boys from HR Junk Mail is the new Inbox

Now that everything ends up in Junk, regardless whether it is or not, we have to trudge through endless shit about sleeping pills and weight-loss injections just to find last week’s meeting minutes. [Con in 60 Seconds] autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/everything...

Hating those remote meetings? Believe me, it used to be a lot worse in-person Please allow me to introduce myself (woo-woo!)

"I bet your perverted mind even interprets sexual innuendo from innocent sentences written by a Substack columnist on Fridays. Get a grip on yourself." [Autosave is for Wimps] featuring The Rolling Stones, The Floaters, Monty Python and Deicide. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/hating-tho...

PA chapel statement on 2025 pay deal NUJ members at PA Media have secured an above-inflation pay deal, demonstrating "the power of union activism and collective bargaining."

The NUJ PA chapel has secured an above-inflation pay deal, demonstrating "the power of union activism and collective bargaining."

www.nuj.org.uk/resource/pa-...

Recommended reading for all freelance journalists trying to get to grips with the French idea of what a freelance journalist is. @nujparis.bsky.social

My voice sounds odd during Zoom meetings? It could be the helium I suppose Don't make me raise my voice

"I don't mind left-over office party balloons but the farty deflation noises are distracting when you’re on a video call. And I suspect the released helium is playing havoc with my vocal chords as the meeting progresses." [Con in 60 Seconds] Episode 30 autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/my-voice-s...

Free post! Possibly even free money! Just ask and they will give, right? I beg to differ

Show me the money! Loan sharks' spam email technique in South Korea in the mid- 2000s. Episode 9 of Dabbsy's Curious Museum of Korean Spam just dropped. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/free-post-...

Photo du nouveau CA de Profession : Pigiste avec le sourire et sous le soleil

Profession : Pigiste est fière de vous annoncer la nouvelle composition de son bureau : Nora Bouazzouni et Virginie Menvielle, coprésidentes, Pauline Chambost, trésorière, Pauline De Deus, secrétaire, appuyées par Julie Falcoz, Léna Couffin, Dorian Cabrol et Giovanni Simone. Bravo à eux 💪🏻

World’s problems sorted: I’ll tip my head back while you pour the coffee in Hang on a sec, I think I’m going to… bleuaarrghh

“Fancy a coffee?” My heart sinks. Once I step outside my own house, all coffee is shit. That's why they give you a stack of sugar cubes taller than the coffee cup itself: to take the awful taste away. [Autosave is for Wimps] featuring Ultra Vomit. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/worlds-pro...

I didn't know I had a job title until they changed it. And changed it again. If you ask me, it's just a Composite Arrangement of Ageing Testicular Matter

I have a job title, as it turns out. It lasted all of 30 seconds before it got changed again. They really must value me! I can’t tell you how overjoyed I am about this. [Con in 60 Seconds] Featuring copious quantities of hinge oil. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/i-didnt-kn...

Free post! Which part of the human body is THIS fiddly gadget designed to protect from harmful UV rays? (AKA I wrote a clickbait headline and then THIS happened...)

It’s a “Sun Pillow” – a really bad idea because it doesn’t look sturdy enough to withstand 15 million degrees celsius. It should, however, survive if you were to put your *head* on it. [Autosave is for Wimps] Free post every Wednesday. Subscribe now! autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/free-post-...

Eat this! (or don’t) A report from a thrilling gastric night out at the 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes Trump would have a better chance of that Nobel Peace Prize if he wasn’t teetotal – FACT!

The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded at a jolly ceremony at the Boston university’s George Sherman Union on Thursday. I’m taking time-out from my usual ranty Friday column this week to give you a roundup of what went down. (PLUS more Korean spam!) autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/eat-this-o...

On the road to nowhere: AI might have hallucinated my holiday booking I look forward to spending next year's vacation in Arsekrakov

A group of people stopped me on the street and tried to sell me the idea of letting AI book my next holiday vacation. Should I? Would YOU? Imagine arriving at an airport that didn't exist. [Con in 60 Seconds] Episode 27 autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/on-the-roa...

Free post! Korean Spam on Wednesday no.1 A midweek exhibit from Dabbsy's Curious Museum – for free!

As of this week – until I get bored or forget – I will post a mid-week exhibit from Dabbsy's Curious Museum of Korean Spam for everyone to enjoy, including FREE subscribers. Every Wednesday. Sign up to receive it FREE by email. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/free-post-...

a drawing of a person using a laptop with a cup of coffee ALT: a drawing of a person using a laptop with a cup of coffee

🔊 We are delighted to announce our all-singing, all-dancing new website! Take a look here and let us know what you think: nujparis.fr Thanks to our chair, @alidabbs.bsky.social, for all his brilliant work in making this happen. 🙌

@nujofficial.bsky.social @nujlfb.bsky.social

Nobody is irredeemable.

Une noisette done properly. What a rarity! Beautiful layering, correct temperature and an amaretto cookie on the side. Merci Gazette Café, Montpellier! www.gazettecafe.com

Trust a humanoid robot to help around the kitchen? You must have a death wish “Eww, the robo-cat has shit a couple of depleted AAs next to the litter tray again”

You can no more roll back a killer robot’s firmware than persuade AOL not to ditch dialup. A column from me, from the future. [Autosave is for Wimps] featuring classic Numan, heavy metal Reznor and (hooray!) more Korean Spam! autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/trust-a-hu...

Do not disturb: This hotel uses self-check-in machines Have a nice stay... trying to check yourself in

Unexpected item in LUGGAGE area! The maniacs that brought you self-checkout tills in supermarkets now bring you… self-check-in machines in hotel lobbies. [Con in 60 Seconds] autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/do-not-dis...

I hadn't been counting the years so IEEE did it for me. Apparently I have been an IEEE member for 15 so far. IEEE now runs a certification program for AI Ethics. Shall I sign up?

Buy one, get one free? Apparently not the same as buying two at half price Look, just BOGOF, would you?

The complexity of in-store discounts that only apply when I buy multiple identical products continues to baffle me. “Buy FOUR circumcisions by the end of September and get your FIFTH at no extra cost!” [Con in 60 Seconds] Episode 25. autosaveisforwimps.substack.com/p/buy-one-ge...