More coffee, less dukkha

It's about time

2008-05-07T21:57:00.003+01:00

Introducing Time, Craig Callender. Finished 04/05/08.

This was a fun little sprint through many aspects of time, from how it has been thought of centuries past, up to today's theories around entropy and infinitely repeating universes. It was fun to read this in parallel to the Fabric of the Universe, but I'm not sure how much sense it would have made had I not done so. The ilustrations were simple - a good thing, see below - but, as is always a danger with these brief, introductory books, not enough time was spent properly grasping an issue: the book is packed with interesting stuff, but our 'why?' and 'how?' questions remain unanswered.

This page from it caught my eye, "All You Zombies":

Here's the wikipedia entry on All You Zombies, a review of the short story from the Heinlein Society website, an incredibly complicated timeline diagram, as well as the actual story itself, for you to enjoy at your leisure.

Music videos are ace

2008-04-11T21:02:00.004+01:00

Looking at this got me thinking.

TED Talks Jakob Trollback: Rethinking the music video (video)
"What would a music video look like if it were purely directed by the music? Not driven by a concept, nor by a desire to build an image, but purely as an expression of a great song?"

Ok, so it didn't get me thinking about how to transform audio into a new, autogenerative, semi-autonomous, visual expression of celebral, celestial sound, but rather:

"I wonder if there are any good Metallica videos on YouTube."

And from that the next thought was:

"That's all well and good -- love the way they make their guitars and that snare drum snarl and growl -- but what was it like in the good old days? Where's Slayer..."

"...and Megadeth?"

It's mad that Megadeth and co are still going for it. Makes me feel old just thinking about it; god knows how old they must feel.

Anyway, from reminiscing about the old times, and the other stuff we listened to in the sixth form with fellow twitterer-er @xbaz, including such cool old skool stuff as this:

I somehow came across this:

A-one and a-two and a-chicka booma chick!

Wonderful stuff. Truly what music videos should be all about.

Some links

2008-03-14T08:52:00.003Z

Been ages since I've written anything here - far too lazy to write anything other than the 140 over at Twitter. So whilst you wait for me to locate and self-apply a inspiration-motivation-injection, here's some links:

BBC NEWS World Asia-Pacific China admits Tibet monk protests
"Chinese officials have acknowledged that Buddhist monks were protesting in the Tibetan city of Lhasa this week. "In the past couple of days, a few monks in Lhasa have made some disturbances in an effort to cause unrest," news agency AFP quoted him as saying
Tracking technology in the corridors of learning Technology The Guardian
"The sensor data is collected in a central database and then passed on to applications such as Google Calendar and a Twitter widget called RFIDder"
Mango Languages - Home
"Whether you're learning how to order a pizza or ask when the game starts, Mango immerses you in real, everyday conversations in 12 different language courses."
Analog life clock takes 84 years to complete one sweep - Boing Boing
"Kevin Kelly (who has a life countdown clock on his computer desktop) would probably like Bertrand Planes' clock, which has a year hand that makes a complete sweep of the face every 84 years."

Lots more here. Hey, why not subscribe? It'll be fun! (Just noticed that my work-place IT system has decided to block access to my del.icio.us rss feed, declaring it Adult Material, whilst quite happily letting me view the proper page itself. Doofuses. (Doofii?))

Programming For Continuous, Enjoyable Improvement?

2008-02-18T15:59:00.002Z

NLP in 21 Days, Harry Alder and Beryl Heather. Finished 9/2/08.

Ok, so it took me a little longer than 21 days to read this, and I think it was worth it if only for the fact that I now have a better understanding of what NLP might be about.

The first part of the book was more useful than the rest, more grounded, with its slogans - or presuppositions - like, 'The map is not the territory' (or is it the other way round?), 'A person is not his or her behaviour' and 'The meaning of a communication is in the response it gets'. I liked its emphasis on tolerance, on trying always to see things how others do. (Did you catch that? My use if the word 'see' just then? I should probably used the word 'experience', instead of so quickly identifying myself as a visual thinker, one of the NLP modalities. I think that's the term.) I got a lot from the idea that our experiences make filters that stand between us and the 'real world'. We think we know how things really are, but that's just how they are for us. And we're all different - some of us are visual, some aural, some more touchy-feely.

The more advanced stuff about matching and pacing, and installing anchors and so on - not sure if the authors should really be taking all that too seriously. It's as if they overheard two neuroscientist-types discussing how the brain works, heard one say to the other that it was "kind of like a big computer, sort of", and rushed off to create a bizarre school of therapy based on this one out-of-context sentence, with its crazy notions of 'installing' 'programs', 'setting' 'anchors', 'copying' behaviour patterns to replicate them elsewhere etc etc. "Programming for continuous, enjoyable improvement."

If only they'd stuck around long enough to hear the other neuroscientist-type reply with: "Well yeah but, not really though, eh? That'd be fair too simplistic, you doofus."

Another book read. Happy now?

2008-02-04T09:03:00.001Z

Happiness Paradox, by Ziyad Marar. Finished 23/1/08.

Not so much a self-help, path-to-bliss book (I've read more than my fair share of those, to no avail) as a calm, studied reflection on the concept of happiness -- historically, philosophically, economically -- and its underlying problem, namely The Paradox. This being the argument that to be happy you need to answer two competing, seemingly self-conflicting questions, 'what do I want?' and 'how should I live?'

The main thrust of the whole book is the view that to be happy we want two things. We want to be able to do whatever the hell we want, we want to be free, creative, unrestrained, free from responsibility and criticism. And yet we also want to be liked, to feel justified, to be applauded by people whose opinions we care about, to be cheered, not jeered.

Happiness equals having both, it seems. But how is this possible? To have either one stops you getting the other, surely. As I said above, this isn't a self-help book, so there's no easy answer, no 10-step program. But the path to follow seems to be one that gets you to where you want to be only once you stop wanting to get there. A paradox.

Good fun, though. Reminds me of that buddhist line about suffering being caused by desire, so one's natural reaction is to desire being free from desire. Don't worry about wanting this, or not wanting that. Just start where you are and simply 'be'.

Next, NLP in 21 Days, by Harry Alder and Beryl Heather. Then, Think, by Simon Blackburn.

Bang hiss flappaflappaflappa ... and stop

2008-01-19T09:43:00.000Z

Twittering and Facebook-status-updating helped pass the time whilst stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for Mr AA and his bag of spanners.

'Them' or 'Us'?

2008-01-13T20:40:00.002Z

So then, my list of books read this year continues. I can add the second!

January

Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino (1st)
The English, Jeremy Paxman (4th)

Another book started in 2007, but it all counts. Whilst I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure I saw myself in it all that much. Lots of good stuff on the British v the English thing, on class and the countryside, a nice essay on the weather and house-buying/apartment-renting, but you're left wondering if the PaxMan cares for the English all that much. He has little time for the country's detractors, those that think England's going to the dogs and life was so much better in the good old days, before Europe, before immigration, before television etc etc, but as he notes himself the English, in his book, are them, not us. Not sure he wants to identify that closely with them. Not sure I do too.

Anyway, talking of books, online bookshelves - remind me again why I keep coming back to them?

Not sure. Passes the time, though these sites will never reflect all the books I have. But maybe they could just do those from now on. But then, isn't that what I'm here on this blog? Whatever.

"Cancel"?

2008-01-08T13:08:00.000Z

Found one.

Resolutions, again. I know, I know

2008-01-07T15:37:00.000Z

(Just overheard some sport lecturer type discussing the topic 'competitive pride'. A nice, chewy phrase for me to mull over in different contexts. What might that mean for me, an office worker with procrastination issues, and how I approach my work? Who might my competitors be? Do I take enough pride in my work? What kind of race is this? Am I pacing myself right? Why don't I want to win?)

Anyway, I wanted to think out resolutions, and what mine might be for this year. I'll have to check what I've written on this before - there's bound to be loads of resolutions and promises made, only to be forgotten about and broken.

So, in that tradition then, here's some more to start one month and let slide the next.

I've bought the book 'Learn German in 3 Months'. I fancy having a go at something tricky but useful and practical, and also, with the book's 3 companion CDs, something to do in the car to and from work every day. I like the idea of tearing down the A64 barking out strings of nonsensical German vocabulary.
To get properly fit, using this Grauniad 16 Week Army Fitness Programme and its collection of training booklets, free each day this week. On second thoughts, maybe I should start more modestly and just resolve to collect those daily training booklets. That's a big enough fitness challenge I think.
To get into some good habits at work. I like the idea of Seinfeld's "don't break the chain" technique for embedding new habits and routines.
1. delete more e-mail
2. share and delegate more
3. get the most important task done first
4. batch inbox clearance every afternoon
I think the main thing is to stop reading all those productivity blogs and feeds all day, on how I can be more efficient. Step one for me is just turn all that crap off and get on with it.

Wish me luck.

Does self-hypnosis really work?

2008-01-04T11:41:00.000Z

I'm coming to the conclusion that I need to hypnotise myself into thinking that some areas of my work are really fun and interesting and that I should be eager to learn and understand more about them.

Tasks and projects land on my desk, papers comes in to read, reports needs writing, and I just can't seem to engage with it all, or be interested in any of it. I may as well be asked to sell mortgages or something. I think this is because I find it all too difficult -- if I don't know how to do something, and do it really well (which I think is part of the problem), I can't imagine myself finishing it. So I don't start it. I know that all I need to do is break it up, take the first step, and not worry about the end just yet, or even how good the result is, but because I see these tasks as difficult, or liable to leave me vulnerable to criticism (that's another key point), I put the work off -- or rather prat about deferring it and making myself feel busy by tracking it all in stupid next action lists -- in preference for tasks I enjoy doing, and know I can do well, leaving all that difficult stuff to the very last minute.

This creates anxiety and stress, as well as rushed, poor work. This all gets blamed on these areas of my job I dislike, reinforcing my views about how unfair everyone is being in making me do these things in the first place.

Options, then.

1) Suck it up, fuxsake. Do the difficult work I don't like, and stop thinking that I need to enjoy every part of my job. Just get on with it, make a start.

2) Set up a personal development plan, complete with reading list and practical examples, and become an expert in these areas I don’t know enough about.

3) Look for another job, with tasks that better match my skills and interests.

4) All of the above. Happy new year.

It's not what you start, it's what you finish

2008-01-02T21:21:00.001Z

Loved reading this, from Interconnected. Very jealous of the size of it. So I thought I'd give it a go. I've kept a track of what I've been reading before, but I think what I need to do is not list what I'm reading, but what I've finished. So,

January

Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino (1st)

Hmm. Well, it is still only the 2nd of January. And yes, that was started some time ago.

Weekly review done, then what?

2007-11-23T15:05:00.000Z

OK, so l've done my Weekly Review, going through each project one by one, and identified next actions for each. I'm feeling pretty good about that, but now what do I do? How do I keep up the momentum and make best use of this clearer view of where I am? All I have is a sense of dread that I'll never get anything done in time. I fear this is another question about tools and format.

I use Outlook in the office, for e-mail and calendar management, and keep trying to make a go of Tasks to record and manage my next actions. But all my thinking is best done with a pen, in a big Black-n-Red A4 hardback notebook. (The people at 43 Folders have been waxing lyrical about our love of paper recently.) I've always enjoyed using these notebooks, and it feels silly to then type all these action points into Outlook Tasks so that I can then print them all out and carry them around in the very same notebook.

I should just keep a track of how I'm progressing with my tasks by annotating the pages in my book. Perhaps highlight in bright yellow the names of the people I need to meet, and simply cross through tasks once completed. Everything's in project order, rather than context orderbut that's not such an issue - everything could be said to be @Office anyway.

Yeah, let's try that.

Helping out on the web

2007-11-14T16:58:00.000Z

Had a very nice meeting with the ICT teacher from our boy's primary school this afternoon. I've volunteered to help her out with the school's website: it needs some fresh eyes and an extra pair of hands to turn it into something attractive and useful, something that addresses the needs of a broad range of users, and presents the school in a professional, slick manner.

I'm still at the scoping and research stage, but looking forward to getting stuck in and turning it around.

Surviving graduation

2007-11-14T12:13:00.000Z

Well, we all got through it again. Last Thursday and Friday we held our graduation ceremonies at York Minster, to confer upon our graduands their degrees and whatnot. The planning for it begins each January, and reaches a peak September/October time. It's like being a wedding planner, but for a wedding ceremony that lasts two days, has 1,400 brides and grooms, and about 5,000 guests. This was my third time, and all went as it should, but making sure everything is absolutely right for all these thousands of people, thousands of individuals, is pretty stressful.

I wasn't in such a good place the first time I was 'Hall Marshal' for this thing. I had only been in post a few months, everything was still very new and bewildering, Rosie was only a few months old, and our nights were very tough. Those first graduation ceremonies were only part of a series of anxiety-inducing events that resulted in my seeking professional medical help when I couldn't take it anymore, in the form of first, St John's Wort, then second, a few months' worth of counselling. I've no doubt mentioned that before here somewhere.

This year was much better; It was still incredibly fraught and tense, but we were all confident that we had all the bases covered, or as many as it's possible to plan for.

It was fun though in the pub afterwards, last Friday, when my team and I got together round a few glasses and compared the anxiety-nightmares we've been having. As well as the usual being-chased-stabbed-and-eaten-by-dinosaurs dreams I usually get, I had a dream in which, just before we're due to start everything off, I discover I've completely forgotten how to tie a tie. (Ties are very important to me at times like these.) Someone else suffered through a dream wherein they had to find, set out and label up 500 chairs in the five minutes that remained before the doors opened, with me wandering around telling everyone to relax, we had five whole minutes, no need to rush. And a third had a dream in which all her teeth fell out. A common one, we believe.

Anyone would think we're all mad. That might have been true for me a few years ago, because of this and other 'trials', but I'm feeling a lot more balanced this time.

Next!

GTD Again

2007-10-29T10:11:00.000Z

So then. GTD. Getting things done. A systematic method of identifying and managing one's tasks in the 'knowledge industry'.

Central Concept

Lifted from the book somewhere, no doubt, can't remember the reference now

"Capture everything that has your attention.
Decide what your commitment is, and what you need to do to move forward on
it.
Organize the results, mapping things to what they mean to you.
Engage with the system regularly to keep it current and maintain trust in
what you're doing, when."

Am I using what I've learnt from the GTD book to improve how I work - to make me more productive, and less stressed?

The answer's obviously no. But perhaps I am using some aspects of the system: in how I process, when I get round to it; in the need I have to list things, or rather, in the dirty, uncomfortable, guilty feeling I get when I fail to comprehensively list things.

What do I need to put in place to get back on the wagon?

1) A comprehensive projects list

I keep falling into the trap of over-complexificating my lists, especially this one. Do I need to distinguish between 'One Year Action Plan' projects, technical vs process/people projects, and ad hoc projects? Well yes, possibly, to make reporting back easier, but that's about it. At the end of the day it's just a list to help me remember what to do - the only way I can be sure I'm not forgetting about anything. If I have a list, and can be confident that every item on it has a positive Next Action, then that will certainty help me feel more in control.

Having a basic list in Outlook need not stop me from finding other tools and methods of visualising my projects, and how they relate to my development plan, my role or that of my office. All I need is to be sure I'm not forgetting about anything.

The book would suggest that I make sure I'm writing all my projects down in the past tense, and that I have an 'expected outcome' set down for each one. Did I just get too hung up on this though, and procrastinate on the formatting of it all, and the correct choice of words for the outcome? I shouldn't get stuck here: I know why I'm doing what I do, and I know what I want. More often than not my boss or others have already set all this out, the framework and the business case, and I don't want to waste time copying all that out just for the sake of it. The point of the list is just to check that I've not forgotten anything - I'm not there to write reports, but to get things done. Make and enjoy the coffee, don't get distracted by hand-painting the coffee cups.

What else?

2) A fool-proof, cast-iron To Do list

I have a couple of issues with my To Do lists. The main one being I don't read them after I write them. Also, I don't like ticking things off the list, as a long, important-looking To Do list is the sign of a busy man, and busy man = important man, right? So there's that, plus the e-mail 'what goes on the list, what goes in the action folder' issue. The main thing to do to help with e-mail is to be self-disciplined enough to batch process the @action e-mail folder, perhaps 2 or 3 times a day, for half an hour each. But back to the To Do list. I think the 4 things I need ro concentrate on are:

only write down what I have an intention of doing;
don’t get too distracted about context, in fact, get rid of loads, perhaps just @project, @action, @someday (I might write more about how I use contexts later, and how describing actions in a consistent way can help usability);
make sure I always read them, and work from them
make sure I always do a GTD Weekly Review, to check if everything has an action.

Is that it then:

a comprehensive @projects list;
a tight, meaningful @actions list, read constantly;
a Weekly Review, to make sure my system's squeaky clean?

Sounds good. Let's give it a go.

Faking it

2007-10-17T14:41:00.000+01:00

Lunchtime. And I'm just having a quiet couple of moments with my coffee in the Staff Common Room. Been busy this morning, as usual, but good-busy. I think that translates as busy and effective, busy and productive, rather than blustering about jumping from one urgent task to another, without staying with anything long enough to complete it.

I need to keep the momentum up, and concentrate on just a few projects this afternoon: the funding return for the TDA, the module evaluation system, and of course the graduation ceremonies.

Something that @chrisbrogan said earlier, about just going through the motions, struck a chord. It seemed a little out of character for him; he's usually so upbeat and enthusiastic. However, I like the idea of 'faking it till you feel it', both for the fact that it shows I'm not the only one can feel slighly disconnected from his job, but also because it holds out the promise that you will eventually 'feel it'. Ties up nicely with my earlier conclusion, that I shiuld stop worrting about how much I worry, stop making lists, stop asking myself how I'm feeling, and gettibg fed up of the same 'fed up' answer, stop worrying about not being enthusiastic and not 'feeling it', and just get on with it.

Note to self: stop listing, stop reflecting, just get on with it

2007-10-04T10:38:00.000+01:00

So here I am, drinking coffee in the Staff break room, playing with this old PDA, still having problems with inputting text (transcriber, my arse). And still feeling... unsure about what I'm doing here, and why I feel that I'm so unhappy all the time. I have tasks to do. But no enthusiasm. Are the tasks too difficult? I'm often unsure about how I can completely finish a task before I start it, which stops me from starting, but more often than not things seem easier once I do make a start.

My task list is giving me grief; too long, too fuzzy, too out of date. But perhaps I need to take a step back before that. I feel the need to list all my tasks, whereas my first thought should always be to complete the task -and to hell with the 2 minute rule.

I shouldn't be so concerned with listing but with doing. And I should identify my priorities based on what PA tells me to do. I'm not sure if my job makes me unhappy, or if I'm unhappy due to some chemical imbalance, but either way I should just not think about that and just get on with my job - one task at a time.

So am I being who I 'think' I am?

2007-09-14T13:32:00.000+01:00

Yes, but not who I 'do' I am.

I've been doing this job for 2 years now, having started a week after daughter Rosie was born. I love her to bits, but she's a crap sleeper. So that's 2 years of broken nights, of starting the work day drowsy and dis-engaged, of wearing this heavy overcoat of seemingly constant weariness. Because of that, I'm sure I'm behaving differently, being moodier. Listening to the radio news in the car as I drive to work in the morning can reduce me to tears, as can certain music, as can dwelling on certain memories, as can driving past all the road-kill* on those country lanes. None of this bothers me on the way home. I feel like a smaller person in the morning, blinking in the sun light, trying to adjust to the day. I often wonder what I would have been like these last 2 years at work had I not seemed so tired. Might I have been more positive about where/who I am, less doubtful, more motivated, less prone to unnecessary risks? And my colleagues, if all they know of me is what they've seen of me these last 2 years, what must they think? That that is the real me? To them, it is, but to me, I don't think so. But if we say we are what we do, rather than we are what we think, then maybe they're right, maybe that scared, sleepy slacker is me now. I'd like to change that.

* Road-kill must be some country's tricolour flag; brown fur, white fur, red stuff.

Links roundup

2007-08-31T09:03:00.000+01:00

Ars Virtua, a "new media" centre and gallery in Second Life
A new type of space, a venue for new genres, a platform, bringing the art audience into "new media" rather than new media to the museum or gallery, and calls upon its audience to interact with the art and one another.
Welcome to the E-Portfolio of Annabeth Robinson 2006
"Annabeth is a multi-media artist and lecturer, based in England. Her focus is moving image and online technologies. Currently she is exploring Second Life as a medium for art and design practice and educational potential."
Become The Boss / Wired How To's
"There are two things that you can do to really make yourself promotable in your current job: 1) Learn Your Boss's Job, 2) Train Your Replacement"
Side-by-side diagrams of a few common espresso drinks, by Lokesh Dhakar
"After the third or fourth time going into a coffee shop and having a friend explain to me the makeup of the drinks and then forgetting about fifteen minutes later; I had to take action! "
Junk sleep 'damaging teen health', reports BBC, in no way making us feel better about our 2 year old's 'fun' sleeping habits
"A third of 12 to 16-year-olds asked slept for between four to seven hours a night. Experts recommend eight hours."
Someone's made a perfect replica of an Underwood typewriter - out of felt
I used to have one of these. A real one, though. "The felt is hand dyed and the details are embroidered. I added some real screws that I tarnished in vinegar. The roller rotates so that a piece of paper can be added with some typed words on it."

Sentences and paragraphs

2007-08-29T03:03:00.000+01:00

This blog's been going on for a while now, in fits and starts. Frequency of updates is flatlining again, as I continue with the struggle of a) finding something to say, and b) finding the time/energy to write. I can do sentences much easier than paragraphs, thanks to twitter, and am having a lot of fun texting my 140 character updates. Short, and easy. I'm only bothering to write this paragraph because I can do it via my mobile, in bed. I can't sleep, what with the kids being restless, as usual, and V not being here. She's over at C's looking after K, whilst C and hubby are at the hospital, awaiting the arrival of child #2. Don't care for sleeping on my own, but messing around with this phone/blog at least gives me something to do, as I wait for her to get home.

Yes to the idea of a full hour for lunch, but a 'tea trolley'?

2007-08-15T13:44:00.000+01:00

And of course I'm reading this article whilst scoffing my lunch sitting here at my pc...

Workers 'want tea trolley return'

Office staff would welcome the return of the tea trolley, a survey suggests.

A survey of 1,000 office staff showed a break to buy tea and cakes from a trolley - a regular feature of offices in the past - would help motivate them.

The study for recruitment agency Office Angels suggests many yearn for the working environment of an earlier era.

Others traditions that workers want revived include a subsidised canteen, an annual works outing, and, above all, having a full hour's break for lunch.

Most of those polled complained about the culture of working long hours in the UK and about having to eat lunch at their desk.

Their comments appeared to reflect a growing disenchantment with the modern impersonal workplace.

Other main suggestions for boosting morale and productivity were an annual office outing, a subsidised canteen and pub lunches.

David Clubb, managing director of Office Angels, said office traditions would inevitably change and develop over time with different demands placed on staff and their working situations.

"However, while the current office environment is very technology-driven and fast-paced this doesn't have to mean soulless or unfriendly," he said.

"Employees should be encouraged to interact with each other and could even create their own 'traditions', such as team lunches or a 3pm tea break."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6947212.stm

Out there

2007-08-14T13:34:00.000+01:00

Just been messing with my Flickr DNA page, one of Big Huge Labs' flickr toys. Turns out my third Flickr birthday is in seven days time, as my first photo was uploaded 21 August 2004, 1,088 days ago. And I've also discovered some blogs that are using a couple of my photos to illustrate their posts, which is quite flattering.

Answer: Because my RAM's crap

2007-08-13T13:31:00.000+01:00

Question: Twitter. Why bother? Here's how one guy uses it, (and here's an article from Wired about how it creates a 'social sixth sense') but I like it because it helps me remember what I've been up to, and when. Saves me having to struggle. (It's just occurred to me that I use flickr and delicious in this way too; nothing about the social, just the memorial.) Came in really handy with my two-week break last month; we did lots, little stuff mostly, and keeping a track of it this way really helped with the "So what did you get up to" question you get asked when you get back to work. I've tended in the past to answer that with a mumbled "Oh, you know, this and that. Stayed in, mainly, just chilled out and stuff" every time, as that seems more socially acceptable than just going "Erm ... er .. hang on, ... let me think ... er ...", for about twenty minutes, which is the more truthfully response.

So here's a bit of twitter before, during and after my time off, back end of July.

Off to the Rainy City. Could say that about most places these days. 10:03 AM July 18, 2007 from txt
The longest journey starts with a single step, which in my case is delayed at Platform 16A. 10:50 AM July 18, 2007 from txt
3 sessions in the bag, only 2 coffees, but only 1 headache so far, so I think I'm up on the deal. 04:27 PM July 18, 2007 from txt
An elegant hotel room in Manchester. A funny little kettle. 2 cups. But sadly I only need 1. 06:25 PM July 18, 2007 from txt
At the after-dinner disco they're playing Billy Ocean. Please send help! 10:01 PM July 18, 2007 from txt
SITS Conference day 2 begins. How's everyone's heads from last might I wonder. 08:59 AM July 19, 2007 from txt
"Strategic Changes and the Impact on the HE Sector" Woot! 11:56 AM July 19, 2007 from txt
The queue for the buffet lunch is immense, and I fear it's circular. I think I'll wait. 12:51 PM July 19, 2007 from txt
That's the conference all done with then. Homeward bound now, after a mostly fruitful 2 days. 02:57 PM July 19, 2007 from txt
Horrors. I'm on the train to Leeds with someone who has a David Essex ring tone! There ought to be a law. 02:59 PM July 19, 2007 from txt
Morning everyone. It's Friday. Great! And it's my last day at work for 2 weeks! Double great! 07:32 AM July 20, 2007 from txt from web
It's Friday, I'm on my lunchbreak, in a bookshop, with some book tokens. Marvellous. 01:18 PM July 20, 2007 from txt
How exciting! £51 and rising! http://tinyurl.com/2pp59o 04:33 PM July 20, 2007 from web
Homeward bound. No work for a fortnight. Can slack off legitimately now. 05:31 PM July 20, 2007 from txt
Driving home through the countryside. Noticed all the cows are lying down. Not a good sign. 05:42 PM July 20, 2007 from txt
Just seen on the tv news resorts of the flooding affecting people like @Hinchcliffe and @gapingvoid - what a nightmare. 08:30 PM July 20, 2007 from txt
Morning everyone. Another damp day. 10:08 AM July 21, 2007 from txt
Ok, I admit it. I have just bought "that book". I know, I know. 01:31 PM July 21, 2007 from txt
M&S on a saturday afternoon, and there's a sale on. I feel like a locust in a swarm. 03:37 PM July 21, 2007 from txt
The sun has come out! Goodness me! 11:13 AM July 22, 2007 from txt
Sunday afternoon = kitchen DIY time, seemingly. 03:02 PM July 22, 2007 from txt
Watching the kids eat chocolate - they can put so much of it away it's untrue. 05:47 PM July 22, 2007 from txt
I'm about 150 mile away from these floods, but the images on the news are appalling http://tinyurl.com/ywpuu4 09:30 PM July 22, 2007 from web
Just spent the morning delivering Evening Classes leaflets, about 4 million! (Well, nearly.) 01:10 PM July 23, 2007 from txt
We're in Jackaboos, a soft play place the kids love. And we have the place to ourselves. It's great! 03:01 PM July 23, 2007 from txt
Day 2 of my fortnight off, and the sun has decided to make an appearance. Quick! Bundle the kids in the car, we're off to the park! 09:44 AM July 24, 2007 from txt
The park's packed. Everyone's had the same idea. 11:21 AM July 24, 2007 from txt
Just been trying to update my LinkedIn profile, but I can't seem to find an up-to-date CV. Which is a nuisance. 10:10 PM July 24, 2007 from txt
Just back from "Tropical World", a sweltering butterfly house/aquarium place on a rainy grey morning. 11:49 AM July 25, 2007 from txt
Morning everyone. Just back from a most frustrating time at the bank; forms and appointments and pushy young men in ill-fitting suits. 11:05 AM July 26, 2007 from txt
A house full of under-5s and over-65s is hard work, but worth it. Now for some me time. 04:14 PM July 26, 2007 from txt
People often say I need to get out more, so this of and the missus are off to the pictures to see Harry Potter 5, like the big kids we are. 06:38 PM July 26, 2007 from txt
The cinema fully booked! No room! What a pain in the arse! I know it was only a kids film, but still. Very frustrating. 09:58 PM July 26, 2007 from txt
Morning all. Starting today in the barbers, sorting out my boy's haircut. He looks very smart. and small in this shop of men. 08:43 AM July 27, 2007 from txt
Now at a farm, with a mad play barn; sides, climbing frames, the whole bit. Happy sweaty kids. Hot and bothered grown-ups. 01:32 PM July 27, 2007 from txt
After the farm, we're in with the out-laws. I mean the in-laws. 06:58 PM July 27, 2007 from txt
In Birmingham now, with more in-laws. What's the weather like where you are? It's so changeable. 11:44 AM July 28, 2007 from txt
And from Birmingham to Oxford. 02:47 PM July 28, 2007 from txt
The sun is out in Oxford. Well, Bicester really. Chilled wine and a cool breeze. All very pleasant. 04:48 PM July 28, 2007 from txt
Getting the kids to sleep, when they're at their cousin's house, all full of holiday energy - what a laugh. Oh yes, 07:39 PM July 28, 2007 from txt
Swimming in Aylesbury, in another 'lazy river', this morning. And now to Bicester once more, for a stroll in the park. 01:26 PM July 29, 2007 from web
"Marsh Gibbon Silver Band", in Bicester park. Like a brass band, only more, ... special. Hmm. 03:38 PM July 29, 2007 from txt
I've just bought the kids - and me! - some £2.99 Transformers. I, I mean they, love them! 05:48 PM July 29, 2007 from txt
I can't belive it -- the children are actually asleep! And without too much of a struggle this evening, we must have worn them out. 08:22 PM July 29, 2007 from web
And now, Bekonscot Model Village. 14,006,089 visitors since 1929, it says. 10:46 AM July 30, 2007 from txt
Finally got round to emptying this cameraphone of all its 200-odd photos. And now the cropping/deleting/selecting begins. 04:50 PM July 30, 2007 from txt
Back home, after our trip darn sarf, if you can call Oxford sarf. 01:32 PM July 31, 2007 from txt
I can't believe the people I'm re-connecting with on Facebook; friends from primary school I've not heard from for 27 years! 03:08 PM July 31, 2007 from txt
Waiting for the surveyor to come round to value the house. I know it makes no difference, but I've been round with the Mr Sheen. 09:15 AM August 01, 2007 from txt
Off to see Transformers this evening. Can't wait. I hope it lives up to my expectations. 06:53 PM August 01, 2007 from txt
Recently watched the original Transformers cartoon movie from the 80s, set in the far future - 2005! 06:55 PM August 01, 2007 from txt
Not again! No seats free at the cinema, by the time we get the car parked. Same problem as last week, different film. Try again tomorrow. 08:46 PM August 01, 2007 from web
I think I'm getting the hang of Facebook, but in a old FriendsReunited way - http://tinyurl.com/2q272v 10:45 PM August 01, 2007 from web
Morning everyone. What a crap night. I think our youngest is allergic to sleeping all night. 09:26 AM August 02, 2007 from txt
I may have killed Summer - I've just bought a garden bench, guaranteed to call a halt to there sunny days. 03:08 PM August 02, 2007 from txt
PYO = Pick Your Own = a great half-hour in a field with the kids picking super-fresh broad beans. 04:07 PM August 02, 2007 from txt
Finally got to see Walking With Robots or whatever it was called, after the false start earlier. Great fun. Very silly. 08:08 AM August 03, 2007 from txt
Coffee at Bramhope, in the sun, on the patio. 10:15 AM August 03, 2007 from txt
Gardening. A new bench. A glass of white wine. All good stuff, even if it does look like rain. 04:57 PM August 03, 2007 from txt
The last weekday of my hols is drawing to a close. Back to the grindstone on Monday, to see what I've been with. Meanwhile, more wine pl ... ... 06:28 PM August 03, 2007 from txt
Messing with http://twittervision.com/ - I'm shocked I've not seen this before, looks grea fun. 08:25 PM August 03, 2007 from web
L:Horsforth 08:25 PM August 03, 2007 from web
L:home=horsforth 08:29 PM August 03, 2007 from web
L:work=York, UK 08:34 PM August 03, 2007 from web
Monday's not too far away now sadly, when I go back to l:work 08:36 PM August 03, 2007 from web
L:work 08:37 PM August 03, 2007 from web
Don't think I've got the hang of this L:location thing yet. Having trouble defining macros. 09:16 PM August 03, 2007 from txt
We're at the York Maize Maze, not as tall as last year, but still great fun. 10:37 AM August 04, 2007 from txt
Tea and cakes now, at The Balloon Tree. It's clouding over, but we're persevering. 01:29 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
Raspberry picking now, though there's not many left here now. 02:17 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
Shoeshopping. She might not yet be 2, but she's certainly demanding. 03:51 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
Sausage, egg and chips - the perfect kids' weekend tea. And now, some grown-up wine juice, I think! 06:07 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
Soon approaching my least favourite part of the day. Not just getting the kids in bed, but keeping them there. 06:41 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
Yes, I know I'm in my mid-thirties, but I've just finished reading Harry Potter 7 - and I really enjoyed it. 09:45 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
There's got to be an easy way out there of doing GTD online over a mobile phone. Must keep looking, and trying. 10:39 PM August 04, 2007 from txt
Wallpaper stripping. Glad when all this green has gone. Who the hell has green in their house?! 09:41 AM August 05, 2007 from txt
Out in the woods at the top of the hill. What a glorious morning. 11:19 AM August 05, 2007 from txt
And now to Alders, for some last minute birthday gift shopping. 02:07 PM August 05, 2007 from txt
Ornaments. We've just bought ourselves ornaments. We are now officially middle-aged. 02:56 PM August 05, 2007 from txt
Sorting out all these toys, trying to tidy up. What a nightmare. 06:03 PM August 05, 2007 from txt
Just sorting out some photos of the kids for flickr. My last act of my holiday, before I get back to work tomorrow morning. 10:03 PM August 05, 2007 from web
Commuting. Golly Moses, it's tedious. I think I need me some of them there audiobook things. 07:44 AM August 06, 2007 from txt
I hate this bit - back in the office after a 2 week break, and the e-mail and intray backlog is mountainous. 08:34 AM August 06, 2007 from web
Got fed up trying to wade through all that e-mail. Working on http://tinyurl.com/24yoqd and http://tinyurl.com/372p4t instead. 12:08 PM August 06, 2007 from web
Flagging now. Time for a break, and to re-caffeinate. 03:43 PM August 06, 2007 from txt
Homeward bound. The inside of this car's like an oven, after being in the sun all day. 04:46 PM August 06, 2007 from txt
That's the kids to bed. Let's hope they stay there. First day back at work, and I'm knackered. 07:37 PM August 06, 2007 from txt
I'm sitting here watching the missus do our grocery shopping online. I feel doubly lazy. 09:10 PM August 06, 2007 from txt
Morning everyone. Back to work, but not as prompt a start this morning. Still in holiday mode. 07:29 AM August 07, 2007 from txt
Can't believe how light the traffic is these mornings. I can afford to leave a little later, and still get here in good time. 08:05 AM August 07, 2007 from txt
More document updating to do this morning though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Or rather where the light should be. 10:31 AM August 07, 2007 from web
Just been messing with the 30boxes calendar and webtop thing. Feels nice. Anyone else using it? 11:15 AM August 07, 2007 from txt
Time for lunch, and a walk round the block. As nice as this new monitor is, it's still a pain to look at for too long. 12:32 PM August 07, 2007 from Facebook
Another work day done with, though I've brought a pile of stuff home to read. 05:58 PM August 07, 2007 from txt
Bit late setting off this morning, after another broken night's sleep. Will the kids ever sleep through?! 07:32 AM August 08, 2007 from txt
Listening to R Crumb's banjo music on the way to the office is helping my mood though. 07:37 AM August 08, 2007 from txt
Right. I've got me a bunch of papers to read before some meetings today. All I need now is the coffee. 09:23 AM August 08, 2007 from web
In the car again, heading back home for a 1/2 day hol, after a useful, but over-running, morning. 01:04 PM August 08, 2007 from txt
At the blood donation place. I have just felt a small prick. 03:34 PM August 08, 2007 from txt
A little late setting off this morning; the carpark will be full by the time I get there. 07:36 AM August 09, 2007 from txt
One useful, productive meeting down - one, perhaps less useful, to go. 09:35 AM August 09, 2007 from web
As anticipated, meeting #2 was ...slight. Had an interesting chat afterwards in the corridor though, about social software and my need t ... ... 02:32 PM August 09, 2007 from txt
Having a late lunchbreak, tempted by the 4 CDs for £20 offer in Virgin. Must resist. 03:00 PM August 09, 2007 from txt
Arse. Leaving for home now, and have just remembered I said I'd be there for 6. Late again. 05:34 PM August 09, 2007 from txt
I've managed to set off for work on time this morning - how extraordinary! 07:14 AM August 10, 2007 from txt
Filing. I love it. I don't really, but it's so overdue the piles of files, both analog and digital, are making me claustrophobic. 12:28 PM August 10, 2007 from web

Finding old friends on Facebook

2007-08-01T22:22:00.000+01:00

My my. I think I'm finally seeing the point of Facebook. One of them, anyway. I registered with FriendsReunited when that was all the rage, 20 or so years ago, but it never really did anything for me. But Facebook. At first I was just adding current colleagues as friends, then recent past colleagues and so on. But in the last few weeks I've rediscovered people I never thought I'd hear from again. I've not seen Paul, for instance, since leaving primary school in 1979, 28 years ago. Bloody hell!

For posterity, two recent messages to illustrate my thinking behind this; the first from I went to university with, the second from someone I went to primary school with:

Hi Terry
what are you up to these days? Any creative type stuff? Did you check out the rednetic site?
Mark

Mark!
Do you know, it's been ages since you wrote that, and I've been wanting to reply for ages, but I wanted to include in my reply tons of stuff about all the creative arty things I've been up to. But in a nutshell that amounts to:

Fuck all!

I have a blog, which I rarely keep up-to-date with, and I post stuff to flickr now and then (many then), but that's about it. I checked out that rednetic stuff, and it all looks intimidatingly inventive and cool. I can't compete at all.

I remember once at College we had a lecture with some old art students that came back to talk to us about their experience getting work as creative types after they graduated. As well as the usual stuff about freelance design work the one that stuck in my mind was this guy who worked in an office or something, or maybe he was into IT. When asked to talk about how he uses creativity in his job he mumbled something about how sometimes wiring up a room with network cables or sorting out the plugs for a load of PCs in a room sometimes needs a little creativity. And I remember thinking, 'What a knob. I'll never be like that.'

And yet, here I am, being that man. Well, I don't work in IT or piss about with sockets and such like -- I am a manager of a small department in a small university in the north of England, after all -- but I do wonder why I did that Art degree.

For the fun of it, I suppose.

Anyway, keep on trucking. I'm off now, this glass needs a refill.
Terry

The second one:

Hello Terry,
hope your keeping well.
good to see an old friend school.
Paul

Oh. My. God.

I didn't recognise you at first from the photo -- it has been a while afterall -- but bloody hell if you're Paul, Paul from Holy Family, then Oh. My. God. 27 years?

And following that link to your myspace page and seeing a link there to Ramon ******'s page? That's mad! A singer? Wasn't his dad a singer too? And those photos -- is that Sean M******? And one of Brenda ***** (is that how it's spelt? can't remember)?

The old days. The very old good old days.

What have you been up to all this time? And the others? Lots has not doubt happened to us all, are we the same people as we were then, when we were 7?

Great to hear from you again.
Terry

The most comfortable blankets are made of Glass

2007-07-14T22:07:00.000+01:00

The insides of my head, after a day at work with all its stresses and anxieties, can feel so tense and wrapped up and claustrophic and panicky and restricted and bound and tired.

The feeling is exactly the same as that experienced when you're lying in bed, absolutely knackered but wide awake, hot, bothered, with the sheets and blankets wrapped tightly around you after you've been thrashing around trying to get comfortable but making things worse. It's like trying to sleep in a straitjacket, or with a hot-blooded anaconda. So claustrophobic.

That's what my head is like on the drive home; trapped in a tighly wound blanket.

Now imagine the relief you'd experience if you're in that bed, wrapped in that blanket, when someone suddenly whips that blanket from you, in the style of those sleight-of-handers who can whip away the table-cloth from a fully laden 12-piece table setting, and lets it drift slowly back down, all cool and crease-free, to rest perfectly on an instantly relaxed and calm form.

That's what listening to Philip Glass is like, especially stuff from Satyagraha; a calming, cool blanket, left to slowly drift down and smother all my problems.