Weeknote 616 – gathering

This week I have learned: the enjoyment of being in the company of others. An annual gathering of friends for a post-Christmas Christmas dinner, people who have been knocking about together for three decades, feeling as young as we did back then even if we have now moved from "falling over" to "having a fall". … Continue reading Weeknote 616 – gathering

Weeknote 615 – in person

This week I have learned: that every so often I will get a hold of some piece of technology and it will totally live up to my expectations. The Emeo Saxophone is one of those pieces of technology. Hardware and software combined, and a perfect example of how devices like the Arduino can allow small … Continue reading Weeknote 615 – in person

Weeknote 614: sinkhole

This week I have learned: about sinkholes. Well, a little bit about sinkholes. A hole opened up at the road at the other end of our street. It's a main road, and it's meant that there's been significant disruption. Buses re-routed and whatnot. The way the local authority, transport services and police have all co-ordinated … Continue reading Weeknote 614: sinkhole

Yearnote 2022

Looking back on it, I was exhausted at this time last year. Partly that was because of all the stuff that I wrote about back then. But in hindsight it was also in large part because I had reached the end of the line in what I could meaningfully achieve in my last job. The … Continue reading Yearnote 2022

Weeknote 614: in review

This week I have learned: the joy of editing audio with Descript. The usual WB-40 editing process is pretty perfunctory - a minimum viable edit so that I can get the show out on the internet on the same day we record for fear that otherwise it will sit in my to-do list forever. However … Continue reading Weeknote 614: in review

Weeknote 613: jingle bells

This week I have learned: that the use of ellipses marks me out as GenX and may well be perceived as passive-aggressive. Thanks to Tom Whitwell for that nugget in here which has seriously made me rethink my approach to punctuation... that listening to the modern dramatisation of Microserfs has been an act of nostalgia … Continue reading Weeknote 613: jingle bells

Weeknote 611: that time of year again

This week I have learned: how closing things down can take some time and effort. It's easy to forget this. that my children's school think setting annual smart objectives is a sensible idea. It's ludicrous that the flawed concept of performance management has leaked into education. A conversation with a teacher about my eldest's high … Continue reading Weeknote 611: that time of year again

Weeknote 610: tourism starts at home

This week I have learned: not to underestimate the "mourning" stage of Tuckman's model. Bringing a team together, helping to allow it to form and norm, and then seeing it blossom is great. But especially in the consulting world you then need to say goodbye, often sooner than might have been expected. that it still … Continue reading Weeknote 610: tourism starts at home

Weeknote 609: learning

This week I have learned: the fun of a new platform. Whilst I'm not bailing yet, it's been a joy to explore Mastodon as initially a Twitter lifeboat, but actually as just a new community. Like visiting a new pub, basically. the inevitability of birthday disappointment. My 50th was marred by the lockdown, and it … Continue reading Weeknote 609: learning

Weeknote 608: teen

This week I have learned: that we now have a teenager in the house. How quickly time flies... I remember when he would spend the evenings puking up all over the place, and I am expecting that that might become a thing again in the next few years... that I'm really fortunate to know so … Continue reading Weeknote 608: teen