One Man's Notes

Towering, not revolving #analogcamera

In the Kebab & Calculator for dinner… #youngones

About as British as it gets… #fishandchips

A homeowner.

A dad.

Doing the lawn on a Sunday afternoon, while my daughter plays on a blanket.

I’m middle-aged.

I’m happy.

Keynote speaker @peterjamesuk talking peers, queers and racketeers at #brightonsummit

Mr @steveinbrighton kicking off #brightonsummit

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=124984

via revstansfilmblog.typepad.com

Some fantastic images from RevStan here…

A new plan for new productivity and a tidy workspace. Maybe.

Oh, hello, Tripepad. It’s been a while.

Turns out that a teeny-tiny baby (no so much any more) and an over-committed work schedule don’t leave much time for personal blogging. Who knew?

Anyway, I’m back. And I want to talk about… Well, desks.

In particular, this desk:

This is my desk. There are many like it, but this is mine.

Or is it?

For a good chunk of the last week, my wife was working at it, while I played with Hazel. Her workspace is in the loving room, and it turns out that Daddy/daughter fun and university work do not make easy roomates. Again, who knew?

Aaaanyway, that lead to me doing a rapid clean of my desk to make it more hospitible to my more minimal wife, and that led in turn to this:

That’s all the junk I had to sweep away into a box just to achieve the semi-clear look you see above. So that needs sorting. And that’s the bad news.

The good news? Well, I work better and more efficiently in an empty workspace. So now I have a double incentive to keep on top of it: I can provide my wife with a quiet workspace when she needs it - and I’ll work better if I do so.

A plan, then: resolve to publish a picture of my workspace every Monday morning, as a motivator to kee it under control. Let’s see if it works…

Fading beauty

Lights

Coffee with my mother-in-law

Weirdest. Sleeping. Position. EVER.

Dramatic light on Shoreham Beach

Nap Time

New Year tranquility on Wandsworth Common

Pretty good writing for five months…

Space/time tree #tardis #christmastree

[caption id=“attachment_1133” align=“alignnone” width=“800”] Breakfast at Hector’s Shed[/caption]

It comes to something when missing a train feels like a treat. Earlier on the week, I missed my train by under a minute. I hit the platform just as the train started moving. Too late. It was bad luck, sure, caught on the hop by the level crossing being shut, the parking machine being out of order, and one of the ticket collection machines being down. Too much bad luck for one journey to stand.

I live far enough into the sticks that my next useful train was 30 minutes away, so I did what I always do when things throw me off in Shoreham - I went for a coffee and toast in a local café. As before, I picked Hector’s Shed.

Toast. Coffee. And half an hour to sit reading. I don’t do that enough. Since I switched to a freelance consultancy career, I’ve struggled with the urge that I should be doing something to further my career at all times - and I mean doing. Reflecting, thinking and reading never seem to be active enough, and so they fall by the wayside. This has just got worse since Hazel was born, and the remainder of my free time was eaten alive by the bumdle of cuteness that is my daughter.

But an accident, an unseen confluence of inconvenience, gave me premission to chill. And chill I did, with coffee, and toast, and some reading on my iPad. A simple pleasure, but right now life is teaching me that simple pleasures are often the best.

Hazel pop!

Up, up and away!

Playing with the new version of Instagram

Wireless charging in progress… #lumia920

So, I have in my posession for a while a Nokia Lumia 920 (I’m involved in a little work for them, via Brilliant Noise). It’s the first non-iPhone phone I’ve had serious hands-on time with since 2007. I’ve only had the chance for a little play with it so far, but here’s some first shots from the camera:

[caption id=“attachment_1135” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] Emerald Quay[/caption]

[caption id=“attachment_1137” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] Cyclamen on the balcony[/caption]

[caption id=“attachment_1139” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] Shoreham by Sea and the Adur[/caption]

The images come off the phone a little soft, which I’ve ended up correcting slightly in Aperture. Otherwise, the detail and colours are really impressive. I’m looking forwards to playing more…

My dream chair. Oh, yes. People of the interwebs, please arrange for one of these to come into my possession.

Your co-operation is appreciated.  

Mmm. Coffee.

Almost exactly how I won't look sat in it.

[via Toxel.com]