One Man's Notes

So… this is my first post from a Mac powered by Apple Silicon.

Spending far too long looking at video of myself has been one of the major downsides of the pandemic.

This is a good piece: I found the wall-to-wall COVID coverage very hard to cope with back in the spring. Research shows just how much it dominated reporting.

Blogging is a discipline: it’s a practice of expressing your thoughts in writing, routinely, and with focus. Writing a post every day for Microblogvember has helped reinforce that.

And…done. 🍾

It was a gorgeously foggy morning this morning:

I am, and have been for as long as I can remember, a pedestrian by preference. Walking is my favourite way of getting anywhere.

Shame it’s impractical for so many journeys.

Has anyone else come to quite enjoy wearing a mask? I like seeing the fashion choices people make with them, and will quite miss that when the pandemic passes.

I won’t miss the disposable ones left as litter on the ground, though.

Last night, I faced the dilemma of going to bed early, or staying up and having some quiet time to myself. I chose the former - and was rewarded with a half hour to myself, as I was up before the rest of the family.

Result.

After years of having the house to myself for several days a week, it’s hard to adjust to constantly sharing it.

I’ve never craved “alone time” much - but I’m starting to.

Much as I hate to admit it, structure and focus make a huge difference to a client Zoom call. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the pleasures of small talk, too.

Lovely day for a beach walk.

I’m saying “goodbye” to an old friend this morning. For the last 23 years, whenever I’ve been working at my desk, across three different properties, this old, battered lamp has lit my work. Last week — in the middle of a lecture — it finally, catastrophically fell apart.

I didn’t even choose it. It came into my life because my girlfriend of the time was working at Terry Farrell & Partners, a firm of architects. They were having an office refurb (or was it a move? I can’t recall at this distance) and she grabbed some things that were being thrown out.

She left it behind when she exited my life and, amusingly, my relationship with the lamp has lasted well over ten times longer than my relationship with her… But I’m proud that I’ve used this thing that came my way for so long. This lamp has had over two decades of extra use after it was first consigned to the bin, and in an era when we’re ever more aware of the climatic cost of a throw-away culture, this small choice has proven to be surprisingly satisfying.

Eight months ago I was forced into delivering online training by the pandemic. Even after mass vaccination, I think it will remain part of my mix. The benefits - attendees from all over the world, provision of videos of the session afterwards - are too compelling.

Chris Cook in this morning’s Tortoise email:

“The challenge is how we all get to the finish line without needless further fatalities: a vaccine makes it increasingly clear that an infection delayed can now become an infection prevented.”

Exactly.

Today’s lesson: do not record your Zoom sessions locally, if you have multiple incoming streams. It seems to strain the connection too much.

Revamped online lecturing and training setup working well. 👍🏻

The power of disinformation to capture people’s minds is terrifying. Watching a friend’s Facebook friend who is clearly deep in the rabbit hole is sobering.

As someone who spent my entire childhood north of the border, the increasing likelihood that Scotland will soon be an independent country is troubling me.

Today’s beach walk did not feel autumnal at all. Between the waves and the overcast skies, not to mention the biting wind, it felt distinctly like winter is coming.

Burn out or fade away?

Tonight, it’s a bit of both.

It’s just possible I’ve found a solution to something that’s been bugging me all year. 🤞🏻

OK. A week in I am prepared to say this:

Big Sur is bloody lovely and it has completely reignited my joy in using my Mac.

As I child, I railed against my dependence on sleep.

As an adult, I embrace it.

Night, all.

New, chez Tinworth.

Wake. Take children to school. Train people via Zoom. Collect children. Feed children. Read bedtime story. Edit training videos. Sleep. Wake. Take…