Thursday, June 25, 2009

Tetris - more video

If it looks like I'm not making the effort to post, I'm not. Motivation is a struggle and work is almost all-consuming. I long for some long leave, and in a few weeks I'll have some. Right now though, this amuses me.

TETRIS CF #1 from WooDUS on Vimeo.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Toolboxes and arsenals

Two days of solid meetings, but generally I'm strangely happy with work at the moment - a few accidental moments of joy have conspired to put a strange spring in my step.

I was asked to write a philosophical piece on why we do what we do, and why government gets involved in what we do at all. That was two months ago, and I've agonised, strained; written and rewritten; read and re-read the same 2,000 words again and again. Finally yesterday I gave up and gave my boss a draft. He's played with it a bit, improved it a lot (he's a wordsmith) and I've stopped worrying. The real question is why I worried so much and why I waited so long. "Personality" is the short answer: it's in my nature to fret about my work.

Wonderfully and joyfully, F today told me they had a presentation at her work (a department of great learnings and infancy*...) about leadership and leadership education. They had a tedious presentation about "how leaders influenced". As part of the presentation, the speaker talked about the "leadership toolbox" or "leadership arsenal".

I asked whether that made her leaders tools and/or arses?

She said "yes".

*F's idea to point out the "infancy" or at least "infantile" aspect

Monday, June 15, 2009

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

Happy birthday, queen.

It's been the Queen's birthday weekend. Not a weekend, alas, where we dress up in satin, build guitars out of fireplaces, or even run the international drug trade. No, instead it's rained the whole weekend and we've made do with a scant spattering of indoor fun. Three wet days for which our gasping dams are grateful.

Saturday's highlight was going to Preston Market. Sunday was a drive in the country up through St Andrews and King Lake. This is a part of the world I love; a part of the world I feel at home in, despite my urban predilection.

Sunday was tired and sleepy. Headache for much of the day. It continued to rain. We ate.

Today was relaxed. I was eager to do so much in the garden and did little. Al had Kate here, and with Emmy and Will spent much of a rainy afternoon watching Get Smart. Maybe watching too much telly as a child is bad. I take heart in two things: (1) it didn't seem to harm me much, and if it did I'm too televisually stupid to tell; and (b) to quote Fry and Laurie, "of course 'too much is bad for you'; that's what 'too much' means".

Today's only novel experience was cooking a rib roast slowly (for more than 3 and a half hours at just under a 100 degrees). Bugger all Maillard reacting, except for the pre-roast browning, but amazingly, wonderfully tender... Juicy and soft, the meat was medium rare (as the recipe promised) and pulled apart with a butter knife, but it needed salt, pepper and mustard (and horseradish; if only we'd had it - bugger!).

I'd write some more, but its one of those nights where I'm not sure how much of myself I want to commit to blog. If this was a diary, perhaps I'd write more, but having started down this path I'm committed. I could always keep a diary I suppose, but who would I be writing for then?

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Spinning

I just don't have much to say.



And if the rest of the world needs to be subjected to me getting the hang of video recording, then so be it.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Monday, June 1, 2009

Richard Fenynman plays the bongos

Found this on boingboing. Had to link it. A hero.