Day: 18 February 2024

Weeknotes #56: Not tracking you

Site removes trackers, mourns radio presenter, TfL Overground naming.

Week commencing Monday, 12 February 2024

Inside a Central Line train
The state of a Central Line train

Quantified Self

  • This week: Stand 3/7; Exercise 2/7 and Move 4/7. (43%). Morning walks: 0/4 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 1/5. Total steps: 46,088

Life

  • Not tracking: I’ve always hated the need to have the cookie notification on this site to be in compliance with GDPR. I am not sure how many personal sites bother but I always did. Thinking about this recently, I decided to remove all the trackers and cookies because they only served two purposes: providing stats on the site and enabling comments (with the associated need to block comment spam). I don’t get many comments, and I hardly look at the stats. So, I worked out how to remove the lot. I feel it’s better.
  • I do like it when I discover leaders in other organisations ‘weeknoting’. A lot of the people I follow are in the public sector. Where are all the private-sector ‘weeknoters’?
  • Maybe the saddest news of the week, especially for those of us who grew up with the Afternoon Boys: Steve Wright: Radio 2 presenter dies. Lovely tribute from Chris Moyles. Listened back to his vintage Radio 1 episode: a great insight into his love of radio.
  • TfL announced their naming plans for the Overground network. It will become 6 individually names lines. I asked ChatGPT to name a fictional line that might run through Raynes Park, “a London Underground line named after Raynes Park could be called the ‘Green Arc Line’. This name could symbolise the lush green spaces and parks in the area, such as Cottenham Park, while also referencing Raynes Park’s position within the arc of suburban communities southwest of central London”. I thought it was quite good.
  • Beer near the office with colleagues was good on Thursday. For some reason I became acutely aware of the dirty tube trains on the way home. I don’t think the one I took was especially bad.
  • Pancake fun seems remarkable similar year-on-year: 2021 | 2022 | 2023. Also, Shrove Tuesday will be on 14 February in 2040. It’s never happened in my lifetime.

Media

Views of Florence

I’ve spent just a little over 24 hours in Florence. Most of the time I had a meeting and was working, but for the final hour of daylight I managed to walk around a little bit. The biggest surprise of all was how cold it was. There was a very chill wind and I could have used several more layers of clothing.

I’ve spent just a little over 24 hours in Florence. Most of the time I had a meeting and was working, but for the final hour of daylight I managed to walk around a little bit. The biggest surprise of all was how cold it was. There was a very chill wind and I could have used several more layers of clothing.

I didn’t get to see any of the art of Leonardo da Vinci (his apprenticeship was in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence in 1466) but I did get to see Duomo – designed by Arnolfo di Cambio at the end of the 13th century – and Ponte Vecchio (still standing from 1345).

It’s an old city with narrow streets and plenty of squares. The best way to get around seems to be on foot – or in typical Italian style on some kind of moped. Of course, I had to take the final picture. What are they up to?