Week commencing Monday, 5 January 2026
Quantified Self
- This week: Stand 6/7; Exercise 3/7 and Move 6/7. (71%). Morning walks: 0/4. Office days 1/5. Total steps: 49,424. 18.8 hours in meetings.
Life
- This year, I am tracking a new QS metric: the number of hours I am in calendared work meetings. I thought it would be interesting to see.
- The story of Markdown reminded me how much simpler the web was when self-publishing began. I still write these notes in Markdown.
- Monday’s pub quiz provided a high score for us, but no prizes for third. I was pleased with myself for identifying “A Kind of Hush” in the music round, but immediately irritated that I said it was by the New Seekers when it was, in fact, The Carpenters.
- Tuesday, it’s bigger, better, glitzier, and (probably) more expensive than ever. It’s a smut-filled delight, anchored by the King of Innuendo: the Palladium panto, which I reviewed for you.
- Thursday, people had said Daniel’s Husband was good, and I am delighted to have kept to my “don’t read any details” rule because this play benefits from that lack of pre-knowledge. But you can read my spoiler-light review.
- Friday night, there was a tree on the line. We were diverted and then terminated early. As much as I love it, sometimes train travel is a frustrating pain.
- Saturday, I said “good morning” to a bus driver when it was clearly afternoon, found out the coastal path is now named after the King, and had a lovely time by a wood fire.
- By the wood fire, I talked about my recent radio stats post. PY thought an interesting additional view that would give better context would be to understand how much time we were spending with each type of audio. So, the chart’s here on page 11. Sixty-five per cent of our audio consumption is live radio, plus another 3% for catch-up.
- Sunday, Gilbert & George use the Evening Standard, and probably other newspapers, headline boards as part of their art. There’s an upcoming generation that won’t understand what they are and, therefore, the inspiration for the art.
- Related, very glad I got to see the G&G exhibition. It’s big, bold, and probably not as controversial as it might once have been.
Media
- Grantchester is back. There are almost as many murders here as in Midsomer. And the vicar is still allowed to interview suspects. Cosy fun nonsense.
- We started series two of Blue Lights. I’ve forgotten much of the first season, so I can’t work out what’s new and what’s recurring. Definitely not cosy.
- We started The Traitors. This is the first time I have watched the non-celebrity version. Don’t tell me.