Category: Miscellany 2023

Week commencing Monday, 11 December 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 6/7 and Move 6/7. (90%, Sunday was a let down). Morning walks: 1/4 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 1/5. Plant diversity: 45 Total steps: 73,718

Life

• Fewer Christmas lights up on the streets immediately around us than I would have hoped. Another week, another sad-Christmas-face-emoji needed.
• I didn’t do my walk on Monday morning but I did rush around to tidy the house ahead of the electrician’s visit. The bulb that won’t turn off is safe.
• I am amused that ChatGPT is getting lazy at this time of year. I hope somebody’s bought it a Secret Santa.
• Nice message from former colleagues on Wednesday would have lead to a Thursday meet-up if it hadn’t been for the office Christmas party.
• Related, on the party food menu, octopus. Also, too many drinks and a walk from Farringdon.
• Saturday: a birthday lunch for a friend and an evening of party games with another group. Oven-glove pass-the-parcel remains one of my favourites.
• Sunday, recovering.

Media

• On one of my walks, a podcast: Emily Maitlis interviews James O’Brien on his book ‘How They Broke Britain’. Interesting discussion.
• Bradley Walsh hosts The Royal Variety Performance Cher was the big finale, the gags about Bradley not having an Honour a bit laboured and Hannah Waddingham’s song was lovely.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. YouTube links don’t seem to archive well so I don’t list them. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• Ars Technica: Unproven hypothesis seeks to explain ChatGPT’s seemingly new reluctance to do hard work
• The tables have turned and James is in the hot seat: ‘How They Broke Britain’
• Bradley Walsh hosts the 2023 edition of The Royal Variety Performance

Week commencing Monday, 20 November 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 5/7 and Move 7/7. (90%). Morning walks: 3/5 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 0/5. Total steps: 66,809

Life

• A while ago I purchased Zoe, The personalised nutrition program but there was a problem with the glucose monitor. Monday, I tried again. Now, I’m obsessed at looking at the graph. The muffins were dry.
• Tuesday, the boiler was serviced. No issues. I need to arrange for all the other house fixes.
• The Christmas Tree arrived in Raynes Park (pictured) but they didn’t turn it on until later in the week and I wasn’t there to see it. Not sure there was any ceremony.
• Let’s face it: young people can’t understand the value of long-term friendships. Which is why I loved my Thursday drinks. Cheers, Jules. Cheers, James.
• To Shrewsbury on Friday afternoon. Difficult to have a conference call on a busy commuter train but I managed it.
• Related: Saturday lunch sat one table away from their MP. Heard complaining that the venue can’t get staff.
• Probably related: aforementioned MP almost always voted against a right to remain for EU nationals living in the UK pre-Brexit.
• Friends round on Saturday evening meant a quiet Sunday watching Doctor Who (see below). Many LOLs with Sooz Kempner in the evening.

Media

• Christmas Ad Update: Joy Ride: The Amazon Holiday ad is sweet
• Interesting insight into what nutritionists think about milk. Zoe: Is dairy good or bad for you?
• Kirsty Young is an Adam Buxton fan: this is a great interview. Next day, I went straight into Young Again. Try the “dazzlingly versatile” Steve Coogan episode.
• Lovely documentaries from BBC Radio 2 about The Whoniverse. David took the name Tennant thanks to Neil. The Star Beast was good.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. YouTube links don’t seem to archive well so I don’t list them. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• Zoe: Is dairy good or bad for you?
• Adam Buxton podcast: Kirsty Young
• Kirsty’s Young Again podcast
• Radio 2 Celebrates Doctor Who at 60
• Doctor Who: The Star Beast

Week commencing Monday, 13 November 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 7/7 and Move 7/7. (100%, I’ve not done that for a while). Morning walks: 5/5 (no days in the office). Total steps: 75,450.

Life

• My new morning thing is Bend. Let’s see how long this lasts.
• First thing Monday, I may as well quote the BBC, David Cameron: Former PM making stunning comeback.
• I tried multiple combinations of lightbulbs to try to solve a problem and none of them worked. I really don’t want to call an electrician but I may have to.
• Tuesday, Chicken & Champagne Pie was not quite what I thought. But Beverley Knight was brilliant. The company was wonderful.
• Diamond Geezer tried to find something, in London, named after King Charles. Best bit of the story? A gas bill can get you in to The Tower of London.
• Christmas Ad Update: who won’t be making their oven glove sing this Christmas? Genius.
• Wednesday, my train was delayed so I missed my class. First time that has happened.
• Thursday, virtual drinks with a colleague. Just like the pandemic years but worked well. The low alcohol beer was nice.
• Friday, walked to Wimbledon to see the ice rink before the opening. People working late to get things ready. Saw it again on Sunday when it was still skater-less because we saw it between groups.
• Saturday, COVID booster. In and out in under ten minutes including climbing the stairs. Then to the recycling centre Merton brought to town. Nice idea. Then the shivers started.
• Lovely pizza dinner with friends Saturday night but I had to call an early night as I wasn’t feeling great.

Media

• In the late 80s I answered phones for BBC Radio Shropshire. The first time I heard Alex Lester was when he hosted the Sunday morning show and I worked through the glass. Lovely to listen to his career story on the Crunch and Roll podcast.
• Took us a while to find a movie to watch on Sunday. Spider-Man: No Way Home was our choice. Excellent even though I was confused as I hadn’t seen the previous movie.
• Tiny Houses: UK Actors Spectacular Tiny Home On London Outskirts

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should. YouTube links don’t seem to archive well so I don’t list them.

• Stretching. Bending.
• The move has sent shockwaves through Westminster: Cameron is back
• Pie was on the menu
• Bev played The Palladium
• Diamond GeezerL Today is the King’s 75th birthday
• Wimbledon Quarter: Swapping tennis balls for snowballs
• Alexthedarklord: Crunch and Roll with Alex Lester
• Spiderman:No Way Home
• Tiny houses: UK Actors’ Spectacular Tiny Home On London Outskirts!

Week commencing Monday, 6 November 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 5/7; Exercise 4/7 and Move 5/7. (67%, maybe, average). Morning walks: 0/3 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 0/5. Total steps: 47,434

Life

• Back in London after a peaceful weekend on The Island. Robert Elms on BBC London thinks you should move back to London as you get older, “Old age is when you need to be here … because everything is near and you can get there in your slippers.” He has a point.
• Wouldn’t textcasting be cool?
• Jamie Lloyd’s reimagining of Sunset Boulevard was brilliant. We booked for Monday Guest Star, Rachel Tucker, and she did not disappoint as Norma Desmond. A show, in black and white, with no props doesn’t sound great. It’s wonderful. The video techniques are impressive.
• There’s a couple of innovative video scenes in Sunset Boulevard which, appear to be live … but who knows with theatre magic? I thought I might have to stand outside The Savoy Theatre one night to see but on Thursday, at Rachel Tucker’s album launch event, she confirmed it was live.
• Also, Thursday, a good catch-up with ex-colleagues at our usual Thirsty Thursday venue off Carnaby Street. Now the Christmas lights are up. They’re not that festive but quite impressive.
• I wrote top-line product requirements, in my own time, for fun. My current employer won’t build this but other ad tech might. It’s not wholly original – other systems do similar – but it is needed by smaller broadcasters or steamers who monetise with ads. I don’t know why I did it except to get it out of my head.
• Oh come on Wikipedia, if you live in London, and have even the remotest interest in the transport around you, it’s the Dangleway!

Media

• Christmas ad update: John Lewis 2023 is out. Apparently, they changed advertising agencies this year. Obvious Little Shop of Horror vibes. Not sure about it. The pros at work reckon TK Max is a great one.
• I binge-watched Heartstopper Season 2 on Friday night and it was a good at the first season – although the characters started to annoy me by the last episode. But I don’t think I am the intended audience.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• BBC London: Can you return to London once you’ve left?
• Textcasting: The Future of RSS
• Dangle, on the Dangleway.

Week commencing Monday, 30 October 2023

Quantified Self

This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 4/7 and Move 7/7. (86%, good going). Morning walks: 1/4 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 1/5. Total steps: 60,995

Life

• To the gym Monday and Tuesday so that habit had made week two. I wish they’d reconnect the machines to all the AV stuff.
• No Halloween callers on Tuesday night but a few out on the street. We didn’t get any sweets in stock this year because we’d end up eating them.
• Finished Bryant & May: Ten-Second Staircase which I really enjoyed. Took me a while to decide what’s next.
• Wednesday first first: I lead a stand-up. Basically, I called out people’s names and they said technical things (only some of which I understood).
• Wednesday, second first: I saw my first Christmas TV ad. It was for M&S. Too early? I am certainly not thinking about that stuff yet. I recognised Hannah Waddingham, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Tan France. I believe there were others. Thursday I saw another: Waitrose with Graham Norton
• Fifteen minutes late departing Waterloo on Thursday evening and a half-length train meant we were standing to Guildford. Not the most fun way to head off but the ferry crossing was not as choppy as you would imagine.
• Friday and Saturday were very wet but there would be intermittent dry periods when we all thought the rain might have stopped. Got wet several times.
• Friday night’s entertainment from a musical trio was wonderful. There was a real community feel in the Arts Centre.
• Our Airbnb host from a few weeks ago described us as “polite interesting people”. That was nice.
• Busy Bees has an impressive Christmas Wold shop selling anything you want to decorate your home for Christmas. I might think it’s too early. The rest of the world does not.
• Sunday, the swans were more peaceful than the last time we went to the nature reserve and chutney pasty with the cheese was delicious.
• A long route round on the train back to London but we did break our journey in Woking to help with some bags.

Media

• Great interview with Macklemore as part of the Zane Lowe interview series. Made me listen to the latest album again.
• Behind the scenes at Scary Fast: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• Bryant & May: Peculiar Crimes Unit #4 – Ten-Second Staircase
• It’s officially Christmas: M&S launches festive campaign
• Waitrose Christmas: Graham Norton makes an entrance – overshadowed by an delightfully indulgent dessert
• Experience the magic of Christmas at Busy Bee’s Christmas World!
• Zane is joined in the studio by Macklemore to talk about the journey to his latest release, “BEN”
• How Scary Fast came to life behind the scenes

Week commencing Monday, 23 October 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 3/7 and Move 6/7. (76%, Good). Morning walks: 1/4 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 1/5. Total steps: 57,976

Life

• This week, back 4 times: back home (I’m noticing the cold); back dieting (gotta lose those holiday kgs); back gyming (not convinced about the refurbishment) and back at work.
• Related, back at work after a holiday has advantages when you work form home. It’s not as jarring. My ex-colleague, Duncan, has written about recent headlines encouraging people ‘back to the office’. I agree with everything written.
• Unexpectedly attended the office halloween party. I didn’t have a costume. Ravi found a green wig for me. Obviously, I didn’t win for best costume. Apparently, the punch was excellent (which I interpreted as ‘strong’) but I didn’t even notice there was a punch bowl.
• There’s an impressive witch above the bar at The White Swan. On Thursday, we watched from round the side of the pub, as a crew were putting up the Carnaby Street Christmas lights.
• The answer to the question posed in Weeknotes #33 is that, yes, they do.
• I got a flu jab but it cost me. No side-effects to report, which is good, as we went for a lovely lunch with family in Woking.
• Related, Centre Court Shopping Centre in Wimbledon is morphing into Wimbledon Quarter as the boards hiding the redevelopment come down and they open the roof.
• Sunday, I did some cleaning and it really boosted my mood. And then I cheered up even more by going to see people sing Cher songs.

Media

• The Ty Benitll show on Apple Music: Celebrating Thomas Rhett’s 20 number ones. Really interesting and makes me want to discover more of his music.
• Festive Fizzy Pop is back for 2023 so I have started an Apple Music playlist to capture the ones I want to remember.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• Duncan Illing Writes: Working From Home Can Work: Why Dylan Jones is Wrong
• Impressive witch above the bar
• Christmas: Festive Fizzy Pop
• Centre Court -> Wimbledon Quarter
• Songs: The Joy of Cher

Week commencing Monday, 16 October 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 6/7; Exercise 5/7 and Move 7/7. (86%, feeling happy). No office days as I am on vacation. Total steps: 108,762

Life

• Monday, awoke in Palermo: walking tour; beautiful churches. Fountain of Shame. Arancini, pomegranate granita and panelle were all tasty.
• Holiday Apple Maps: Quattro Canti (passed); Orto Botanico di Palermo (failed, took us to the wrong part of town for the entrance); Famila supermarket (failed on generic search, passed when we worked out the name); Le Catacombe dei Cappuccini (passed); Maxim Theatre (failed when we tried to use Opera House as the look-up); Fud Bocs (passed); Hotel Politeama (passed) but it failed the Fountain of Shame as it needed the official name, Fontana Pretoria, which nobody uses.
• Saw a snake in the botanical gardens. That wasn’t what was biting and I got off better than the others who suffered more.
• First train sold out to Cefalù; we went on the later one. Nice lunch near the sea. Squeezed into a bar, with a view, for an over-priced limoncello spritz, which was new to me (the drink not the pricing).
• Thursday, No Mafia Memorial and, then contrasting, a department store rooftop bar in the shade as it was 32°. Then, up a level for the unshaded fabulous view. Then, down a level, where it was Christmas!
• Friday, tour of the third biggest theatre in Europe. The view from the royal box is as impressive as you’d expect to give dignitaries. Later the wind got up on the terrace – the weather warning coming true – and we had to remove anything that would blow away. It calmed enough for us to eat there.
• The temple at Segesta was unfinished, impressive and you could see the bosses on the blocks of the base (used for lifting the stones into place but usually removed when finishing).
• Erice is up a winding mountainside road. Our driver was great. That they built a town there is impressive.
• Lunch with our guide and the Chilean couple was great (couscous with fish for me). I was schooled on the linguistic definition of a dialect.
• The cannoli was enormous (and messy). The salt pans on the way back less impressive.
• The restaurant we planned to go to was booked on a Friday night. So, our last Italian dinner was delicious but the most expensive.

Media

• Does the goat cheese supplier drown himself in one of his own pasteurisation tanks? No spoilers, but I finished Ian Moore’s Death and Fromage.
• Paul Gambaccini, talking to Steve Wright, looks back on his 50 years on UK radio. Legend.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• Panorama: Rinascente Rooftop
• Third biggest theatre in Europe: Teatro Massimo
• This amazingly preserved Doric temple was abandoned before it was ever completed: Temple of Segesta
• The Paul Gambaccini Collection: 50 Years of Paul Gambaccini

Week commencing Monday, 9 October 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 4/7; Exercise 2/7 and Move 4/7. (48%, I’m embarrassed ). Morning walks: 0/3 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 2/5. Total steps: 46,514

Life

• Monday to the office. Is it Agency, Advertiser or Brand? Can you have déjà vu for déjà vu?
• I’ve read a lot of discussion about an apostrophe in a Burger King ad this week. At least there is one, was my thinking. I needed Daring Fireball to explain and tell me Shift-Option-] is what I might need.
• Tuesday, World Mental Health Day (mental health is a universal human right): a seminar at work reminded us that the little things can make a big difference. The effects of giving off good vibes can’t be underestimated.
• Also, Tuesday, Keir Starmer announced plans for a publicly owned renewable energy company and new towns. Investing in infrastructure not killing it off seems a better way forward to me.
• In a call with Mum and Dad, I was asked what does RACE CAR spell backwards? How come I’d never noticed that before?
• Same call, we learned that, after the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the Tommy gun gained notoriety with the mob. We also discussed violin cases and if it was used by the Italian mafia.
• ITV: She has been at the heart of This Morning for the past 14 years, and she is adored by our viewers. Holly Willoughby has said she is quitting This Morning.
• Kind of related, Diamond Geezer’s been to the location of all three Big Brother houses.
• Saturday, I rode the pods again. Still a fun thing to do if you need to stay near Terminal 5.
• Sunday, to Palermo. Early start for the plane. On time flight in spite a truck being parked behind the plane. Train into Palermo easy but the station sparse.

Media

• As recommended in the mental health seminar, and recommended by me, Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability. Feeling connected is why we are here.
• Roman Kemp’s Dad doesn’t have many friends, at least according to Roman in this Radio Times podcast

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• Is it Agency, Advertiser or Brand?
• Daring Fireball on apostrophes.
• World Mental Health Day 2023: mental health is a universal human right
• Keir Starmer speech: Labour plans publicly owned renewable energy giant
• Diamond Geezer: Three Big Brother houses
• At Heathrow: Riding the pods again
• Radio Times Podcast: Roman Kemp on nepotism, fame and oversharing

Week commencing Monday, 3 October 2023

Quantified Self

• This week: Stand 6/7; Exercise 3/7 and Move 4/7. (62%, similar). Morning walks: 0/3 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 2/5. Total steps: 65,485

Life

• They fixed my access to the mandatory training platform. Monday afternoon spent understanding fire extinguishers and bribery. And, by Friday, I completed the lot (including the extra one that was added on Thursday).
• Celeb spotting: AJ Odudu and Will Best, presenters of the new version of Big Brother, hosted an event I attended. I was at the back and couldn’t hear but there was a free bottle of beer.
• Regardless of how you feel about HS2, it seems bonkers to me that it’s the major policy announcement at a party conference. I asked an AI bot what it thought and it summed up the responses reasonably well.
• A workshop at work on Thursday, I learnt a lot about some existing technologies; I don’t think that was the point of the day. I had one drink after work before coming home.
• Early Saturday evening, PY thinks I said yes to the second bottle of wine when everybody else didn’t want one. The service was attentive but not with a smile.
• Wilkommen to Cabaret: Rob ordered a bottle of champagne; perhaps the default drink for this production. It feels decadent which, I guess, is the vibe. Jake Shears was excellent, but not the most uplifting show.
• Sunday trip to Ryde. Lunch looking out on the water across to Portsmouth. It’s very tranquil and a lovely way to spend Sunday afternoon.
• Then, walked to the nature reserve where we sat in the hide watching the wildlife. There was nobody around and we spent half an hour watching the birds on the water.
• Related: I made tea in my reusable, insulated drinks cup. It was still very hot three hours later.

Media

• I’d never heard of TV quiz show ‘Shafted’ until a conversation on Tuesday night and this clip. Reading the comments, there are 16 unaired episodes.
• I hear a lot about the war on motorists. And so it was in 1905, a time when cars were perhaps as disliked as they have ever been.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• BBC: Speculation about HS2 overwhelms Conservative party conference
• AI-sourced views on HS2 Northern leg cancellation
• YouTube: Shafted with Robert Kilroy Silk
• The war on motorists: the secret history of a myth as old as cars themselves
• Blip: My thoughts on the KitKat Club
• Jake Shears as Cabaret Emcee.
• Blip: Sunset over Ryde

Week commencing Monday, 25 September 2023

Quantified Self

This week: Stand 5/7; Exercise 4/7 and Move 5/7. (66%, slipping again). Morning walks: 0/3 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 2/5. Total steps: 58,729

Life

• Monday, a quiet day. Tuesday, to the office then, in the evening, managed the trains successfully to get to Kingston on Thames on time for the Beverley Knight showcase ahead of Friday’s album launch.
• Related, Royal Mail sent me two emails to confirm the time the CD would be delivered but it went through the letter box and I didn’t need to be listening out for them.
• Thursday, a team meeting. A discussion on the use of generative AI in the media. Some interesting use cases. Technology has moved on a little in the few months since I wrote this. Later, a social cricket experience. I hit the ball and am counting that as winning.
• Friday, to Declan Bennett’s Boy Out The City. We saw the ‘workshop’ at The Turbine Theatre in 2021. It’s been a hit at the an Edinburgh Fringe and remains as wonderful and powerful as I remember. It is enhanced by the staging. The words could almost be songs. In fact, I hope he turns some of them into songs.
• Saturday, with friends to plan our forthcoming break. Train strike day and packed buses to get to Streatham. The first, just after 5pm, might be expectedly busy but at 1:15am the next morning? Packed.
• Sunday, lovely return to Denbies. Little train ride to see the vineyard, 360,000 vines and 13 grape varieties, harvesting started but not visible. Then, delicious afternoon tea.

Media

• I have written about the UK government’s position on messaging app encryption. Ian Betteridge: No, the UK government did not back down on its plans to spy on encrypted messages
• STOP Burning Stuff is a very interesting approach to misinformation about electric vehicles and clean energy.
• On with Kara Swisher: The Yoel Roth-Linda Yaccarino Showdown at the 2023 Code Conference.
• Celebrity Race Across the World review: Harry from McFly’s mum absolutely makes this adorable show.

Archive

To save the links getting lost in the future I checked the Internet Archive to see what they had saved for the posts linked here. If the source above no longer works, these should.

• How advertising might be impacted by AI technologies
• My Blip: Boy Out The City
• STOP Burning Stuff
• Ian Betteridge: No, the UK government did not back down on its plans to spy on encrypted messages
• On with Kara Swisher
• The Guardian: Celebrity Race Across the World