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This microblog uses handwritten posts on index cards, saved in Markdown format, post-processed in Obsidian or Notepad++ (most of the time). I use the Google app on my phone for OCR, which often capitalises the odd letter, sOrRy about that!
I think I'm a bit disillusioned with church at the moment. Not my faith itself but with shallow 'churchianity' ⛪. Feel fairly disconnected and wihout significant relationships. Of course I play a part.
2024-09-27
Working on two bids simultaneously. Well...working on one and ignoring the other. Man do I hate working on bids 🤯. I saw these humourous 'definitions' recently:
Tender sum: a wild guess carried out to two decimal places
Successful tenderer: a contractor who is wondering what [they] left out
Totally true 🤔
2024-09-18
I've recently changed to plain text emails in Outlook at work 📨. It's mainly for fun, but it's a natural result of my love for Markdown. (It's also good for security.) I've set emails to be in ModeSeven typeface in a 'console green', inspired by one of my fave Obsidian themes.
2024-09-13
Lots of time at the beach and National Trust properties 🏯. Very nice to be away but starting to feel the pull of home. Not that I can quite face it yet. It's nice to be here at the sea 🌊; no church, no building work, no dust. But lots of sand lol.
2024-09-08
Dealing with the building work 🔨 at home has thrown into sharp relief how much I dread and avoid confrontation.
2024-09-03
Lovely visit to the Broads today. Soft lawns and still water with lillies ❤️.Boardwalks and diving terns Sleepy lawns.
2024-08-25
Is recovery work just as much about the journey 🎒 as the destination, whatever that is? Something I tried to bring to my recovery group as our discussion topic 🤔.
2024-08-21
Wow, what a shock: this holiday park, or at least the caravan does not have wifi! I feel a little lost, but grateful to have some disconnection 😊. And within 100 m of beach dunes 🏖. It's still got 5G so it's not, like, the dark ages.
This post along with the next few were drafted while on a long holiday. Sorry for the long pause!
2024-08-16
Got a Pop-up Sun shelter ⛺️ from Decathlon. So cool! I was learning about UV risks recently ☀️☀️. It's worse than I realised! This is a neat solution. #themoreyouknow
2024-08-03
I haven't lived in the USA since I was 14. Yet here I am... paying an accountant 💰 to help me figure out Enough of this Byzantine tax system to avoid severe punishment. Not that I ever actually earn enough to owe anything 🙄!
2024-07-29
As a result of my post below, I think my re- balancing approach will be to treat Obsidian / digital 📱 as my archive, and paper as a 'capture' method. I love my pocket pen 🖊 and Hobonichi Weeks, so this sounds fun.
2024-07-24
I think I hit rock bottom on Obsidian today. I go to such extremes: one day it's all in digital tools ("ooo shiny" ✨), then my inner pendulum swings the other way and my heart yearns for analog living 🖋️. It's so hard to get a balance when, really, I need both!
2024-07-19
Good day out with the family on Sat 🚗 and a BBQ on Sunday. It's good for days, weeks and months to have their ups and downs, a seasonality. I am getting better at thinking about my day and aiming for a bit of time (the "golden hour" 🔥) before bed. Not very consistent about it though.
2024-07-15
Sitting with the kids and doodling and colouring 🎨. So nice to slow down and do something together.
2024-07-02
Discovered I can sync Obsidian and Todoist with a plugin 🤤. I also got to introduce my colleagues to Espanso (text expander) in a team meeting, which went down well. On another note the UK is finally warm this summer 🌞🌞!
2024-06-27
Have to both work as parents to support our family now. It's a load of crap 💰💰.
Juggling kids and work is emotionally exhausting. I really feel for single parents now.
2024-06-24
Standing guard over an open manhole, disgusting smell 🤢. I've got the unenviable job of keeping an eye on drainage clearing and survey in a food factory. Not sure why I am here tbh! Worried I'll be put off the food type...
2024-06-19
Excellent podcast from the Happiness Lab, on happiness at work. A key point for me is a sense of belonging, of investing in relationships ❤. I've been travelling to another office this week 🚆 because I've been a bit isolated. It's been a brilliant experience to reconnect.
2024-06-14
There are a lot of things to do and think about in recovery (a la 12-step...). However, I feel like a lot of stuff I/we deal with in life boils down to how much sleep we are getting 💤. And good sleep routines.
I once heard:
think of going to bed as the start of the next day...like an investment.
Last night not getting much (kids, neighbours 🙄) is a tough reminder.
2024-06-09
Concrete has been poured for our new home extension today 👷♂️. I'm actually stressing out about it as pipes are leaking and it's raining off and on 😟. I need to let it go.
2024-06-04
Sitting outside, really enjoying The sunshine ☀️ and the space the kids have in a big park. But I still feel a bit of a loss without my phone with me 📱.
Probably a good thing I don't have it!
2024-05-31
I've set up my weekly journal. I do love using my Stalogy A5 notebook 📕 and fountain pens. The weekly postit is from Muji. I heard recently that just recording Something helps memory 'cluster' around dates, and keeps us able to recall it 🧠.
2024-05-27
Was remembering a game I used to play with friends as a teen.
Lots of good times.
2024-05-22
I've now moved everything over to this site from my short-lived Wordpress blog. Nothing wrong with that site, but I am sure this will be much more fun!
2024-05-18
So… that was a crazy couple of weeks. I jumped off the deep end with Settings, themes, plugins, CSS snippets, front matter, data-view queries…
And now I’m pulling back. The tool is using me now, not the other way around. I’ve Stripped quite a few things back, hoping this means a week of being balanced in life again 😬.
First published 2024-04-29
How do I experience beauty? How can I put myself in the path of oncoming beauty?
I discussed these recently with Some friends. Some thoughts:
(PS for some reason Google’s OCR thinks my ‘s’ are capitalised. Sorry about that!)
First published 2024-04-24
I’ve been procrastinating a lot at work. When I stop and think about it, I wonder if it has a fear-origin 😕
I am fearful of The challenges I will face if I move into a new project.
First published 2024-04-17
Just discovered Obsidian...
Wow! Can’t believe I missed this one till now. I’m already migrating everything over. Markdown love ❤️!
First published 2024-04-13
These are some things I would like to try. In no particular order!
First published 2024-04-09
I landed in a really tough project at work this week.
I am determined to avoid the terrible triangle. I’ve been caught there too many times 😭. This is doing all three:
First published 2024-04-04
Such fun seeing the kids hunt for Easter eggs 🥚. Makes me kinda wish I had an old camcorder like my dad did when I was little. Now it’s just short clips on the phone.
First published 2024-03-30
I’ve really enjoyed my experience here, though a lot of it was behind the scenes. I am tempted to leave it now, as I have have a strong pull to treat this as a self promotional thing rather than selfless expression. BUT, I am willing to give it a bit longer. We’ll see 🧐
First published 2024-03-29
Totally distracted trying to figure out how to get Corporate brand-compliant Word docs, but starting with Markdown. Sigh. Not working 🤦♂️ (no 🎲 installing plugins or software. with our IT).
First published 2024-02-23
I love analog✒! A thought Struck me: could I create a microblog using index cards and a pen ? The answer is yes💡! I am using the Google app OCR function to paste this here. Future Posts on :
First published 2024-02-22
