5th February 2008-02-05
Storming week so far… My staff have been told to f**k off by some scabby chav idiot who I am now going to ban from the practice and today yet another idiot gave a load of abuse to another member of staff after being asked to pay their outstanding account before having further treatment. I really need to find another way to make the same amount of cash as this is really not worth the effort. The other way, of course, would be to double the prices and drop all the charity schemes and see who actually stays – I bet we wouldn’t lose. I am sick of chav scum and skanky dossers; they make a complete mockery of the vast numbers of clients who behave in a reasonable manner. I can cope with complaints but not rudeness.
The Palm PDA died last week and after much messing about I bought a second hand one off Ebay whilst I try and decide on what to do in the long term. It would be just my luck for this one to outlive the first! I am quite taken by the UMPC particularly the OQO Series Version 2. PDAs seem very ahrd to get hold of now and I suspect the market is about the be taken over by the UMPC.
I finished the Stuart MacBride “Dying Light” – very good – but very formulaic – I should not have read it so quickly after the last one. Am now reading “Pies and Prejudice” by Stuart Maconie – a wonderful diatribe on “Northerness”. Am I a real Northerner – I was born in Reading after all..?
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Hell this is going to be long:
Well - I have posted nohting online since the 5th of January and this is because I am 1) lazy 2) busy and 3)have tried a hard written log. I started that one on the 21st of January and I will put the collected thoughts on here now:
21st Jan:
One queston that I found myself asking was : "Would I be able to write more freely with a pen than a keyboard?". This has now been answered - No. Certainly I had legibility concerns and these are being felt now that I am putting this onto the Blog. They were certainly well founded. The speed of writing may be faster with the pen, but it is a close-run thing. The keyboard has the benefit of edit prior to post, ink is too permanent once written. I think I will have to go back to the "scratch file" Blog again and make more effort. I am hoping to put my thoughts here although not my book idea (Someone could nick it), that I will leave on my desktop.
It would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what I write is of any importance to anyone ther than myself; on the contrary it is of the utmost unimportance. The commission of thoughts in an archivable form is what I wish to achieve. So much goes through my mind and so quickly, that I barely have time to dwell before moving on and I would perhaps like to look back over those thoughts. Even now I have altered this written post to allow for new thoughts.... The handwritten posts may not all end up here as there is so much and I need to move on so I will probably slip the rest in, on a later post.
I wonder if I should try and slow down and contemplate, or do I let my mind race as usual. This is a permanent problem for me and I have no way of being able to control it as yet. I did think that takng up slower pursuits may help and I think they might. I may also seek to take a retreat to solitude at some point later in the year. I felt Peter Jones series "Extreme Pilgrim" had a lot to teach us on the benefits of solitude and seeking the face of God. I would like to emulate this at some point. It certainly got me wondering wwhat would happen if I could throw of the shackles of modern life and money and tail-chasing and live in a "monastic" way..
Another question is whether I will improve my writing skills in this way. As stated earlier I am not that good with the English language and have to get my wife to look over any written works.
I was reading "the 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear" , but have now finished this and moved on to another Police procedural "Dying light" by Stuart Macbride - gruesome but good. The "System of the World" by Neal Stephenson is taking a pace and I have at least moved past 100 pages now!
Looking forward to skiing now as is only 9 days to go. I do wonder if a 40yo can improve beyond the current ability - Josh certainly has youth as an advantage. I need to try and take on board all the tips from last year and see if we can move forward.
22nd Jan
Made a decision last night to get a grip on my finances, as the change in drawings at the end of November still hasnt quite sunk in and I am still struggling, but have an action-plan now so should be able to bring it all under control. A new mental state is required and I need to bring this to bear in so many areas of my life. Improvments in my weight are also required and these have been made by cutting out the cakes and reducing what I eat generally. Hopefully I can pull my BMI to the lower end of the normal range rather than the upper end of the range.
I also need to master what I actually believe in as this is fundamental to who I am. The contemplation of this may take time and takes into account that which I have written above. I feel I may be somewaht away from the mainstream and my faith position is based on a holistic view of the Universe and takes inot account all "rational explanation" as well as "faith based ideas". Confused - you bet. I need to embrace this change of pace but it will be a challenge.
29th Jan 2008:
Nothing for the last 7 days again.
The book thing is in my mind again...
Tomorrow looks like a good day so maybe I should get out with the camera - and indeed I did and got lots of good shots - I think I should try and photograph as much of the peninsula as I can.
A long run is out of the question as I did a 26mile epic in 4hours on Friday and 20mins at pace on the treamill was quite an effort last night anyway.
Linkin Park were excellent on Sunday night at the MEN - Josh was very impressed as well. Biffy Clyro were a solid support act, weak in openign but warmed up in the end.
31st Jan 08
Today - finally
Is it me or is it the rest of the world? I feel unable to get on top of all the developments in technology. The story is that my Palm is dying and this is a real issue as I totally rely on it for my working life. Indeed it may now be totally dead as I cannot reboot it at all. I then looked at the iphone as a replacement but this does not yet have 3rd party software ability as Apple have locked this but may release a SDK in the near future. It seems to rely on Web 2.0 funcitonality and indeed some of the Palm's functions may be replaced with web-apps but some may not. I could write my own.... Me write AJAX apps?? Confused - even more so.
Typing all this up has taken so long that I am now going to have to do some work! Maybe I should get back into the habit and it will then be easier...
21st Jan:
One queston that I found myself asking was : "Would I be able to write more freely with a pen than a keyboard?". This has now been answered - No. Certainly I had legibility concerns and these are being felt now that I am putting this onto the Blog. They were certainly well founded. The speed of writing may be faster with the pen, but it is a close-run thing. The keyboard has the benefit of edit prior to post, ink is too permanent once written. I think I will have to go back to the "scratch file" Blog again and make more effort. I am hoping to put my thoughts here although not my book idea (Someone could nick it), that I will leave on my desktop.
It would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what I write is of any importance to anyone ther than myself; on the contrary it is of the utmost unimportance. The commission of thoughts in an archivable form is what I wish to achieve. So much goes through my mind and so quickly, that I barely have time to dwell before moving on and I would perhaps like to look back over those thoughts. Even now I have altered this written post to allow for new thoughts.... The handwritten posts may not all end up here as there is so much and I need to move on so I will probably slip the rest in, on a later post.
I wonder if I should try and slow down and contemplate, or do I let my mind race as usual. This is a permanent problem for me and I have no way of being able to control it as yet. I did think that takng up slower pursuits may help and I think they might. I may also seek to take a retreat to solitude at some point later in the year. I felt Peter Jones series "Extreme Pilgrim" had a lot to teach us on the benefits of solitude and seeking the face of God. I would like to emulate this at some point. It certainly got me wondering wwhat would happen if I could throw of the shackles of modern life and money and tail-chasing and live in a "monastic" way..
Another question is whether I will improve my writing skills in this way. As stated earlier I am not that good with the English language and have to get my wife to look over any written works.
I was reading "the 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear" , but have now finished this and moved on to another Police procedural "Dying light" by Stuart Macbride - gruesome but good. The "System of the World" by Neal Stephenson is taking a pace and I have at least moved past 100 pages now!
Looking forward to skiing now as is only 9 days to go. I do wonder if a 40yo can improve beyond the current ability - Josh certainly has youth as an advantage. I need to try and take on board all the tips from last year and see if we can move forward.
22nd Jan
Made a decision last night to get a grip on my finances, as the change in drawings at the end of November still hasnt quite sunk in and I am still struggling, but have an action-plan now so should be able to bring it all under control. A new mental state is required and I need to bring this to bear in so many areas of my life. Improvments in my weight are also required and these have been made by cutting out the cakes and reducing what I eat generally. Hopefully I can pull my BMI to the lower end of the normal range rather than the upper end of the range.
I also need to master what I actually believe in as this is fundamental to who I am. The contemplation of this may take time and takes into account that which I have written above. I feel I may be somewaht away from the mainstream and my faith position is based on a holistic view of the Universe and takes inot account all "rational explanation" as well as "faith based ideas". Confused - you bet. I need to embrace this change of pace but it will be a challenge.
29th Jan 2008:
Nothing for the last 7 days again.
The book thing is in my mind again...
Tomorrow looks like a good day so maybe I should get out with the camera - and indeed I did and got lots of good shots - I think I should try and photograph as much of the peninsula as I can.
A long run is out of the question as I did a 26mile epic in 4hours on Friday and 20mins at pace on the treamill was quite an effort last night anyway.
Linkin Park were excellent on Sunday night at the MEN - Josh was very impressed as well. Biffy Clyro were a solid support act, weak in openign but warmed up in the end.
31st Jan 08
Today - finally
Is it me or is it the rest of the world? I feel unable to get on top of all the developments in technology. The story is that my Palm is dying and this is a real issue as I totally rely on it for my working life. Indeed it may now be totally dead as I cannot reboot it at all. I then looked at the iphone as a replacement but this does not yet have 3rd party software ability as Apple have locked this but may release a SDK in the near future. It seems to rely on Web 2.0 funcitonality and indeed some of the Palm's functions may be replaced with web-apps but some may not. I could write my own.... Me write AJAX apps?? Confused - even more so.
Typing all this up has taken so long that I am now going to have to do some work! Maybe I should get back into the habit and it will then be easier...
Saturday, 5 January 2008
too long since last post
Well. Its has been a long time – almost a month – still not totally into the habit of social networking and blogging. It has been a busy time so that might explain some of the slow progress.
I finished the Confusion in the week before Christmas; although it is not a final ending, and I am still completely clueless as to how this extremely large story will conclude. I have started the System of The World and I will keep myself updated with the progress – I don’t actually believe anyone else reads this – it is merely there so I can keep a track on my life..
I also finished “Cold Granite”. That was quite good and I am looking forward to the next one. I have since started and got almost half way through Robert Goddard’s “Name to a Face”. This is typical RG fare with a hapless protagonist finding himself in a series of improbable situations and I am sure it will all be sorted in the end. Quite good.
Back at work after Christmas period,; although I never was away fully really. Christmas was … different… this year. A trip to Lincolnshire for Xmas day was actually quite good. We saw all Debi’s side of the family and enjoyed her mum’s hospitality. The late night drive back to the Lakes was tiring but at least we got back so we could spend Boxing Day with my family.
Boxing day went quietly as well; Nanna failed to say anything outrageous and there were no major rows.
The real interest happened later in the week
A “dinner party”, Oh how the fuck I hate that phrase, with some interesting topics of conversation but when they are being discussed with someone who has all the intellectual capability of a fruit fly, it is well… interesting. If my family happen to read this it is nothing to do with them. Anyone who still thinks docking of dog’s tails is a reasonable process, is a (fill in your own perjorative term).
This is taking so long to post that I have managed to finish the Robert Goddard – a good book all in all and based on a not too far fetched premise. Very typical of his work but good nonetheless. The only question is .. which book next??
This post has taken too long – I am now reading “The 13 ½ lives of captain Bluebear” – very strange but quite compelling – a sort of word cartoon – don’t know where it will end up, I’ll keep myself informed.
I finished the Confusion in the week before Christmas; although it is not a final ending, and I am still completely clueless as to how this extremely large story will conclude. I have started the System of The World and I will keep myself updated with the progress – I don’t actually believe anyone else reads this – it is merely there so I can keep a track on my life..
I also finished “Cold Granite”. That was quite good and I am looking forward to the next one. I have since started and got almost half way through Robert Goddard’s “Name to a Face”. This is typical RG fare with a hapless protagonist finding himself in a series of improbable situations and I am sure it will all be sorted in the end. Quite good.
Back at work after Christmas period,; although I never was away fully really. Christmas was … different… this year. A trip to Lincolnshire for Xmas day was actually quite good. We saw all Debi’s side of the family and enjoyed her mum’s hospitality. The late night drive back to the Lakes was tiring but at least we got back so we could spend Boxing Day with my family.
Boxing day went quietly as well; Nanna failed to say anything outrageous and there were no major rows.
The real interest happened later in the week
A “dinner party”, Oh how the fuck I hate that phrase, with some interesting topics of conversation but when they are being discussed with someone who has all the intellectual capability of a fruit fly, it is well… interesting. If my family happen to read this it is nothing to do with them. Anyone who still thinks docking of dog’s tails is a reasonable process, is a (fill in your own perjorative term).
This is taking so long to post that I have managed to finish the Robert Goddard – a good book all in all and based on a not too far fetched premise. Very typical of his work but good nonetheless. The only question is .. which book next??
This post has taken too long – I am now reading “The 13 ½ lives of captain Bluebear” – very strange but quite compelling – a sort of word cartoon – don’t know where it will end up, I’ll keep myself informed.
Friday, 7 December 2007
Still here
I write again… The Confusion is proving a slow read but I am in the last section of the book now and I believe I can see a way to the conclusion of the trilogy. Cold Granite by MacBride is shaping up as a good police procedural and although nothing special is certainly an easy bed-time read.
Heroes… Well I predicted how it would end – a tad twee I thought but nonetheless suitably tied up and rounded off. It has been an excellent series, very well put together and I would look forward to buying that on Blu-ray in the New Year as it will be fantastic in HD.
The computers have been SNAFU all day – the computer engineer came this morning – a mere 20 hours after the call was logged (this on a 4hr service package). He messed around for 4 hours and then when his part finally turned up it was for a MAC and not a UNIX machine. We now have no computer system at all and they are supposedly coming back tomorrow to fit the correct part (if it arrives).
Fortunately the work has been quiet today and we have not had too much to cause a major challenge to the system. I am still here til 8PM though.
Friday 7th Dec – computers fixed now and the guy also sorted a minor driver issue on another machine so we cant complain too much!
The Confusion still continues and I am now on page 725 so concluding soon and I can get onto the 3rd book – perhaps if I spent less time on the internet and more on reading it would get finished sooner – thinks…
On call all weekend – hope its not too bad – should be able to get out to the gym though – also might start thinking of the dreaded C word (Christmas). Cake was made last weekend so decoration at some point in the next 2 weeks.
They say that it takes 21days for a habit to be ingrained - this blogging thing has yet to get to that stage and I dont know if I can keep it up - I really only wanted it to be a way of keeping track of the books that I had read and the films I have watched. In the meantime I discovered Facebook and I think I may be developing a slight addiction..
Heroes… Well I predicted how it would end – a tad twee I thought but nonetheless suitably tied up and rounded off. It has been an excellent series, very well put together and I would look forward to buying that on Blu-ray in the New Year as it will be fantastic in HD.
The computers have been SNAFU all day – the computer engineer came this morning – a mere 20 hours after the call was logged (this on a 4hr service package). He messed around for 4 hours and then when his part finally turned up it was for a MAC and not a UNIX machine. We now have no computer system at all and they are supposedly coming back tomorrow to fit the correct part (if it arrives).
Fortunately the work has been quiet today and we have not had too much to cause a major challenge to the system. I am still here til 8PM though.
Friday 7th Dec – computers fixed now and the guy also sorted a minor driver issue on another machine so we cant complain too much!
The Confusion still continues and I am now on page 725 so concluding soon and I can get onto the 3rd book – perhaps if I spent less time on the internet and more on reading it would get finished sooner – thinks…
On call all weekend – hope its not too bad – should be able to get out to the gym though – also might start thinking of the dreaded C word (Christmas). Cake was made last weekend so decoration at some point in the next 2 weeks.
They say that it takes 21days for a habit to be ingrained - this blogging thing has yet to get to that stage and I dont know if I can keep it up - I really only wanted it to be a way of keeping track of the books that I had read and the films I have watched. In the meantime I discovered Facebook and I think I may be developing a slight addiction..
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Tuesday in the twilight zone
Tuesday seems to be a bit of a long day - mostly because I have to work til 8PM this evening. Finished the "Animal theology" book by Andrew Linzey the other night - he makes a good case for being vegetarian / vegan but I havent yet signed to the cause. The final chapter on genetic engineering as animal slavery makes for an uncomfortable read and a considered approach to the arguments - food for thought indeed. Why do good people fail to act? Because they simply do not fully believe what they say they profess otherwise they WOULD act.. Now reading Stuart MacBride "Cold Granite" - police procedural set in Aberdeen - seems to be routine fare so far - I'll let you know.
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Facebook Facebook Badger Badger
Well - I now have friends on Facebook - I am beginning to get the hang of it now and it seems to be quite addictive. It may replace some of my random internet trawling and it may not..
Books - no new ones at the moment but I have got a little closer to the end of The Confusion - in parts the book is very SLOW and in parts is excellent - I suspect I may have it finished in time for Christmas. However I will not have finished the trilogy in a year as I thought I could. The "System of the World" will be read in the fist 4 months of 2008 I think..
Now another thing of mine is.... WORMS - my worms are very happy and have created me a pile of very useable compost which I shall use next year to help create a herb garden. They eat virtually all our organic waste and coupled with rabid recycling mean very little ends up in the general waste stream.
Books - no new ones at the moment but I have got a little closer to the end of The Confusion - in parts the book is very SLOW and in parts is excellent - I suspect I may have it finished in time for Christmas. However I will not have finished the trilogy in a year as I thought I could. The "System of the World" will be read in the fist 4 months of 2008 I think..
Now another thing of mine is.... WORMS - my worms are very happy and have created me a pile of very useable compost which I shall use next year to help create a herb garden. They eat virtually all our organic waste and coupled with rabid recycling mean very little ends up in the general waste stream.
Friday, 30 November 2007
6 DAYS What are you like..
I would be no better if I had a standard written diary or any other recording tool. I still have not got into the habit of this blogging. I guess I might eventually.
The last week has not been particularly busy. I started reading and finished (its been that long), Simon Beckett's Written in Bone - a relatively good read but the body count and incredulity ratio was severely strained by the end of the book. A police procedural with a twist. Touch of snow cloning - As good as Patricia Cornwell or your money back. Its set in the UK and written by a Briton so is automatically better than Cornwell, who went downhill some years ago.
Did not play golf this week - too wet. Have been to the gym and last saturday the Heston Blumethal dessert gane was almost a step too far for my culinary skills..
Had the mens group from church in on Weds eve - a slow start but encouraging enough for me to contemplate continuing - If I keep at it IT will get better!
The last week has not been particularly busy. I started reading and finished (its been that long), Simon Beckett's Written in Bone - a relatively good read but the body count and incredulity ratio was severely strained by the end of the book. A police procedural with a twist. Touch of snow cloning - As good as Patricia Cornwell or your money back. Its set in the UK and written by a Briton so is automatically better than Cornwell, who went downhill some years ago.
Did not play golf this week - too wet. Have been to the gym and last saturday the Heston Blumethal dessert gane was almost a step too far for my culinary skills..
Had the mens group from church in on Weds eve - a slow start but encouraging enough for me to contemplate continuing - If I keep at it IT will get better!
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