Week 206, Jobs, good, bad, indifferent

This is the book that I've read this week. Bullshit Jobs.

It's been reviewed thousands of times so I'll only make a couple of points. It contains some interesting ideas, it goes on for far too long (I reckon he could have boiled it down to 40 pages), and there's a lot of anecdote, a lot of which is from self-selected and not very critically assessed sources. I wouldn't dispute that jobs of this nature exist, however there is little counter-argument and the nature of the information is pretty insubstantial. An example which was included, presumably to add a little colour, was of the author's own experience at a British university. The example is where the author has a broken bookshelf which has deposited books all over the floor. The author appears to expect the person who has turned up to repair the broken bookshelf to also tidy up his books for him so that it doesn't present a risk during the repair process, this is the behaviour of an entitled prick, which may not be what he intended to be the case - it also may be due to the way he presented the anecdote, so perhaps I'm doing him an injustice.

The final chapter includes a great deal more social history and is much more interesting, however for me I didn't feel it represented the world of work from outside a male perspective particularly well and was woolly throughout. I understand that it was possibly meant to be taking a lighthearted view, in which case I would have appreciated more jokes.

I did read it from beginning to end, barring the copious footnotes, so it obviously held my attention.

Week 205, Time off for good behaviour

After a setback during September, October and November 2022 it's time to get back on the running bike. "Mixing metaphors already" I hear you say, well let's move swiftly on.

Running provides a number of benefits. It can improve fitness, it helps create a greater resilience to stress, it is an opportunity to get outside and spend quality time in an environment that you like and above all it is an excuse to use modern technological gadgetry under the pretext that it makes all the difference in performance for the aging runner. Of course you don't need the gadgets but they can be useful in keeping track of activities, and can give a non-subjective insight into various aspects of your running performance.

My main guidance however is a physical, paper book, which contains various running plans^[1] even though I may spend time looking at the techno-stats that are created after each run. The book (The Rough Guide to Running) discusses keeping a record of your training activities and provides handy suggestions for how you may organise these in notebooks, but of course given that we have the world of techno-gadgetry at our fingertips we can let that do the heavy lifting for us.

Here's a tiny, and not really representative, view into that world of data gathering. There is much more in-depth information to view but what I can tell from the performance information is that I've done too much in a short space of time and it has had a negative effect.

1 The Rough Guide to Running

A PDF copy that may or may not exist on the internet.

Week 204, The Big Pile*

 

Books, tharsands of 'em. As Michael Caine famously almost said in Zulu, until he took a second look at the script after locating his reading glasses.

I've tidied up all the books that are 'loose' that I currently have an interest in and here they are in three groups on my desk. Actually that's not entirely true, there is another category of books that I haven't included, guitar books, for the simple reason that they would dwarf this small collection.

Here's a quick overview of what we have in front of us.

The left hand column (piled in a way that librarians and school teachers have previously, repeatedly, told me not to) contains books that I currently have some investment in. You can tell something is happening there by the variety of home-brew bookmarks. Some of these are not really as engaging as others and may eventually be abandoned, others, such as the book on running, are a regular read. Perhaps the book on running ought to be a 'dipper' rather than a reader.

The middle section of books correctly aligned in the vertical are 'dippers', poetry and short stories.

The column on the right are books in the queue. A couple of these are going to need a bit of a run up, in particular Ulysees. Andy you pretentious twonk, are you really going to read that? Well maybe, eventually, I don't see why not. I'm not unfamiliar with Joyce and have spent the time getting in to the right frame of mind to appreciate his work before and it has been worth it, but you can't just dive in otherwise you'll just cast it aside muttering oaths. A couple of the computer books may also be 'dippers'. Like the guitar books I have a shedload of computer books, some of which are actually still valid for purposes other than wedging under the leg of a wobbly table, or for being used as a boat-anchor, or for propping open doors, or for kicking under the rear wheel of a transit van to prevent it rolling downhill (I'm sorry about that Oxfam, they were too big to fit in the bin).

I feel that there ought to be some views taken and some conclusions drawn about this.

1. I have too many books and they are all over the place
2. I have too many books that I am "reading" concurrently
3. My interest is somewhat scattergun
4. There are a bunch of self-help/self-improvement things in there, are they effective
5. Am I really interested in all of these things

Let's have a think about that.

1. Is there such a thing as too many books? Perhaps if you can't move around your house. Oh... Maybe I should keep them more organised and weed out those that are not going to be read, that are obsolete or that don't enrich my life in some way.
2. They don't get read properly, maybe it's possible to read two or three concurrently if they are on different topics but the cognitive load is such that it ends up with words just passing by my eyes. In which case what is the point.
3. Yes, but that's fine surely if kept in check with number 2 above?
4. Some are, some aren't. Quickly identify which are not beneficial and discard - most aren't.
5. Yes, but to greater and lesser degrees. A qualitative assessment is in order to determine whether I am prepared to invest a lot of time into something of which I may only have a mild interest. A little critical thinking about what I am actually going to read should be done before purchase rather than being hypnotised by publishing blarney.

What I'll do is I'll whittle down the pile of current books to two, keep them in the same place that I shall dub the "active book location" and anything outside of that is not read unless it is a 'dipper'. Those outside of this location will be organised by subject and placed in a queue** to be chosen once a place has become available in the active location. That sounds great, I'll almost certainly stick with that for a week or two.

Oh, and I probably ought to organise my guitar books in a similar way...

* It's not that big a pile, however it isn't the only pile.

** Actually this is what we might commonly term a bookshelf, it's where the tharsands of other books in the queue already are.

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Week 203, High Contrast for Preference

 

Having left my brain in storage at St Pancras Station for a while I've been finding it difficult to focus on reading for any length of time.

However, there I was the other week in the middle of a fortnight off work when I picked up a book.

I inhaled the book in a matter of days and then followed that up with another two books almost before another week had passed.

The next thing I need to learn to do is remember what the contents are of the thing I've just read... Hence I'm not going to review any of them (there are plenty of very decent reviews out there that are easy to locate), or at least not beyond saying that they were all very interesting.

First up was Exercised by Daniel Lieberman. This book demolishes a number of myths about exercise, including those that it can prematurely wear bits of you out. I now understand that I'm worn out for other reasons but we won't go into that here.

Second was Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. Flawed in a number of ways it does contain a compelling argument that our media presents an impression of considered discussion of complex topics while actually delivering fairly soft entertainment.

Third was I Wanna Be Yours, the autobiography of Professor, Doctor John Cooper Clarke of the parish of Salford. He documents his early years in microscopic detail almost to the point of the flavour of the dirt you would get from under your fingernails after putting your hand down a grid*. He didn't say any of that. It was very funny. He played Bernard Manning's Embassy Club probably at around the time that me and a schoolmate's brother conjured up some idea of getting into the building after closing time, we hid in a bush and watched some dodgy dealing take place by occupants of two large and flashy cars. No names, no pack drill. We eventually wandered off and probably got up for school bright and early the next day. I note that my schoolmate's brother still lives at the same address as he did then as a child, apart from the 4 years he spent inside for being part of a heroin dealing gang. Which is what most of the last quarter of the book goes into great detail about, Dr JCC and his interest in heroin. Give it a name: the life of the junkie. With money disappearing into his arm and the constant need to perform to supply the habit. He's all clean now though.

This last one may have rattled on a bit but still doesn't count as a review.

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* A grate, or drain, as known to those elsewhere.

Week 202, Tomorrow belongs to me

I wrote the below in late 2016 when presumably on a high.

Now here in 2019 I'll get round to posting it, now the meaning is either more or less abstract.


~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~-/|\-~-\|/-~


I wrote this yesterday when in an overly exuberant and optimistic frame of mind.

It turns out I was wrong.

But sod that, I'm still optimistic.

~-~-~-~-~


Even if some choose to believe that they have been empowered by recent decisions.

That somewhere a glory awaits unseen.

And that tomorrow might belong to them.

But they are wrong.

It definitely doesn't belong to them.

No anonymous comments thanks, have the cojones to stand by your words.


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Week 201, Morning Tweets

Dawn light smiles on the magical path
The song of many birds brightens while the morning wakes 
Until the threshold of visibility dims their sound again for the start of the day.

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Week 200, Glass bird, fractured fall, red resolution

Here are my New Year resolutions, 1 to 12.

Resolution number 1: Don't make New Year resolutions, just do the thing anyway whatever the time of year. If you recognise that there is an issue then choose to address it or choose to accept it.

Resolution number 2-8: As above.

Revolution number 9: The Beatles, White Album.

The White Album transports me back to a time of bizarre, jam-jar cocktails - pre-hipster by nearly 30 years - and alcohol infused madness, I dubbed them Earthquakes after the cocktail invented by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Perhaps they weren't jam jars, maybe pickled onion jars, it matters little other than they tasted of neither jam nor pickle. What did matter was that it was a suitable receptacle for traversing the optics behind the two bars in the city centre pub where a friend worked first thing in the morning, assuming the local, small-time, gangland hatchets weren't there.

Pernod, no matter how little there is, the taste dominates.

Some problems are never addressed.

Arriving already pissed by 10am and sharing the spoils, it's odd how quickly a person can get used to that amount of strong alcohol at that time of day.

And she continued, where I never could.

No resolution.

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Week 199, Park Like a Joyrider episode 2/2

And the winner is!

As evidenced by the numerous endorsements applied to the windscreen this car was the favourite of the judging panel.

Unusually there was not much finesse or technique present, but I cannot question the impartiality of the judges.

A sure-fire sign that this was a worthy contender is the position of the rump.

The rear of the vehicle is teasingly placed well into the path of traffic on the adjacent main road.

This entrant was well aware that the "20MPH" signs on the below road are rarely observed.

Just one example of the use of initiative - it isn't just the transport, it is the environment too.

Observe the single wheel on the pavement and the breaching of the double-yellow lines.

And the expected blocking of the main pavement route.

These are a gentle nod to the nature of the competition.

Not going over the top to impress, a small collection of well calculated infringements.

Winning two stick-on tickets and a paper commendation under the passenger windscreen wiper.

Well done.

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Week 198, Park Like a Joyrider 2018 episode 1/2

No this driver has not lost their marbles, they are a competing in this year's Park Like a Joyrider contest.

A new entrant with a new style.

No dangerous bodywork on the vehicle restricts the opportunity for snagging innocent parties.

However, there is a clearly deliberate complete failure to achieve congress with a provided parking space.

And indeed the space is also blocked for anyone else that may wish to use it.

There is also a beautifully blocked pavement in two directions, that's a little touch of class.

A promising start for this one

Areas for refinement next year could be:

Dangle of the rear end into the 'live' road area.

A broken wing mirror with shards of glass.

Rear wiper blade missing and the wiper poking out perpendicular to the vehicle.

A deflated tyre.

Use some initiative and try to improvise, no marks will be lost for experimentation.

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Week 197, The cusp of 90K

Here we are at the heady, 88,999 mile mark.

A Nazi being pursued by the forces of law and order, exactly as it should be.*

Time to weigh it in.

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* 88 is a hate symbol used by right-wingers.

Week 196, Not letting the grass grow

The work on Firth House - a listed Georgian building on Wilkinson Street, Sheffield, once owned by Mark Firth the Victorian steel tycoon - is cracking on a-pace.

Over the last two years there have been, on average, almost yearly deliveries of builders supplies - specifically a batch of breeze blocks and a large bag of building sand, delivered two years ago, on the same day.

At this rate by the turn of the next century millennium the building may be in tip-top condition.

Keep up the good work chaps!*

The grass certainly isn't growing under their feet.**

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* They will almost invariably be chaps, and the slow work is almost certainly the responsibility of whoever owns the place who has given up.
** If you haven't spotted the bag of sand then look at it now, that's the joke - over-explaining in the manner of Take a Break or similar publications...

Week 195, Spinward, Rimward, Coreward, Trailing

"This is Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone...

Mayday, Mayday..."*

...

We will not make the leap to the stars.

Interstellar travel will not become as common as international travel is today.

But we can still travel the universe in our dreams.

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* Traveller™ Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far Future

Week 194, Exactly what it was

Although what it actually was is lost in the mist of time.

It could be Multiplan.

It could be PC-Write.

It could be dBase.

It could be a variety of things.

However, after thirty years it may not be verbatim.*

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* Although who knows, without some sort of reading device...

Week 193, Cone but not forgotten

This was the scene on Northumberland Road a few days ago.

Now the road is back to normal, with cars parked along the entire length unhindered.

But still I remember it.*

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* I had to wake very early and block a load of traffic, a lot of work for a cheap pun, but worth it I feel.

Week 192, VMUG

Virtual Machines.

That's my reusable bag.*

Man.**

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* Taking advantage of five (5) plus decades of slang.
** In the argot.

Week 191, The Tattooed Hand

Across the great expanse of porkpie hats Holmes stared with an expression of abject horror. Far be it from him to be effusive on any subject beyond his own realm of experience, and Ska was not high up on that list, but this was a scene he would not readily speak of again for some time.

Here Homes was, now being offered a drink of something called 'lager' yet that which was in possession of a foaming head and a warmth somehow reminiscent of the process of micturition. An unprepossessing cordial. Holmes put his own feelings out of the picture and engaged with the vulgar liquid with an air of great relish. The porkpie hats, despite the previous indication presented by their dress and appearance, proceeded to laugh with an hitherto unrecognised hysteria. It became apparent to Holmes that there was some humour being enjoyed at his expense. Holmes maintained a silence and grimness of aspect despite this tawdry provocation.

One of the porkpie hats offered to make up for this singular and disagreable instance by purchasing a 'chaser' for Holmes. Holmes would not hear of it and disconnected from the engagement, for at that moment his eyes alighted on the subject matter of his search.

The tattooed hand.*

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* Honestly, what do you want for free? Eh? EH?

Week 190, Living it up royally

Booze, I expect, that must be on the list.

A bejewelled hat worn at a jaunty angle.

An innate sense of superiority and confidence borne out of the expectation that the world really does owe you a living.

Legal high - or illegal high that is of course 'not', what with it being excused for you in some way, "pressure of command".

More booze, always the more booze ethic.

Rolling in at dawn, unless you are the actual monarch.

Means never having to say you're sorry.

A moment of leaping around that leads to healthy blood pressure, if somewhat heightened heart rate.*

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* If any of this has inadvertently made any sense please feel free to lodge a complaint with your local Fount of Justice.

Week 189, Final training notes

I'm doing The Big Walk 2018 in support of the Sheffield Scanner.

I walked part of the route again this week on Saturday 16 June starting from the same point as outlined in the previous walk-notes.

This week was very different. The weather was much cooler and there was a good deal of rain throughout the walk.  Up near Redmires I decided to put on my thin fleece (8 quid from Go Outdoors) thereby spoiling my Northern credentials. I only intended to wear the fleece briefly while the wind picked up but as soon as I put it on the rain started coming down quite heavily, I still had my bag open so quickly pulled out my thin waterproof jacket and put that on over the top.

Going was pretty good for the first 12km (7.5m). I'd got stuck with the fleece on and was getting overly hot but had rolled it up so the effect was minimised, I really should have taken it off though. At this point I started to climb and overheat just as the weather again took a turn for the worse, the rain increased from a background level of annoyance to something more unpleasant. I decided to put my waterproof trousers on to prevent my shorts getting too wet. I was so hot by the time I got to the top of the hill that I took them off again - sweat was pouring out of them. It was an interesting insight in to physiological activity, I was surprised at how much perspiration I was producing, I know I produce a lot but this was startling.

Walking along the to to Derwent edge I had the jacket open and pushed round the back of my pack and the fleece still rolled up, the jacket effectively became a cape, any rain that landed on my front must have evaporated off rapidly as I didn't notice any discomfort. I still didn't take the fleece off.

By the time I reached The Dukes Road, the long and desolate part of the walk, I was feeling quite fatigued. I had done a very rapid walk earlier in the week where I had walked/run the return stage and I felt that I hadn't fully recovered. It was only at the end of this section, the drop down into Low Bradfield, that I removed the fleece - I'd been wringing the sweat out of the sleeves for some time, I'd noticed they'd got considerably heavier as time went on... I must have wrung a decent sized cup full out - lovely. When I finally took the fleece off it was absolutely drenched.

Things to note number one: Extreme exercise in the week before this extended physical activity was not a good idea, I'd not replenished the energy needed and physically hadn't fully recovered, I felt more tired throughout.

Things to note number two: The soaked fleece affected my physiological response to the activity, wearing clothing which doesn't hold sweat against the body is normally advised for this reason and I'd fallen foul of that.

Things to note number three: Even though it was a cold day I drank almost the same amount of water as previously on the baking hot day. I did walk some distance further but hadn't drunk very much in that additional leg. I drank about 2.5 litres.

Things to note number four: I was expecting to get a bus back home for the final part of the walk, however there had been an incident no buses were running due to the road being blocked. This added quite a bit of extra, steep hill walking to the end of the day, an additional 4km (2.5m). If I'd pushed myself to the absolute limit I would not made it up the final hill. In one respect I feel as though I ought to have used more effort earlier although conditions didn't really allow it, and in another respect I feel that unless the final destination includes a guaranteed lift, or is your front door, then pushing to the absolute limit is foolhardy and has the additional risk that over-stretching will prevent reaching the final destination.

Things to note number five: I saw hardly anyone for the middle 6 hours of the 8 hours I was out. The weather played a part in this. I wouldn't have done this without being prepared but even being prepared doesn't remove risk. I'm also comfortable with my own company for extended periods, I can imagine some people would find The Dukes Road a psychological test - post-apocalyptic, desolate, a never-ending labyrinthine route in Hades, make of it what you will, I was talking to myself even more than usual during this part.

Here's a view of The Wheel Stones taken at 10am, about 3 hours in. This is the first time I've not seen anyone clambering about on it. The sky looks surprisingly blue, there was only light rain at this point.

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Week 188, Training walk notes

I'm doing The Big Walk 2018 in support of the Sheffield Scanner. 

I walked part of the route this morning, 31km (19.2 miles). Starting from the 51 terminus I walked to the Redmires Conduit to join the route. Even at 8am it was obvious that it was going to be a very hot day - which hadn't matched with the weather forecast.

First thing to note, I carry a lot of water. I tend to walk with a brisk pace, I pour with sweat even on the coldest days when walking and don't need any layers other than a thin walking top and shorts.  I started with 3 litres of water.

Second thing to note, I was carrying a lot of additional equipment. I wasn't expecting it to be this hot and know that the weather can turn quite rapidly, there were parts of the route I hadn't walked and didn't know what to expect. I was wearing lightweight Merrell walking shoes but had a pair of boots attached to the back of my pack just in case, I had two spare pairs of socks, a thin fleece, a waterproof top and waterproof trousers and other bits and pieces. I've got wet when walking before and it is miserable, however I think I can dispense with the boots and some of the other items now I know the terrain, the only chance of getting wet is if there is torrential rain.

Third thing to note, the roughness of the terrain. I've often been down the Loxley valley to Low Bradfield and am comfortable with that, the same is true of the route out to Stanage Edge. Most of the rest of the route isn't particularly hard going, however, the 2km/1.25miles leading up to Derwent edge was quite hard going wearing walking shoes. I expect wearing boots for that section would make some difference but the diameter of the rocks laid to make to prevent erosion has created a very uncomfortable surface to walk on - and it is a decent gradient uphill too.  This was up through Highshaw Clough and up past the Grouse Butts. Other parts of the route across White Tor, Derwent Edge to Back Tor are slightly rocky in places but no big deal.  After Back Tor it becomes very dull for a very long time, there is no cover, it is almost completely featureless apart from the heather and the bits of wildlife, and it goes on, and on, and on. Almost 10km of this, nearly 6 miles. It's a relief to see trees above the dams at Bradfield.

Fourth thing to note, the fields above Bradfield contain some interesting wildlife. I almost stood on an Aberdeen Angus, which you would think quite difficult for something the size of a 4 by 4, it was lying down so was only the size of small 4 x 4. It appeared to be as surprised by me as I was by it, and then there was another one not far from that which was standing and pointing it's massive horns in my direction. They appeared unconcerned so I walk on muttering to myself, which the third one (again completely invisible until this point) heard and decided was some sort of call which it chose to respond to. Actually the first one of these three looked more like some sort of bull and distinctly not like the other two which were definitely highland cattle. It was either a very benign bull or not a bull, either way it was a monster of a beast.

Once I hit Low Bradfield I caught the bus back into Hillsborough and then another to Crookes.

During the walk I consumed 3 bananas, 3 energy bars and 2.75 litres of water. I took 5 hours thirty minutes to do this stretch, that includes having a chat with other colleagues doing training I passed on the way.

I'm now going to have a beer, it is standard advice for replenishing nutrients, electrolyte and minerals after this type of activity.

A big sky - approaching The Wheel Stones (coach and horses rock formation)

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Week 187, Unidentified waterfowl

In lieu of any form of decent photographic representation I have here a Google 'auto-awesome' panorama created from my attempts to get an image of this floating-wildlife which I'd captured for later identification.

It is too small for any practical purpose.

Even the original makes it hard-pressed to identify - unless of course you are knowledgable in this realm.

The realm of wildlife identification that is.

There were a pair of them, black face and beak/bill, a lighter bit on the top of the head, white body, darker (grey/pink, who knows, I'm red/green colour blind so haven't a clue) along the wings and much darker at the tail.*

They refused to answer my question "what are you?" so are probably non-native monoglots and didn't understand what I was saying.

That is all.

* A bit like a black headed gull but with a different coloured hat and not as distinct towards the rear.

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