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Found 107 total topics.

anxiety

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 23 October 2022

    Fear of Missing Out

    FOMO generates extra dollars for the gaming industry, both PC/console gaming and board/tabletop games. Two words. DLC and Expansion. Both represent additions to the base game. The call is strong. After a conversation last night with a friend about this very point I learned there is an expansion to SmallWorld I didn’t know about, and there are some expansions for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI that I don’t have.

assertions

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 24 January 2023

    Is Forspoken Spoken For?

    This week sees the release of Forspoken, a new RPG for the PlayStation 5 and PC. My copy should arrive in a few days and I’ve been looking forward to it since I saw the trailer alongside the original PS5 release. If you read the press, Forspoken is anything mixed quality at best to the worst game of 2023! I played the demo, which apparently was full of issues that I didn’t note, and am still looking forward to the game.

assessments

5 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 March 2023

    Holding Yourself to the Right Standard

    Let’s say I’m measuring my behaviour, success, etc. and I fail to meet the ideals of the standard I’m comparing to. I will either: Feel inadequate because I am not good enough. Put unrealistic pressure on myself to close the gap. There is a third choice. Almost always overlooked. Adjust the standard to something that’s realistic for me at this point in time.

  • 24 January 2023

    Is Forspoken Spoken For?

    This week sees the release of Forspoken, a new RPG for the PlayStation 5 and PC. My copy should arrive in a few days and I’ve been looking forward to it since I saw the trailer alongside the original PS5 release. If you read the press, Forspoken is anything mixed quality at best to the worst game of 2023! I played the demo, which apparently was full of issues that I didn’t note, and am still looking forward to the game.

  • 24 July 2022

    Knowledge or a Tractor?

    A group of farmers was asked what they would do if they woke up in the morning to find their $100,000 tractor had been stolen from the shed. They indicated a rush of activity around police, insurance and other such matters. If all else failed they would seek to buy a new tractor. As soon as possible. When asked has a senior manager with an equivalent salary recently left the organisation - the group said yes.

  • 5 July 2022

    An Illustration of the Truth

    There is an interesting passage in Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson where the protagonist, Kaladin Stormblessed has an altercation with his father Lirin. It shows what can happen when we hold an opinion as truth. An invasion has occurred and Lirin, a surgeon, urges his son to stay and help people. Kaladin, who was trained as a surgeon by his father in his youth, is caught between his father’s wishes and his natural desires to protect people using force.

  • 12 January 2012

    Why We Like Things

    I’m a couple of chapters into “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek and he’s already solved a problem I’ve been pondering. Well, not so much pondering as noting with curiosity. That is, why I love my new Macbook Pro. For years I’ve been a user of PC’s. Until July last year I’d never used a Macintosh ‘in anger’ and the last time I sat at one was in the mid-80’s.

astronomy

There are two aspects to my astronomy hobbying. Direct visual observation using my Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars and Astrophotography.

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 25 October 2023

    Astronomy Connects Me With a Greater Sense of Self

    There is something special about looking up at the planets, stars and galaxies and the sense of purpose and humility it engenders within me. It is spiritual. Never do I feel so connected as I do when I turn my mind to the vastness of space.

  • 25 October 2023

    Telescopes I May Want to Buy

    Alongside my Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars I’m will keep an eye on telescopes with a view to purchasing one in the future more suitable to my needs. That could be for deep sky viewing with my eyes or Astrophotography. Celestron Edge HD 8 review Best Affordable Telescope to Start Astrophotography in 2021 Best telescope mount to start astrophotography in 2021 Five tips to polar align your telescope mount like a pro – AstroForum .

  • 23 September 2023

    Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars

    I have some very beefy binoculars for stargazing.

audiobook

4 conversations about this topic.

  • 26 February 2023

    Discworld

    I'm listening to the complete discworld series of audiobooks. All 40 were released across 2022-23 and it will take me much, much longer to listen to them all.

  • 29 October 2022

    Unfinished Tales

    Every now and then I use Amazon/Audible’s Matchmaker tool to see if there are any Kindle books for which I’d like to purchase the audiobook cheaply. Today I picked up Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace for $9 total. I realised I need to make a list of all the book series I’ve begun and enjoyed but have not yet finished - either because I move onto something else, or because new books have been released.

  • 1 October 2022

    From Audible to my Ears

    This is the process each audiobook transitions through on the way from Audible to my listening ears. Purchase more books on Audible than I possibly have time to listen to. Download and convert to .mdb format using OpenAudible. Automatically import into my “Audiobook” library (as Music) using Plex. Add to a series playlist if relevant.

  • 30 September 2022

    Audibooks

    I love to read, and I read a lot. In recent years however I’ve come to recognise the value in audiobooks as well. I normally only listen to audiobooks of authors I like, or books I’ve read before. There is too much time investment to do otherwise. A 1,000-page book is 40-50 hours. Audiobooks tell the same story at a slower pace and so it’s quite a different experience.

authority

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 24 January 2023

    Is Forspoken Spoken For?

    This week sees the release of Forspoken, a new RPG for the PlayStation 5 and PC. My copy should arrive in a few days and I’ve been looking forward to it since I saw the trailer alongside the original PS5 release. If you read the press, Forspoken is anything mixed quality at best to the worst game of 2023! I played the demo, which apparently was full of issues that I didn’t note, and am still looking forward to the game.

  • 8 October 2022

    Can't, Won't and Shouldn't

    The other day a friend was saying to me that he’d been involved in an investigation at work, and colleagues were asking him for details (gossip). He said he’d been telling them, “I can’t say anything.” Got me to thinking of the difference between “can’t” and “won’t”. Can’t is more, “I’d like to, but I don’t have a choice in keeping quiet.” It’s a way of keeping social care of those who have asked, even if they should know better.

backup-strategy

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 3 December 2023

    My Backup Strategy

    I value backups of my data and systems. Having them means a level of security if something is lost, damaged, hacked, breaks. I may be over-compensating in some areas with multiple on-site and off-site backups. Where I do that, I’m also considering the other aspect of backups which is speed of restoration.

  • 2 February 2023

    Why Have All the Backups Failed?

    I woke this morning to a slew of emails informing me of backups that had failed due to insufficient space on the target drive. Why had they all failed? Well, it was because one had succeeded. I use Macrium Reflect to image the main home PC each night. One the first day of the month a full backup is taken and throughout the month there is a rolling series of differential and incremental backups.

basic-linguistic-acts

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 6 February 2023

    Don't Just Communicate, Converse

    When employees in the workplace complain about a lack of communication, what they really mean is a lack of conversation with a capital C. Conversation is Collaborative; requiring people to come together with an openness to joint mutual benefit. Controlled; focussed to achieve outcomes in the world. Continuous; we are almost always in some form of conversation, be that internal or external.

  • 31 August 2022

    Just Forget It

    I’ve become conscious that “just” has crept into my email vocabulary. ”I’m just writing to ask…" "I just need to know…” When used this way, it’s apologetic and has no place in making solid requests. Contrast with the significantly stronger examples below. ”I’m writing to ask…" "I need to know…” .

blogging

7 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 October 2023

    Comparing Digital Gardens to Blogging

    A Different Audience I am the primary audience of my Digital Garden. When I’m blogging, the audience is primarily an external reader. Writing for myself means I’m happy leaving something half-baked knowing I may come back it later. When I blogged, there was a different pressure and everything needed to be done before publishing.

  • 18 September 2023

    My Decision to Stop Blogging

    I have blogged on-and-off since 2002, always with the purpose of sharing. As a model of writing, there was pressure to perform and write something of value. My style has been to freely share what I know but there were times when I couldn’t write because the topic was too close to work life. Blogging is inherently date bound.

  • 1 September 2023

    Wordpress to Quartz

    For the last year or so I’ve been publishing my blog on Wordpress. I began using Ulysses.app to write in Markdown and publish to Wordpress, then about March this year I started publishing directly from Obsidian. Either way, there was practical and cognitive friction in the process. Multiple steps to go though, and writing was sitting somewhat external to Obsidian.

  • 29 October 2022

    RSS Remains an Important Technology

    I’ve written several times over the past 20 years that RSS feeds are important yet can be a hinderance as much as a help. RSS Gathers News and Audio to Me I use them extensively in my news reader (currently News Explorer) to go out to websites that offer a RSS feed and pull the news to me. I don’t have the time to visit every site and see if there is something new to read.

  • 22 October 2022

    Writing is a Concernful Activity

    Sometimes, we don’t know what is important, and blogging, journalling and writing in general are ways to discover that. To go meta, these are all forms of conversation and without conversation figuring out anything is impossible.

  • 16 October 2022

    Workflow for Importing my Old Blog Entries

    Since discovering my old blog entries I’ve been developing a workflow to import them into my current Wordpress blog. Spanning 2002–2012 there is value in bringing it all together, even if it takes some time. There are a lot of ideas in there which were valuable at the time, and are still valuable now.

  • 5 October 2022

    Ideas are Better in Bed

    Conversations such as blog posts that I write in my head lying in bed or when walking are always better than they end up when I type them. I wonder if it’s because typing is simply physical and there is less emotion accessible in the moment.

body

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 7 March 2023

    The Muscle Memory of Conversations

    This week I’ve returned to playing Elden Ring. Movement, combat and management of weapons, armour and spells, is all handled by a “controller”1. Games will generally ease you into which button to press when but after a while you end up not having to think about what to do and you just do it. The thing is, every game is different.

  • 5 October 2022

    Ideas are Better in Bed

    Conversations such as blog posts that I write in my head lying in bed or when walking are always better than they end up when I type them. I wonder if it’s because typing is simply physical and there is less emotion accessible in the moment.

  • 29 July 2002

    Coaching in Action Review

    I walked to the middle of the circle holding my name tag in my hands. Turning around to face the other course participants I held up my name tag and declared in a voice from the centre of my being, “This is my name tag but this is me and I am legitimate!” It was late Sunday afternoon^[2002] and I had just completed Newfield Institute’s Coaching in Action program.

book

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 26 February 2023

    Discworld

    I'm listening to the complete discworld series of audiobooks. All 40 were released across 2022-23 and it will take me much, much longer to listen to them all.

  • 2 February 2023

    Carrie Versus Carrie

    This morning I finished Carrie the book and this afternoon I watched the 1976 movie. Book Carrie is by far the stronger of the two. She has a purpose and drive that isn’t in the movie. She also has an awareness and control of her telekinesis power not at all evident in the movie. The book interposes the Carrie timeline with observations of friends, police and scientists.

  • 18 December 2022

    Under the Dome

    I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since I first read The Bachman Books and IT in 1988. Under the Dome is the darkest of them all. It’s not the supernatural horror but the human greed that brings about the downfall of so many people and places them in horrible situations. Many times I had to put the book down.

change

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 4 March 2023

    The Resident Evil Experience

    Today I spent some time playing the original Resident Evil. Games have evolved since 1996 in many more ways than graphics alone. To me it felt a lot like the text adventure Zork I with graphics. The storytelling structure and gameplay is highly similar between the two. There isn’t enough there to keep me going and I’ve already deleted it.

coaching

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 2 November 2022

    The Last Third?

    Board members are elected for three terms, on a rolling basis. The first term… to learn The second term… to be productive The third term… to mentor the new first years. … My sense is I’m now beginning the third term of my career. I’m looking forward to it.

coding

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 August 2023

    Scripting Templates in Obsidian

    Here be some dragons. This is a quick post to explain how Javascript can be used eliminate the need to update multiple pages if the structure of your metadata changes. Using Javascript comes with risks. Enter at your own peril. dd Within Obsidian, the combination of the Dataview and Templater plugins can make for a powerful way to access and organise your notes using metadata.

  • 16 April 2023

    Replacing Goodreads With Obsidian

    I have been a Goodreads user for many, many years. It has provided me the means to track my reading activity alongside a list of books I want to read. The past few years I’ve been an avid Kindle reader, topping 20,000 pages read each year. Goodreads integration with the Kindle has made it very easy to mark a book started and finished.

commitment

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 February 2023

    Everything, Everywhere, is Too Much

    Last night I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once and this morning followed up with a The Terror of Everything Everywhere All at Once, a commentary on the movie by Thomas Flight on YouTube. Listening to Thomas I realised I’m suffering the same malaise the movie puts forward. That is, overwhelm from multiple shifting fragmented and widely different cognitive responsibilities all crying for my attention.

concernful-activity

6 conversations about this topic.

  • 20 September 2023

    The Five Love Languages

    The Five Love Languages is a model that says we have a preference for how we mark love as received and how we prefer to show our love to others. The languages are: Words of Affirmation Gift Giving Acts of Service Physical Touch Quality Time Relationships may break down when two people show their love in a language that is not preferred by the other.

  • 18 November 2022

    What’s the Real Concern?

    I once heard the suggestion that a gravestone is more reflective of the people that commission it than the person who has died. It’s similar to you buying a present for someone that you’d really like to receive yourself. And that’s similar to pet owners more concerned with discussing the breed of their pet rather than how their pet is part of their life.

  • 22 October 2022

    Writing is a Concernful Activity

    Sometimes, we don’t know what is important, and blogging, journalling and writing in general are ways to discover that. To go meta, these are all forms of conversation and without conversation figuring out anything is impossible.

  • 11 October 2022

    Expanding my Comfort Zone

    I have never liked the phrase “Step outside your comfort zone”. Why do that uncomfortable or scary thing? An implication of stepping outside is that I can’t step back inside when I may need to. I have had to commit to something I don’t yet understand. I prefer to engage in being a learner and take the steps necessary to “expand my comfort zone”.

  • 8 October 2022

    Can't, Won't and Shouldn't

    The other day a friend was saying to me that he’d been involved in an investigation at work, and colleagues were asking him for details (gossip). He said he’d been telling them, “I can’t say anything.” Got me to thinking of the difference between “can’t” and “won’t”. Can’t is more, “I’d like to, but I don’t have a choice in keeping quiet.” It’s a way of keeping social care of those who have asked, even if they should know better.

  • 24 July 2022

    Knowledge or a Tractor?

    A group of farmers was asked what they would do if they woke up in the morning to find their $100,000 tractor had been stolen from the shed. They indicated a rush of activity around police, insurance and other such matters. If all else failed they would seek to buy a new tractor. As soon as possible. When asked has a senior manager with an equivalent salary recently left the organisation - the group said yes.

conversation

4 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 July 2023

    Letters with Jason

    In June I took part in a social experiment with Jason Becker as part of his Letters Project. He has been corresponding with people using email, in letter form, for many months now. We each posted our letters online. How I First Learned About the Project - 29 January 2023 This morning I read a series of letters between Robb Knight and Jason Becker.

  • 20 February 2023

    The Search for Clarity

    More and more, I’m finding my role in conversation is to help others reach clarity. Despite their best attempts to avoid it at all costs.

  • 12 February 2023

    The Indicators of my Impending Burnout

    In October 2016 I attended a session for HR professionals where the topic of the day was mental wellness. The idea was someone could be mentally unwell but not necessarily mentally ill. The audience were asked to call out signs which could indicate a person was mentally unwell. I had 11/14 and found another 5 when I got home.

  • 4 August 2022

    Do you over-aside?

    I’ve noticed recently a tendency in myself and others to add layer upon layer of explanation when we are talking. Once I saw it, I realised how counter-productive it is. We think we are helping, but we’re not. Piling up information faster than the recipient can process it. I park my car a few hundred meters from where I work.

cultural-stories

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 27 October 2004

    What Dads Can't Do

    My daughter is an avid reader and loves the library. This week she brought home a copy of “What Dad’s Can’t Do” by Douglas Wood. Here’s a summary from the website. There are lots of things that regular people can do but dads can’t. Dads can’t cross the street without holding hands. They can push, but they can’t swing.

cyber-security

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 October 2023

    The Nightclub Model of Privacy

    Too many businesses collect personal information from individuals for their benefit. Under the guise of “providing better service” private data is held, often insecurely, well beyond it’s need. If it was ever really needed at all. I’d like to see business subscribe to the “Nightclub Model of Privacy”. Check credentials at the door and allow or deny entry.

declarations

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 14 September 2023

    My Mission Statement

    The behaviour and decisions in my life are made in accordance with this mission statement; the essence of which is grounded in the principles of truth, beauty, goodness and unity. I help people take powerful action to enrich their lives. I am responsible for my feelings, attitude and actions at all times.

  • 16 February 2023

    My Mission Statement Teardown

    Early 2000 and I was in London and a newly promoted manager within Arthur Andersen, Business Consulting division. During some new-manager training, we were encouraged to develop our own personal mission statement. I’d never considered such a thing before then. Business mission statements have always felt hollow to me (still do - more about marketing than actual values).

digital-asset-management

7 conversations about this topic.

  • 11 March 2024

    Calibre

    Calibre is a cross-platform eBook management tool. It allows you to manage the metadata present in your eBooks. I use Calibre because Digital Rights Management is Unhealthy and share the database with calibre-web because I like its interface better.

  • 21 December 2023

    Now, 21 December 2023

    I’ve started my Christmas holidays a couple of days early due to some extremely good planning on my part that means: I don’t have any more work that I need to do Anything that I could do, I don’t have the mental capacity for So, with a cuppa in hand and Kylie Minogue blasting Christmas tunes on the stereo I’m scanning Family Album 17 ...

  • 21 December 2023

    My Photo Dating Strategy for Uncertain Dates

    Digital photos have the date and time taken embedded. Scanned prints, negatives and slides do not. This is a problem in Photography when the original non-digital image is scanned and there is no record alongside it of the date the photo was made. Digital Asset Management software such as IMatch or Lightroom requires a date.

  • 11 October 2023

    Digital Rights Management is Unhealthy

    I read an article many years ago, that I can no longer find, which discussed the fear of blank videotape and how it would destroy the home-video market. Instead it created a market that was of a size unforeseen. Bottom line, digital rights management (DRM) is more of a hindrance than a protector. Amazon and Kindle Books DRM Books purchased through Amazon are protected against copying and distribution by a level of digital rights management that can no longer be bypassed.

  • 13 August 2023

    Rescuing DNG Files

    This afternoon, as I was importing DNG files into Lightroom, I found way too many that it won’t import. There is some kind of corruption in the DNG file. Likely caused by something I’ve done in the past converting from one format to another (and quite possibly back again). Thankfully, IMatch is able to read the files - or at least appears to do so.

  • 25 April 2023

    My Fight With Metadata

    For the last 2 weeks I’ve been working with metadata and the information that I want to track in Obsidian. As my Digital Garden, keeping information about the books I read, the movies I watch and the games I play, creates a full picture of my life (hey, maybe one day someone will be interested). Two factors triggered this latest dive into an all to familiar rabbit hole.

  • 20 February 2023

    My Document Toolkit

    I curate a lot of digital documentation for myself and my family. Within this Personal Knowledge Management it is important to remove as much friction from the system. There are so many demands on our time, that the smallest resistance can easily provide an excuse to switch on Australian Idol or Survivor and do nothing.

digital-rights-management

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 October 2023

    Digital Rights Management is Unhealthy

    I read an article many years ago, that I can no longer find, which discussed the fear of blank videotape and how it would destroy the home-video market. Instead it created a market that was of a size unforeseen. Bottom line, digital rights management (DRM) is more of a hindrance than a protector. Amazon and Kindle Books DRM Books purchased through Amazon are protected against copying and distribution by a level of digital rights management that can no longer be bypassed.

distinctions

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 24 June 2023

    The Problem Behind The Three-Body Problem

    With notice that Netflix has made a series of The Three-Body Problem I’m revisiting the novel as an audiobook. Though I read it first only 18 months ago, I only have the barest memory of the story. Written by Chinese author Liu Cixin, the first two chapters of the book are heavily influenced by the Cultural Revolution and its immediate aftermath.

  • 12 January 2012

    Why We Like Things

    I’m a couple of chapters into “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek and he’s already solved a problem I’ve been pondering. Well, not so much pondering as noting with curiosity. That is, why I love my new Macbook Pro. For years I’ve been a user of PC’s. Until July last year I’d never used a Macintosh ‘in anger’ and the last time I sat at one was in the mid-80’s.

dungeons-and-dragons

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 22 October 2022

    Friendly Local Game Stores

    At the edge of your consciousness you may be aware that over the past few years there has been a resurgence in board games, tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and tabletop wargaming like Warhammer. These games, which have always been situated in the home, also take place in public at your friendly local game store.

effective-conversation

7 conversations about this topic.

  • 7 March 2023

    The Muscle Memory of Conversations

    This week I’ve returned to playing Elden Ring. Movement, combat and management of weapons, armour and spells, is all handled by a “controller”1. Games will generally ease you into which button to press when but after a while you end up not having to think about what to do and you just do it. The thing is, every game is different.

  • 6 February 2023

    Don't Just Communicate, Converse

    When employees in the workplace complain about a lack of communication, what they really mean is a lack of conversation with a capital C. Conversation is Collaborative; requiring people to come together with an openness to joint mutual benefit. Controlled; focussed to achieve outcomes in the world. Continuous; we are almost always in some form of conversation, be that internal or external.

  • 22 November 2022

    The Perfect Mail Merge

    We have a state election on Saturday. One local candidate sent a letter to our household today. We have four that will be voting. They could have sent a letter each. They could have sent it to “Dear voter” Instead, they sent one letter to all four of us, by name and the address had “The Buchan Family”. That is the best mail merge I have ever seen.

  • 29 October 2022

    RSS Remains an Important Technology

    I’ve written several times over the past 20 years that RSS feeds are important yet can be a hinderance as much as a help. RSS Gathers News and Audio to Me I use them extensively in my news reader (currently News Explorer) to go out to websites that offer a RSS feed and pull the news to me. I don’t have the time to visit every site and see if there is something new to read.

  • 8 October 2022

    Can't, Won't and Shouldn't

    The other day a friend was saying to me that he’d been involved in an investigation at work, and colleagues were asking him for details (gossip). He said he’d been telling them, “I can’t say anything.” Got me to thinking of the difference between “can’t” and “won’t”. Can’t is more, “I’d like to, but I don’t have a choice in keeping quiet.” It’s a way of keeping social care of those who have asked, even if they should know better.

  • 8 October 2022

    Digital Overwhelm

    Euan Semple posted about the digital overwhelm we are facing more and more as online systems become ever more dictated yet poor interface design makes them unusable. If you’re waving at someone to get their attention for assistance, and they continually ignore you, you will submit and put up with the pain.

  • 5 October 2022

    Ideas are Better in Bed

    Conversations such as blog posts that I write in my head lying in bed or when walking are always better than they end up when I type them. I wonder if it’s because typing is simply physical and there is less emotion accessible in the moment.

emotions

4 conversations about this topic.

  • 25 March 2023

    Covid-19 - 3 Years on

    It’s just over 3 years since the impact of Covid-19 entered my world. I’ve been reflecting this week and one idea has me horrified beyond the direct impact of Covid-19 itself. Three years. If you told me it was four I’d believe you. That feels more right. Tell me it’s five and I’d question you but only because I was convinced it was four years.

  • 6 February 2023

    Don't Just Communicate, Converse

    When employees in the workplace complain about a lack of communication, what they really mean is a lack of conversation with a capital C. Conversation is Collaborative; requiring people to come together with an openness to joint mutual benefit. Controlled; focussed to achieve outcomes in the world. Continuous; we are almost always in some form of conversation, be that internal or external.

  • 5 October 2022

    Ideas are Better in Bed

    Conversations such as blog posts that I write in my head lying in bed or when walking are always better than they end up when I type them. I wonder if it’s because typing is simply physical and there is less emotion accessible in the moment.

  • 29 July 2002

    Coaching in Action Review

    I walked to the middle of the circle holding my name tag in my hands. Turning around to face the other course participants I held up my name tag and declared in a voice from the centre of my being, “This is my name tag but this is me and I am legitimate!” It was late Sunday afternoon^[2002] and I had just completed Newfield Institute’s Coaching in Action program.

encryption

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 October 2023

    Digital Rights Management is Unhealthy

    I read an article many years ago, that I can no longer find, which discussed the fear of blank videotape and how it would destroy the home-video market. Instead it created a market that was of a size unforeseen. Bottom line, digital rights management (DRM) is more of a hindrance than a protector. Amazon and Kindle Books DRM Books purchased through Amazon are protected against copying and distribution by a level of digital rights management that can no longer be bypassed.

extending-obsidian

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 9 November 2023

    Getting Things Done with Obsidian

    This article is about how I have implemented the Getting Things Done Methodology (GTD) within the Obsidian note taking application. It is not commentary on how to follow the GTD methodology, nor will it necessarily reflect the methodology in its pure form^[Those familiar with GTD no there is no such thing as a pure implementation.].

frequently-quoted

It’s nice to have something already written that shares my learning. The notes below are frequently given out to others following an interesting conversation.

6 conversations about this topic.

  • 14 September 2023

    My Mission Statement

    The behaviour and decisions in my life are made in accordance with this mission statement; the essence of which is grounded in the principles of truth, beauty, goodness and unity. I help people take powerful action to enrich their lives. I am responsible for my feelings, attitude and actions at all times.

  • 29 October 2022

    RSS Remains an Important Technology

    I’ve written several times over the past 20 years that RSS feeds are important yet can be a hinderance as much as a help. RSS Gathers News and Audio to Me I use them extensively in my news reader (currently News Explorer) to go out to websites that offer a RSS feed and pull the news to me. I don’t have the time to visit every site and see if there is something new to read.

  • 11 October 2022

    Expanding my Comfort Zone

    I have never liked the phrase “Step outside your comfort zone”. Why do that uncomfortable or scary thing? An implication of stepping outside is that I can’t step back inside when I may need to. I have had to commit to something I don’t yet understand. I prefer to engage in being a learner and take the steps necessary to “expand my comfort zone”.

  • 8 October 2022

    A Moment for Tea

    One of those small pieces of advice I picked up years ago was “pause and savour the first sip of tea or coffee.” Every time I remember to do so it’s a moment of quiet in the day. It would do me good to find more of those moments.

  • 10 July 2022

    Interrupting the Flow of Work has a Tax

    Nobody likes interruptions (unless they are good news) but regardless, each interruption that occurs takes not only the time of the interruption itself but a little longer as you strive to get back to where you were beforehand. If you are in a flow state, this can take a long time and there is a risk you may not regain your previous level of thinking.

  • 22 August 2002

    How to Trial Software Before you Buy

    These days it is possible to trial most computer software before you buy it. But what does ‘trial’ actually mean. For me, trial once meant install, play around a bit and then forget. Now trial means use in anger. I’ve found in order to really try software I must put myself in a position of reliance. That is, rely on the software as if I had bought it and used it every day.

frustration

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 August 2022

    Keeping My Cool

    Over the years I’ve learned to keep my cool when working on DIY projects. I’m apt to lose my cool when, despite my best amateur efforts, something doesn’t go as planned. It could be a cut in the wrong place, an unlevel hanging, the wrong screw… Our mood predisposes us to see the world in a way. With DIY that can mean everything is the target of a hammer! Saturday I was putting up a shelf in the laundry.

gaming

5 conversations about this topic.

  • 9 November 2023

    Commodore Amiga

    During my time at University, I owned a Commodore Amiga. I can’t remember exactly where I got the money (may have been selling the family Commodore 64). Mum drove me down to Geelong one afternoon to pick it up. I had an Amiga 1000 which was much more exciting than the later Amiga 500. At some point I wanted to get chips upgraded and put some more money into a program that was going to do that, but it never eventuated.

  • 14 September 2023

    My Platinum Trophies

    To achieve a Platinum Trophy on a PlayStation means completing a set of trophies representative of fully completing the game.

  • 7 March 2023

    The Muscle Memory of Conversations

    This week I’ve returned to playing Elden Ring. Movement, combat and management of weapons, armour and spells, is all handled by a “controller”1. Games will generally ease you into which button to press when but after a while you end up not having to think about what to do and you just do it. The thing is, every game is different.

  • 4 March 2023

    The Resident Evil Experience

    Today I spent some time playing the original Resident Evil. Games have evolved since 1996 in many more ways than graphics alone. To me it felt a lot like the text adventure Zork I with graphics. The storytelling structure and gameplay is highly similar between the two. There isn’t enough there to keep me going and I’ve already deleted it.

  • 23 October 2022

    Fear of Missing Out

    FOMO generates extra dollars for the gaming industry, both PC/console gaming and board/tabletop games. Two words. DLC and Expansion. Both represent additions to the base game. The call is strong. After a conversation last night with a friend about this very point I learned there is an expansion to SmallWorld I didn’t know about, and there are some expansions for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI that I don’t have.

gear

Here, “Gear” is a broad term referring to any type of physical technology I use in my life. For software see Software Use.

10 conversations about this topic.

  • 30 March 2024

    IMatch

    IMatch is the software used to manage our family library of photos and videos called Mediabank. It has supported the family’s Photography in all forms for many years. I’ve owned every version since IMatch 3 over many years. It is a powerful digital asset management application. During that time the built-in features of the application have become more powerful and what I once needed scripting for, is now built-in.

  • 11 March 2024

    Calibre

    Calibre is a cross-platform eBook management tool. It allows you to manage the metadata present in your eBooks. I use Calibre because Digital Rights Management is Unhealthy and share the database with calibre-web because I like its interface better.

  • 11 March 2024

    calibre-web

    calibre-web provides a web interface into Calibre. I prefer it for quickly reviewing my library and marking books as read. This software is installed on my Synology DiskStation DS920+.

  • 3 January 2024

    Canon R50 Mirrorless

    Santa brought me a Canon R50 camera for Christmas in 2023. It's a noticeable improvement on the Canon 400D for Photography. Compared to the 400D, this camera gives me: Live view on the back screen More focusing points +/- 3 stops of exposure bracketing instead of +/- 2 ISO significantly greater than 1600 Lighter body 4K video recording More pixels of the mega kind Interface and technology that is 17 years further forward Hi-res viewfinder Sensor SizeResolutionPixel Pitch1APS-C6000 x 40005.34 µm Lenses Refer My Camera Lenses for a list of the lenses I have available to me.

  • 3 January 2024

    My Camera Lenses

    Lenses for my Canon R50 and Canon 400D Photography. LensMin. FocusFilterLens HoodCanon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3IS STM0.20m @18mm (AF)0.15M @ 18mm (MF)ø49mmEW-53Canon RF-S 55-210mm f/5-7.1 IS STM0.73m at 210ø55mmET-60BCanon EF-S 17–85mm f4-f5.6 USM)0.35m @macroø67mmEW73BCanon EF 50mm f1.8 STM0.35mø49mmES68.

  • 27 September 2023

    Canon 400D DSLR

    Info on my Canon 400D camera.

  • 27 September 2023

    My Photography Gear

    A summary of my current photography gear (cameras, lenses and accessories). With a bit of a wishlist as well 😉.

  • 23 September 2023

    Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars

    I have some very beefy binoculars for stargazing.

  • 24 August 2023

    Tap Water or Rust

    Tomorrow I take delivery of my CPAP machine and have been researching what water I should use in the humidifier. The prevailing wisdom for CPAP machines is that one must use distilled water. From my research tonight I put this in the same category as “You must drink 2 litres of water a day”. Sounds good, but is incorrect.

  • 5 January 2023

    A Short Sennheiser Momentum 4 Review

    For the last 4-5 years I’ve used my Sennheiser 4.50BTNC headphones every day. The BTNC stands for Bluetooth and Noise Cancelling. For Christmas 2022 I was gifted a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones. They are two generations newer and a level above the 4.50BTNCs. Differences: better fit on the ears not as tight on the head wider soundstage clearer sound improved bass better noise cancelling insane battery life (close to 60 hours) .

gratitude

1 conversation about this topic.

habit

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 July 2023

    Letters with Jason

    In June I took part in a social experiment with Jason Becker as part of his Letters Project. He has been corresponding with people using email, in letter form, for many months now. We each posted our letters online. How I First Learned About the Project - 29 January 2023 This morning I read a series of letters between Robb Knight and Jason Becker.

  • 5 June 2023

    Thoughts on my Habits

    I’m reading Self-Discipline: a guide to taking control of your mind, your time, and your life by Mark Manson and it’s given me cause to think about my habits. Following on from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, he reminds us that habits are built from flowchart LR cue --> routine routine --> reward and attaching routine to a cue is the way to build rewarding habits.

health

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 24 August 2023

    Tap Water or Rust

    Tomorrow I take delivery of my CPAP machine and have been researching what water I should use in the humidifier. The prevailing wisdom for CPAP machines is that one must use distilled water. From my research tonight I put this in the same category as “You must drink 2 litres of water a day”. Sounds good, but is incorrect.

  • 11 July 2023

    Will sleep come?

    The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) is an average measure of how many times you have a full or partial loss of breath for more than 10 seconds. It’s not hard to imagine this is not a good thing if it occurs too often. My recent sleep study resulted in a AHI value of 45.1. I knew I was constantly tired, and have been feeling the negative impacts for too long.

  • 28 November 2022

    18 Days Until I Can Fully Rest

    I’m now down to 18 work days before I get 2 weeks off work over Christmas/New Year. It’s important that I relax and look after myself. It’s tempting to think of all the: Books I can read TV I can watch Movies I can watch Video games I can play Kilometres I can walk Places I can visit Miniatures I can paint Photos I can categorise but the risk is I spend my holiday busy.

humanity

2 conversations about this topic.

humility

1 conversation about this topic.

journaling

1 conversation about this topic.

language

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 29 July 2002

    Coaching in Action Review

    I walked to the middle of the circle holding my name tag in my hands. Turning around to face the other course participants I held up my name tag and declared in a voice from the centre of my being, “This is my name tag but this is me and I am legitimate!” It was late Sunday afternoon^[2002] and I had just completed Newfield Institute’s Coaching in Action program.

learning

13 conversations about this topic. Showing first 10 topics.

  • 3 January 2024

    My First Steps as a Philosopher

    Whenever I’m asked what I would do if I didn’t have to work, I’ve answered, “I’d be a philosopher.” Those who know me nod in agreement and don’t question it. Although I know deeply intuitively this it the correct answer, I haven’t been able to articulate why. My Mission Statement defines me as a scholar of life seeking wisdom.

  • 14 May 2023

    Gaming Teaches - Learn From Others

    This note is part of the Gaming Teaches series of observations about what gaming can teach me when its use as a lens on life. So this is interesting. I watched a video a week ago about “How to Get Faster as a Sim Racing Beginner”. One single comment stood out to me. Set the wheel degree of rotation in the PC control panel and then set Assetto Corsa Competizione’s (ACC) setting to match.

  • 2 April 2023

    Gaming Teaches - Perspective

    Gaming teaches us the usefulness of chasing our perspective if what we are doing isn’t working for us. I use sim-racing to help explain.

  • 19 February 2023

    Rabbit Holes

    Earlier this week I received notice mastondon.au was being shut down (since taken over by someone else so staying). That lead me to thinking: Am I now on the best Mastodon server I can be (aus.social)? Should I stand-up my own server? Hosted and I have to pay for it? Self-hosted and I can I deal with all I have to learn? Should I return to mastodon.au Then today, something similar with bookwyrm as an alternative to Goodreads.

  • 2 November 2022

    The Last Third?

    Board members are elected for three terms, on a rolling basis. The first term… to learn The second term… to be productive The third term… to mentor the new first years. … My sense is I’m now beginning the third term of my career. I’m looking forward to it.

  • 26 October 2022

    Civilization VI Failure

    On Sunday I started playing Sid Meier's Civilization VI. Today I lost badly and that’s ok because I was learning all the time.

  • 11 October 2022

    Expanding my Comfort Zone

    I have never liked the phrase “Step outside your comfort zone”. Why do that uncomfortable or scary thing? An implication of stepping outside is that I can’t step back inside when I may need to. I have had to commit to something I don’t yet understand. I prefer to engage in being a learner and take the steps necessary to “expand my comfort zone”.

  • 8 October 2022

    Digital Overwhelm

    Euan Semple posted about the digital overwhelm we are facing more and more as online systems become ever more dictated yet poor interface design makes them unusable. If you’re waving at someone to get their attention for assistance, and they continually ignore you, you will submit and put up with the pain.

  • 29 August 2022

    Training and Education

    Yesterday I was musing on the difference between training and education, wondering why training in the workplace is usually ineffective. This is my stream of consciousness on the question. Many people consider training and education the same, however they have several distinct differences. Training is the process of learning something with a goal of performing a specific skill or behaviour.

  • 8 August 2022

    Measure Once, Cut Twice

    Have you ever carefully considered a purchase from a store then when you got home realised there was an aspect you’d missed that made it completely unsuitable? I do it frequently with trips to the hardware store for screws where somehow I’ve managed to get the wrong diameter or length. Once, I bought the extended edition of the Belinda Carlisle Runaway Horses CD, after I already had the original version.

learning-strategy

2 conversations about this topic.

lego-builds

The records of my LEGO builds. I like to build one bag per day to draw out the enjoyment.

3 conversations about this topic.

list

A handy collection of lists. Lists are a simple Map of Contents.

4 conversations about this topic.

  • 8 October 2023

    List of my Favourite Music

    This is a list of the albums or artists I come back to time and again. You can pretty much guarantee that if artists release new music, I’ll be listening to it. Albums Tubular Bells .

  • 8 October 2023

    List of my Favourite TV

    This is a list of the TV shows that I would watch any day of the week if put before me. Most have some link to my identity. SeriesBand of Brothers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Blackadder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Doctor Who (2005) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The Goodies ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

  • 21 September 2023

    List of my Favourite Lists

    These are all of my favourite things.

  • 21 September 2023

    List of my Favourite Authors

    The authors on this list are those whose books I come back to time and again. You can pretty much guarantee that if a new title is published, I’ll be reading it. Brandon Sanderson Stephen King Mark Lawrence .

listening

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 6 February 2023

    Don't Just Communicate, Converse

    When employees in the workplace complain about a lack of communication, what they really mean is a lack of conversation with a capital C. Conversation is Collaborative; requiring people to come together with an openness to joint mutual benefit. Controlled; focussed to achieve outcomes in the world. Continuous; we are almost always in some form of conversation, be that internal or external.

  • 2 November 2022

    Observe the Music

    Changing how we observe our world by becoming a different observer is powerful. A power that gives us more choice. If you ever need reminding that observing differently can make a difference to how you feel in your soul you can: Listen to a favourite piece of music in a different location, on better headphones, or in a dark room.

  • 8 October 2022

    Digital Overwhelm

    Euan Semple posted about the digital overwhelm we are facing more and more as online systems become ever more dictated yet poor interface design makes them unusable. If you’re waving at someone to get their attention for assistance, and they continually ignore you, you will submit and put up with the pain.

LYT

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 18 May 2024

    The NoMa Method

    The NoMa Method reminds me of the framework of questions used in a coaching conversation. ”NoMa” stands for Note Making, contrasted to Note Taking. I learned of it from Nick Milo. It’s similar because it is structured to pull out Distinctions and a way forward. It’s different because the focus is on note making and not inquiry into Way of Being.

  • 12 October 2023

    Combinational Creativity

    Metadata:note-makingLYTvideo presenter:: Nick Milo, Anne-Laure Le Cunff url:: www.youtube.com/watch Anne-Laure Le Cunff came to the field through discovering the Generation Effect. Creativity does not come from a muse. It all comes from combining pre-existing ideas. That’s important because it means you can make a process out of being creative.

media

1 conversation about this topic.

media/streaming

1 conversation about this topic.

media/streaming/video

1 conversation about this topic.

meditation

1 conversation about this topic.

mental-health

5 conversations about this topic.

  • 9 November 2023

    R U OK at Christmas?

    I posted this to my work colleagues in December 2022. It was as much for me to set myself up for a break as it was for others. My 18 Days Until I Can Fully Rest was something I directed at myself. Then, in February 2023 I had time off due to burnout. Day 1 - Permission This is the first in a series of posts leading up to the Christmas Break designed to help you get the most of your time out of the office.

  • 12 February 2023

    The Indicators of my Impending Burnout

    In October 2016 I attended a session for HR professionals where the topic of the day was mental wellness. The idea was someone could be mentally unwell but not necessarily mentally ill. The audience were asked to call out signs which could indicate a person was mentally unwell. I had 11/14 and found another 5 when I got home.

  • 11 February 2023

    Everything, Everywhere, is Too Much

    Last night I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once and this morning followed up with a The Terror of Everything Everywhere All at Once, a commentary on the movie by Thomas Flight on YouTube. Listening to Thomas I realised I’m suffering the same malaise the movie puts forward. That is, overwhelm from multiple shifting fragmented and widely different cognitive responsibilities all crying for my attention.

  • 11 December 2022

    It's (Not) Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

    Around this time each year people start to say how the Christmas/New Year break is just what they need as a holiday. This year it’s different. Everyone I speak too who is working is completely tapped out mentally. It isn’t the usual “end of year” slowdown, but something deeper. I’m not sure a couple of week’s break is going to be enough.

  • 28 November 2022

    18 Days Until I Can Fully Rest

    I’m now down to 18 work days before I get 2 weeks off work over Christmas/New Year. It’s important that I relax and look after myself. It’s tempting to think of all the: Books I can read TV I can watch Movies I can watch Video games I can play Kilometres I can walk Places I can visit Miniatures I can paint Photos I can categorise but the risk is I spend my holiday busy.

mental-wellness

4 conversations about this topic.

  • 9 November 2023

    R U OK at Christmas?

    I posted this to my work colleagues in December 2022. It was as much for me to set myself up for a break as it was for others. My 18 Days Until I Can Fully Rest was something I directed at myself. Then, in February 2023 I had time off due to burnout. Day 1 - Permission This is the first in a series of posts leading up to the Christmas Break designed to help you get the most of your time out of the office.

  • 10 June 2023

    Sure Doesn't Feel Like a Year Off

    Monday will be the first King’s Birthday public holiday. It’s not feeling like a typical long weekend for me. Maybe I’ve had too many public holidays and they are all the same. That got me thinking… From the start of my professional working career up until 2013, I had 10 public holidays a year. From 2014, that increased to 11.

  • 12 February 2023

    The Indicators of my Impending Burnout

    In October 2016 I attended a session for HR professionals where the topic of the day was mental wellness. The idea was someone could be mentally unwell but not necessarily mentally ill. The audience were asked to call out signs which could indicate a person was mentally unwell. I had 11/14 and found another 5 when I got home.

  • 28 November 2022

    18 Days Until I Can Fully Rest

    I’m now down to 18 work days before I get 2 weeks off work over Christmas/New Year. It’s important that I relax and look after myself. It’s tempting to think of all the: Books I can read TV I can watch Movies I can watch Video games I can play Kilometres I can walk Places I can visit Miniatures I can paint Photos I can categorise but the risk is I spend my holiday busy.

metadata-strategy

5 conversations about this topic.

  • 8 April 2024

    Mediabank

    Mediabank is the name given to our family Photography and video archive. It collects all digital media assets (hereafter media) into a single location managed by IMatch. As of March 2024 there are close to 38,000 items being catalogued and managed consuming 525GB. Storage LocationPurposeS:\memories\assetsFinal storage location for media in YYYY\mm -MMMM\ folders.S:\memories\databaseLocation of the Mediabank.imd5 file.S:\memories\database\Pack & GoPeriodic backups of the Mediabank environment using IMatch Pack & Go1.S:\memories\home videosVideos from when we had a video camera.

  • 14 October 2023

    Don't Duplicate Public Knowledge

    Within a Digital Garden it’s very easy to get caught in the trap of duplicating public knowledge that can be found elsewhere, or is otherwise known. For example, The Lord of the Rings is made up of Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. There is no benefit in me re-creating that structure here.

  • 12 October 2023

    The Map is Not the Terrritory

    This concept is an attempt to get people to remember there is more than just the map. Yet, maps show relationships. In the case of a road map, it’s the relationships between A and B and importantly how to get there. Concept Mapping and Map of Contents do the same thing. Provide an abstraction level across the territory of knowledge.

  • 24 August 2023

    Adventures in Metadata

    I’ve been wanting to document and share my Photography workflow — from camera to archive — for a few weeks now. The introduction of Adobe Lightroom into my workflow recently has meant a delay which has ultimate turned out for the best. I’ve changed my workflow significantly several times over the last few weeks as I manage two applications that do similar, complementary, yet quite different functions.

  • 20 February 2023

    My Document Toolkit

    I curate a lot of digital documentation for myself and my family. Within this Personal Knowledge Management it is important to remove as much friction from the system. There are so many demands on our time, that the smallest resistance can easily provide an excuse to switch on Australian Idol or Survivor and do nothing.

miniature-painting

1 conversation about this topic.

MOC

25 conversations about this topic. Showing first 10 topics.

  • 17 May 2024

    Blogging

    Blogging is a timeline of shared information. It is a conversation between one person and a wider, unknown audience. It is just as valid if the audience is the blogger alone. Link to this site's blog Online reading Subscribe to RSS feed in your Newsreader My Relationship with Blogging I began blogging in the early 2000’s using Radioland.

  • 11 March 2024

    Astrophotography

    For sure this page is a bit of a mess. Instructional guides Astrophotography 101: A Lesson Series on Photographing the Milky Way – Lonely Speck - large MOC with multiple articles to work through on all topics Planning Light Pollution Light Pollution Map for Bendigo - I have this app on my mobile phone.

  • 11 March 2024

    Photography

    My interests are Astrophotography, Landscape Photography and Panoramas. Digital Asset Management Mediabank My Photo Dating Strategy for Uncertain Dates IMatch - digital asset management application Equipment My Photography Gear My Camera History Resources My Photography Teachers The Goldfields Track - A bike ride in Buninyong, Victoria Map of Public Land Color Filters for Black-and-White Photography: A Complete Guide | PetaPixel Shutter Speed Cheat Sheet.jpg Tools Lightroom Show Focus Points Plugin for Lightroom Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog » Jeffrey’s “Smart-Collection Sync” Lightroom Plugin .

  • 11 March 2024

    Astronomy

    There are two aspects to my astronomy hobbying. Direct visual observation using my Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars and Astrophotography.

  • 11 March 2024

    List of LEGO models I've completed

    The records of my LEGO builds. I like to build one bag per day to draw out the enjoyment.

  • 10 March 2024

    Quantum OS

    This is my operating system which in no way suggests I am a computer. Rather, it is a set of notes that describe the rules and standards I have determined are best to manage my digital information as I see fit.

  • 10 March 2024

    The Quantum Operating System

    ‘Quantum OS is my operating system which in no way suggests I am a computer. Rather, it is a set of notes that describe the rules and standards I have determined are best to manage my digital information as I see fit. CORE CONCEPT Organising Digital Knowledge Across Multiple Systems describes in detail where I store documents and how I organise them.

  • 27 February 2024

    Completed Things

    Computer Games A list of computer games I’ve completed, added to as I complete them (which is pretty rare I must say compared to some people but which did have a decided uplift during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020). “Completion” means playing through the main story line but for some games, they are not possible to complete so if I’ve played what I think is a sufficient amount, they are listed here.

  • 27 February 2024

    Completed Things

    I’m in the middle of this. More thoughts to come.

  • 27 February 2024

    Completed Things

    Definitely going to get to this one day.

moods

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 6 February 2023

    Don't Just Communicate, Converse

    When employees in the workplace complain about a lack of communication, what they really mean is a lack of conversation with a capital C. Conversation is Collaborative; requiring people to come together with an openness to joint mutual benefit. Controlled; focussed to achieve outcomes in the world. Continuous; we are almost always in some form of conversation, be that internal or external.

  • 11 August 2022

    Keeping My Cool

    Over the years I’ve learned to keep my cool when working on DIY projects. I’m apt to lose my cool when, despite my best amateur efforts, something doesn’t go as planned. It could be a cut in the wrong place, an unlevel hanging, the wrong screw… Our mood predisposes us to see the world in a way. With DIY that can mean everything is the target of a hammer! Saturday I was putting up a shelf in the laundry.

  • 29 July 2002

    Coaching in Action Review

    I walked to the middle of the circle holding my name tag in my hands. Turning around to face the other course participants I held up my name tag and declared in a voice from the centre of my being, “This is my name tag but this is me and I am legitimate!” It was late Sunday afternoon^[2002] and I had just completed Newfield Institute’s Coaching in Action program.

movie

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 2 February 2023

    Carrie Versus Carrie

    This morning I finished Carrie the book and this afternoon I watched the 1976 movie. Book Carrie is by far the stronger of the two. She has a purpose and drive that isn’t in the movie. She also has an awareness and control of her telekinesis power not at all evident in the movie. The book interposes the Carrie timeline with observations of friends, police and scientists.

music

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 22 October 2023

    Darkside by Tom Stoppard

    Commissioned by the BBC for the 40th Anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon, I first heard this radio play around 2015 and only the once. It was pulled from Spotify not long after. Every now and then I’d look for it on streaming to no avail. So, I finally ponied up the money and ordered a copy from Discogs where I’ve had success finding some Dodo & the Dodos CDs.

  • 8 October 2023

    List of my Favourite Music

    This is a list of the albums or artists I come back to time and again. You can pretty much guarantee that if artists release new music, I’ll be listening to it. Albums Tubular Bells .

  • 6 October 2022

    Tubular Bells

    Tubular Bells 2003 I listened to Tubular Bells 2003 properly for the first time on 6 October 2022. I had thought it was more of a remaster until I learned it was a complete new recording. He [Mike Oldfield] had always been uncomfortable with the original recording because he had only a few weeks to record it and the technology at the time was unable to cope with all of his requirements.

note-making

6 conversations about this topic.

  • 18 May 2024

    The NoMa Method

    The NoMa Method reminds me of the framework of questions used in a coaching conversation. ”NoMa” stands for Note Making, contrasted to Note Taking. I learned of it from Nick Milo. It’s similar because it is structured to pull out Distinctions and a way forward. It’s different because the focus is on note making and not inquiry into Way of Being.

  • 12 October 2023

    Combinational Creativity

    Metadata:note-makingLYTvideo presenter:: Nick Milo, Anne-Laure Le Cunff url:: www.youtube.com/watch Anne-Laure Le Cunff came to the field through discovering the Generation Effect. Creativity does not come from a muse. It all comes from combining pre-existing ideas. That’s important because it means you can make a process out of being creative.

  • 12 October 2023

    Generation Effect

    This reminds me of the common theme I’ve heard from Personal Knowledge Management over the last 2 years. That is, make notes in your own words. Research has shown you remember better your own notes. I’ve experienced that this week in how I’ve slowly approached Ontology of the Human Observer and created my own definitions.

  • 12 October 2023

    The Map is Not the Terrritory

    This concept is an attempt to get people to remember there is more than just the map. Yet, maps show relationships. In the case of a road map, it’s the relationships between A and B and importantly how to get there. Concept Mapping and Map of Contents do the same thing. Provide an abstraction level across the territory of knowledge.

  • 14 September 2023

    Obsidian

    Obsidian is primarily a note-taking tool that uses Markdown files for speed and flexibility. The official site is obsidian.md/. Within Obsidian I document and link: Personal journal entries Digital Garden notes My consumption of books, movies and TV shows This website is published directly from Obsidian using Quartz 4.

  • 12 March 2023

    I’m Replacing Instapaper With Omnivore

    I have been an Instapaper user for many years. From the time it was free, to paid, and then free and paid. For a while I was feeding Instapaper articles through Readwise to Obsidian. I couldn’t get Readwise to pull in comments from Instapaper articles that I’d archived. From memory I’m not even sure it could see them.

observing

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 April 2023

    Gaming Teaches - Perspective

    Gaming teaches us the usefulness of chasing our perspective if what we are doing isn’t working for us. I use sim-racing to help explain.

  • 1 November 2022

    Missing the Big Picture

    Today I recalled the tendency for my early career performance reviews to be positive, “but David, you need to learn to see the Big Picture.” I always left feeling a little stupid because I didn’t know what to do about it. I also felt frustrated because those telling me I needed to see the big picture couldn’t even explain what it was, let alone how I should get there.”You just need to learn how.” At every moment we are limited to observing only what our Way of Being allows us to observe - even if it is objectively there for another to see.

obsidian

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 August 2023

    Scripting Templates in Obsidian

    Here be some dragons. This is a quick post to explain how Javascript can be used eliminate the need to update multiple pages if the structure of your metadata changes. Using Javascript comes with risks. Enter at your own peril. dd Within Obsidian, the combination of the Dataview and Templater plugins can make for a powerful way to access and organise your notes using metadata.

  • 16 April 2023

    Replacing Goodreads With Obsidian

    I have been a Goodreads user for many, many years. It has provided me the means to track my reading activity alongside a list of books I want to read. The past few years I’ve been an avid Kindle reader, topping 20,000 pages read each year. Goodreads integration with the Kindle has made it very easy to mark a book started and finished.

ontological-distinction

1 conversation about this topic.

opinion

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 5 July 2022

    An Illustration of the Truth

    There is an interesting passage in Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson where the protagonist, Kaladin Stormblessed has an altercation with his father Lirin. It shows what can happen when we hold an opinion as truth. An invasion has occurred and Lirin, a surgeon, urges his son to stay and help people. Kaladin, who was trained as a surgeon by his father in his youth, is caught between his father’s wishes and his natural desires to protect people using force.

overwhelm

3 conversations about this topic.

perception

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 4 March 2023

    The Resident Evil Experience

    Today I spent some time playing the original Resident Evil. Games have evolved since 1996 in many more ways than graphics alone. To me it felt a lot like the text adventure Zork I with graphics. The storytelling structure and gameplay is highly similar between the two. There isn’t enough there to keep me going and I’ve already deleted it.

platform

10 conversations about this topic.

platform/nintendo-game-and-watch

The list of games I’ve played that were written for the Nintendo Game and Watch handhelds.

1 conversation about this topic.

platform/playstation-4

The list of games I’ve played that were written for the PlayStation 4 console.

2 conversations about this topic.

platform/playstation-5

The list of games I’ve played that were written for PlayStation 5 console.

7 conversations about this topic.

platform/windows

The list of games I’ve played that were written for the Microsoft Windows operating system.

2 conversations about this topic.

podcasts

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 13 March 2023

    You Know What I Mean?

    My daughter and her friend have started a podcast called “You Know What I Mean?”. Two new adults who have just started university, chatting and laughing about finding their way in the world. If you need some lightheartedness in your day, you can’t go wrong. Check out the first 3 episodes.

privacy

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 October 2023

    The Nightclub Model of Privacy

    Too many businesses collect personal information from individuals for their benefit. Under the guise of “providing better service” private data is held, often insecurely, well beyond it’s need. If it was ever really needed at all. I’d like to see business subscribe to the “Nightclub Model of Privacy”. Check credentials at the door and allow or deny entry.

productivity

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 10 March 2024

    Personal Knowledge Management Systems Must Be Flexible

    Any Personal Knowledge Management system must be flexible. It needs to accommodate: changes in taxonomy - knowledge is not fixed, and certainly our interpretation of knowledge is open to change. That comes from Being a Learner. changes in document format - knowledge comes in many forms and it’s frequently a low-value activity to convert from one format to another, unless converting into a searchable format from one that is not searchable.

promises

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 17 May 2023

    Reputational Reliability

    A cornerstone of my career reputation has been built on my reliability. When others learn that I deliver what I say I will, on time and to the standard expected, they form a positive opinion of my work practices. In turn, that contributes to their assessment that I can be trusted. I take very seriously the promises I make to others and my ability to meet them.

rating

14 conversations about this topic. Showing first 10 topics.

rating/3-star

Run of the mill good. Enjoyed it.

3 conversations about this topic.

rating/4-star

I am certain to recommend these items enthusiastically to people I think would be interested. More than happy to watch it again. Very likely to buy the movie if I’ve seen it in the cinema.

8 conversations about this topic.

rating/5-star

Items in this list are life defining. Part of my identity.

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 27 February 2024

    Donkey Kong Jr.

    This has to go down as my first computer game. A perfect Christmas present when Game and Watch devices were all the rage. Craig and Jamie got a game as well. I always thought mine was the best. At 999 points the game started again, but faster. This was called “clocking it”. My best was to clock it 3 times in the one game.

  • 8 January 2024

    The Goodies

    Where do I start explaining how much Tim, Graeme and Bill mean to me. The Goodies was a staple of my childhood, airing regularly during the early-80s around tea time. I was drawn to the use of language and witty banter that was a hallmark of the show. Only on later viewings did I come to appreciate the slapstick routines set to music in the middle of each episode.

  • 24 February 2023

    Forspoken

    This game got a lot of negative press just before release. It was a game I’d been looking forward to since it was first announced at around the time of the PlayStation 5 launch. I thoroughly enjoyed it and achieved the Platinum Trophy on 24 February 2023.

reading

7 conversations about this topic.

  • 21 September 2023

    List of my Favourite Authors

    The authors on this list are those whose books I come back to time and again. You can pretty much guarantee that if a new title is published, I’ll be reading it. Brandon Sanderson Stephen King Mark Lawrence .

  • 16 April 2023

    Replacing Goodreads With Obsidian

    I have been a Goodreads user for many, many years. It has provided me the means to track my reading activity alongside a list of books I want to read. The past few years I’ve been an avid Kindle reader, topping 20,000 pages read each year. Goodreads integration with the Kindle has made it very easy to mark a book started and finished.

  • 26 February 2023

    Discworld

    I'm listening to the complete discworld series of audiobooks. All 40 were released across 2022-23 and it will take me much, much longer to listen to them all.

  • 31 December 2022

    20000+ Pages Read in 2022

    My 2022 reading stats are in and this year I clocked 20,871 over 46 books. Since first purchasing a Kindle some years ago my reading has increased substantially, and my annual target is 20,000 pages. My new favourite author is Brandon Sanderson. 9/46 books were authored by him, and approx. 7,000 pages. There were two series involved.

  • 29 October 2022

    Unfinished Tales

    Every now and then I use Amazon/Audible’s Matchmaker tool to see if there are any Kindle books for which I’d like to purchase the audiobook cheaply. Today I picked up Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace for $9 total. I realised I need to make a list of all the book series I’ve begun and enjoyed but have not yet finished - either because I move onto something else, or because new books have been released.

  • 1 October 2022

    From Audible to my Ears

    This is the process each audiobook transitions through on the way from Audible to my listening ears. Purchase more books on Audible than I possibly have time to listen to. Download and convert to .mdb format using OpenAudible. Automatically import into my “Audiobook” library (as Music) using Plex. Add to a series playlist if relevant.

  • 30 September 2022

    Audibooks

    I love to read, and I read a lot. In recent years however I’ve come to recognise the value in audiobooks as well. I normally only listen to audiobooks of authors I like, or books I’ve read before. There is too much time investment to do otherwise. A 1,000-page book is 40-50 hours. Audiobooks tell the same story at a slower pace and so it’s quite a different experience.

relationships

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 20 September 2023

    The Five Love Languages

    The Five Love Languages is a model that says we have a preference for how we mark love as received and how we prefer to show our love to others. The languages are: Words of Affirmation Gift Giving Acts of Service Physical Touch Quality Time Relationships may break down when two people show their love in a language that is not preferred by the other.

relaxation

2 conversations about this topic.

requests

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 31 August 2022

    Just Forget It

    I’ve become conscious that “just” has crept into my email vocabulary. ”I’m just writing to ask…" "I just need to know…” When used this way, it’s apologetic and has no place in making solid requests. Contrast with the significantly stronger examples below. ”I’m writing to ask…" "I need to know…” .

review

11 conversations about this topic. Showing first 10 topics.

  • 22 October 2023

    Darkside by Tom Stoppard

    Commissioned by the BBC for the 40th Anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon, I first heard this radio play around 2015 and only the once. It was pulled from Spotify not long after. Every now and then I’d look for it on streaming to no avail. So, I finally ponied up the money and ordered a copy from Discogs where I’ve had success finding some Dodo & the Dodos CDs.

  • 1 July 2023

    Looking into Logseq

    Logseq has been appearing a lot in my Mastodon feed lately as a Personal Knowledge Management solution. Many sing its praises over Obsidian so with a slow afternoon at work yesterday I thought to take a look. My first impression is that Logseq is the offline version of Roam Research; the tool I used before migrating to Obsidian.

  • 24 June 2023

    The Problem Behind The Three-Body Problem

    With notice that Netflix has made a series of The Three-Body Problem I’m revisiting the novel as an audiobook. Though I read it first only 18 months ago, I only have the barest memory of the story. Written by Chinese author Liu Cixin, the first two chapters of the book are heavily influenced by the Cultural Revolution and its immediate aftermath.

  • 11 February 2023

    Everything, Everywhere, is Too Much

    Last night I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once and this morning followed up with a The Terror of Everything Everywhere All at Once, a commentary on the movie by Thomas Flight on YouTube. Listening to Thomas I realised I’m suffering the same malaise the movie puts forward. That is, overwhelm from multiple shifting fragmented and widely different cognitive responsibilities all crying for my attention.

  • 3 February 2023

    Stray

    A game where I get to play as a cat. With 2 cats in the house, have to say it’s animated very realistically. Catinum Trophy I have the Platinum Trophy on Stray. It took an effective three play throughs. I finished the main story a little over a week ago and have spent a couple of evenings and some time today cleaning up the remainder of the trophies.

  • 2 February 2023

    Carrie Versus Carrie

    This morning I finished Carrie the book and this afternoon I watched the 1976 movie. Book Carrie is by far the stronger of the two. She has a purpose and drive that isn’t in the movie. She also has an awareness and control of her telekinesis power not at all evident in the movie. The book interposes the Carrie timeline with observations of friends, police and scientists.

  • 24 January 2023

    Is Forspoken Spoken For?

    This week sees the release of Forspoken, a new RPG for the PlayStation 5 and PC. My copy should arrive in a few days and I’ve been looking forward to it since I saw the trailer alongside the original PS5 release. If you read the press, Forspoken is anything mixed quality at best to the worst game of 2023! I played the demo, which apparently was full of issues that I didn’t note, and am still looking forward to the game.

  • 5 January 2023

    A Short Sennheiser Momentum 4 Review

    For the last 4-5 years I’ve used my Sennheiser 4.50BTNC headphones every day. The BTNC stands for Bluetooth and Noise Cancelling. For Christmas 2022 I was gifted a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones. They are two generations newer and a level above the 4.50BTNCs. Differences: better fit on the ears not as tight on the head wider soundstage clearer sound improved bass better noise cancelling insane battery life (close to 60 hours) .

  • 31 December 2022

    20000+ Pages Read in 2022

    My 2022 reading stats are in and this year I clocked 20,871 over 46 books. Since first purchasing a Kindle some years ago my reading has increased substantially, and my annual target is 20,000 pages. My new favourite author is Brandon Sanderson. 9/46 books were authored by him, and approx. 7,000 pages. There were two series involved.

  • 18 December 2022

    Under the Dome

    I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since I first read The Bachman Books and IT in 1988. Under the Dome is the darkest of them all. It’s not the supernatural horror but the human greed that brings about the downfall of so many people and places them in horrible situations. Many times I had to put the book down.

role

1 conversation about this topic.

role/my-wellness

1 conversation about this topic.

sample-code

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 19 October 2023

    A Font of Google Fonts

    Instructions on how I added Google Fonts to Obsidian Publish.

  • 2 August 2023

    Scripting Templates in Obsidian

    Here be some dragons. This is a quick post to explain how Javascript can be used eliminate the need to update multiple pages if the structure of your metadata changes. Using Javascript comes with risks. Enter at your own peril. dd Within Obsidian, the combination of the Dataview and Templater plugins can make for a powerful way to access and organise your notes using metadata.

  • 16 April 2023

    Replacing Goodreads With Obsidian

    I have been a Goodreads user for many, many years. It has provided me the means to track my reading activity alongside a list of books I want to read. The past few years I’ve been an avid Kindle reader, topping 20,000 pages read each year. Goodreads integration with the Kindle has made it very easy to mark a book started and finished.

scanning

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 21 December 2023

    Now, 21 December 2023

    I’ve started my Christmas holidays a couple of days early due to some extremely good planning on my part that means: I don’t have any more work that I need to do Anything that I could do, I don’t have the mental capacity for So, with a cuppa in hand and Kylie Minogue blasting Christmas tunes on the stereo I’m scanning Family Album 17 ...

science-fiction

1 conversation about this topic.

second-order-learning

3 conversations about this topic.

  • 3 January 2024

    My First Steps as a Philosopher

    Whenever I’m asked what I would do if I didn’t have to work, I’ve answered, “I’d be a philosopher.” Those who know me nod in agreement and don’t question it. Although I know deeply intuitively this it the correct answer, I haven’t been able to articulate why. My Mission Statement defines me as a scholar of life seeking wisdom.

  • 1 November 2022

    Missing the Big Picture

    Today I recalled the tendency for my early career performance reviews to be positive, “but David, you need to learn to see the Big Picture.” I always left feeling a little stupid because I didn’t know what to do about it. I also felt frustrated because those telling me I needed to see the big picture couldn’t even explain what it was, let alone how I should get there.”You just need to learn how.” At every moment we are limited to observing only what our Way of Being allows us to observe - even if it is objectively there for another to see.

  • 5 September 2022

    Learn Through Humility

    What a great quote this is. A reminder that learning is the responsibility of each of us. You will learn quickly if you ask for feedback from a position of humility for that will let you listen to the response without being harmed.

sleep

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 11 July 2023

    Will sleep come?

    The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) is an average measure of how many times you have a full or partial loss of breath for more than 10 seconds. It’s not hard to imagine this is not a good thing if it occurs too often. My recent sleep study resulted in a AHI value of 45.1. I knew I was constantly tired, and have been feeling the negative impacts for too long.

social-media

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 10 April 2023

    Mastodon is Broken. There are no Ads.

    Clearly Mastodon is broken as a social media platform 😄 PlatformConstant nagging adsFacebookYesTwitterXYesInstagramYesYouTubreYesMastodon (and other Fediverse platforms)NO 🎉 And it gets worse. The lack of ads make it possible to actually read what other people are writing. Even to respond back and forth to each other.

  • 16 February 2023

    Mastodon is dead. Long live Mastodon.

    The first I knew was an email saying my $5 donation to running the mastodon.au server was refunded. I inquired to be told the server was scheduled for shutdown in 3 months. I’d have been happy for the moderators to keep the money, but that’s the nature of Mastodon over Twitter. One refunds the money, the other wouldn’t even tell you it was turned off.

software-use

Here, I make comment on the software that I have, or have used. The physical technology equivalent is Gear.

5 conversations about this topic.

  • 27 September 2023

    Roam Research

    Roam Research is a Personal Knowledge Management tool that gained significantly in popularity by word-of-mouth in 2020. The key benefit comes from the way it treats blocks of text and Backlinks are Important. In January 2021 I moved from Roam to Obsidian. Training resources I found useful www.roambrain.com/ - information hub How to Use Roam Research: A Complete Guide [Complete list of keywords and markdown](www.roamtips.com/home/the-complete-list-of-roam-research-keyboard-shortcuts What is a block in Roam Research (and what are block embeds)? Block reference - creates copy, edit original updates copy, but not vice-versa, click to go to original Block embed - creates a copy, edit any updates all, can’t click to go to original Query language How to query in roam Roam as a task manager Lesson 6 - Queries .

  • 14 September 2023

    Obsidian

    Obsidian is primarily a note-taking tool that uses Markdown files for speed and flexibility. The official site is obsidian.md/. Within Obsidian I document and link: Personal journal entries Digital Garden notes My consumption of books, movies and TV shows This website is published directly from Obsidian using Quartz 4.

  • 14 September 2023

    Quartz 4

    Overview of how I use Quartz to display this digital garden. Includes a list of customisations I've made.

  • 20 February 2023

    My Document Toolkit

    I curate a lot of digital documentation for myself and my family. Within this Personal Knowledge Management it is important to remove as much friction from the system. There are so many demands on our time, that the smallest resistance can easily provide an excuse to switch on Australian Idol or Survivor and do nothing.

  • 29 October 2022

    RSS Remains an Important Technology

    I’ve written several times over the past 20 years that RSS feeds are important yet can be a hinderance as much as a help. RSS Gathers News and Audio to Me I use them extensively in my news reader (currently News Explorer) to go out to websites that offer a RSS feed and pull the news to me. I don’t have the time to visit every site and see if there is something new to read.

standards

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 2 March 2023

    Holding Yourself to the Right Standard

    Let’s say I’m measuring my behaviour, success, etc. and I fail to meet the ideals of the standard I’m comparing to. I will either: Feel inadequate because I am not good enough. Put unrealistic pressure on myself to close the gap. There is a third choice. Almost always overlooked. Adjust the standard to something that’s realistic for me at this point in time.

  • 12 February 2023

    Dads Are Human First

    I regularly see posts in the Life of Dad Facebook group that inadvertently suggest you’re not a real dad unless you are always putting your family ahead of your own needs, and making large sacrifices for your family. I know they are trying to be supportive. I believe these kind of posts set unrealistic and unhealthy expectations.

star-wars

2 conversations about this topic.

status

12 conversations about this topic. Showing first 10 topics.

status/completed

Computer Games

A list of computer games I’ve completed, added to as I complete them (which is pretty rare I must say compared to some people but which did have a decided uplift during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020). “Completion” means playing through the main story line but for some games, they are not possible to complete so if I’ve played what I think is a sufficient amount, they are listed here.

Games are tagged for the platform they were played on, not the one they are necessarily launched on. Some have been played on multiple platforms and are listed for each. This is consistent with the principle that I Don’t Duplicate Public Knowledge.

TV Shows

A status of completed here means I’ve see all episodes in all seasons released.

10 conversations about this topic.

status/dropped

For one reason, or another, I never got to the end.

Computer games

Games are dropped for any number of reasons. Sometimes its the size of the game, my poor skill level, or a compete fall in interest.

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 27 February 2024

    Maquette

    Maquette is a recursive puzzle game was free as part of March 2021’s PlayStation Plus game subscription. It was clear right from the start this game has somethng unique to offer - starting with a song and teasers about a relationship. At present the story is involving me in recollections about the initial stage of the relationship.

status/ongoing

I’m in the middle of this. More thoughts to come.

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 14 May 2024

    Cities Skylines II

    I’ve just begun playing the successor to Cities Skylines after building a PC that’s capable of playing it. I had been waiting for the PlayStation 5 version (still delayed) but won’t bother. My first city is a real mess. That’s deliberate. I’ve been learning the tools and mechanics. There are improvements; roads especially that make everything smoother to play with.

time

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 10 June 2023

    Sure Doesn't Feel Like a Year Off

    Monday will be the first King’s Birthday public holiday. It’s not feeling like a typical long weekend for me. Maybe I’ve had too many public holidays and they are all the same. That got me thinking… From the start of my professional working career up until 2013, I had 10 public holidays a year. From 2014, that increased to 11.

  • 26 January 2023

    The True Scale of a Billion

    I watched Avatar today, in preparation for a likely weekend trip to see Avatar 2: The Way of Water at the weekend. Both films have now taken over US$2 billion dollars. As making over a billion at the box office is now commonplace, it’s worth considering the difference in scale between 1 million and 1 billion and from there to 1 trillion.

trust

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 2 July 2023

    A Model of Trust

    Trust involves making a ongoing series of Assessments that you will take action which takes care of me, including not taking action to harm me. That someone “can be trusted” is not a matter of fact. Otherwise we would not have the situation where I believe someone is trustworthy, but you don’t. If trust were fact, this situation could not exist.

truth

1 conversation about this topic.

  • 5 July 2022

    An Illustration of the Truth

    There is an interesting passage in Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson where the protagonist, Kaladin Stormblessed has an altercation with his father Lirin. It shows what can happen when we hold an opinion as truth. An invasion has occurred and Lirin, a surgeon, urges his son to stay and help people. Kaladin, who was trained as a surgeon by his father in his youth, is caught between his father’s wishes and his natural desires to protect people using force.

tv

1 conversation about this topic.

tv-show

4 conversations about this topic.

  • 8 January 2024

    The Goodies

    Where do I start explaining how much Tim, Graeme and Bill mean to me. The Goodies was a staple of my childhood, airing regularly during the early-80s around tea time. I was drawn to the use of language and witty banter that was a hallmark of the show. Only on later viewings did I come to appreciate the slapstick routines set to music in the middle of each episode.

  • 25 November 2023

    Babylon 5

    I only ever saw a few episodes of Babylon 5 on TV when it first aired so my first full watch through was on DVD. Smart science-fiction with a planned arc over 5 seasons is still rare in TV even now.

  • 25 November 2023

    Band of Brothers

    I first saw Band of Brothers on TV, then DVD, then Blu-ray. A 4K version would be visually amazing. This is a TV series I could watch all day long. It is engaging and scary at the same time. Episode 7, “The Breaking Point” is the most outstanding commentary on leadership failure I’ve ever seen. Sadly, The Pacific, as a sister series was not as good.

  • 25 November 2023

    The Watch

    A dramatisation of Discworld’s Night Watch. It took me a long time to get through this series and I would tackle only a couple of episodes at a time. It’s nice to be in Terry Pratchett’s world even if it’s not a 1:1 match to the books. Vimes was my favourite character.

video-game

10 conversations about this topic.

warhammer

2 conversations about this topic.

way-of-being

2 conversations about this topic.

  • 17 May 2023

    Reputational Reliability

    A cornerstone of my career reputation has been built on my reliability. When others learn that I deliver what I say I will, on time and to the standard expected, they form a positive opinion of my work practices. In turn, that contributes to their assessment that I can be trusted. I take very seriously the promises I make to others and my ability to meet them.

  • 1 November 2022

    Missing the Big Picture

    Today I recalled the tendency for my early career performance reviews to be positive, “but David, you need to learn to see the Big Picture.” I always left feeling a little stupid because I didn’t know what to do about it. I also felt frustrated because those telling me I needed to see the big picture couldn’t even explain what it was, let alone how I should get there.”You just need to learn how.” At every moment we are limited to observing only what our Way of Being allows us to observe - even if it is objectively there for another to see.

wonder

6 conversations about this topic.

  • 25 October 2023

    Astronomy Connects Me With a Greater Sense of Self

    There is something special about looking up at the planets, stars and galaxies and the sense of purpose and humility it engenders within me. It is spiritual. Never do I feel so connected as I do when I turn my mind to the vastness of space.

  • 1 February 2023

    How Covered is the Earth?

    When I find myself waiting in the car to pick someone up, I often play a mental game of working out how high the Earth would be covered if everything humankind has made were flattened and spread out. In a sense, melted. My estimate is less than 10cm covering the land and I would not be surprised if it was way less.

  • 26 January 2023

    The True Scale of a Billion

    I watched Avatar today, in preparation for a likely weekend trip to see Avatar 2: The Way of Water at the weekend. Both films have now taken over US$2 billion dollars. As making over a billion at the box office is now commonplace, it’s worth considering the difference in scale between 1 million and 1 billion and from there to 1 trillion.

  • 20 November 2022

    Half Way To Go

    Each time I hear the Sun is 50% through its life and only has 5 billion years to go, I feel sad. If we’re not off Earth and into the Milky Way Galaxy by then it’s all over. Colonising the Solar System is not enough. For humanity it’s less time than 5 billion years. The Future of Earth, gives us a billion years to get the job done at best before the Sun has expanded its influence and engulfs us.

  • 25 October 2022

    Crazy Coincidence

    I have a relatively new car. It’s done just over 3,000km. Here is a crazy coincidence from earlier today. The odometer read 3,000km while I was stopped at traffic lights. The odometer read 2,000km while I was stopped at traffic lights. There are not so many traffic lights where I live that this would be at all likely.

  • 20 May 2012

    Unexpected Nostalgia

    I love things that make me feel a strong sense of nostalgia. Many of us do. Yesterday I watched The Muppets after missing it in the cinema earlier this year (twice in fact). My post on Facebook said it all. I laughed. I cried. I spent most of the movie doing both. A can of TaB took me back to my uncle’s house when my brother and I would holiday there.

writing

1 conversation about this topic.

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