Month: December 2007

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About Me Stunt 2007

New Year’s Resolutions

*This is a companion piece to a similarly-themed article on Karen’s site which, all things being equal, should be published at roughly the same time.*

I seem to have developed a very agreeable system. I’ve had it in place for a few years. I start writing my New Years Resolutions in the first week of January, and continue to quietly append to the list until somewhere around summer. Then, in October, I write a blog post revealing what they were, and how successful I’ve been ([2006] [2007]).

My first New Years Resolution for 2008 is therefore to continue to use this system.

*Next week’s stunt post will be on the subject of our new allotment – look out for it on Monday.*

Categories
Daily
Categories
Gardening

The decline of Snappy

Regular readers will be familiar with Snappy, the venus fly trap that I have been nurturing for the last two years.

This afternoon, Karen and I were in the conservatory, pouring wormery juice onto the plants therein. She looked out into the garden.

“Is that Snappy’s pot, out there on the table?”

I followed her line of sight.

Oh God no. Please, no. Shit.

Snappy must have been out there for a few weeks, because he was well and truly drowned. Now, I know that they can survive underwater for months at a time, but we’ve also had a few frosts in recent weeks, which can’t have done him any good. He’s not looking well. Not at all. I think that this is the end.

Categories
Computing Music Stunt 2007

What I want for Christmas

*This is a companion piece to a similarly-themed article on Karen’s site which, all things being equal, should be published at roughly the same time.*

I’d quite like a new hard drive for my computer. It currently contains a 40GB drive and an 80GB drive, and what with photographs and MP3s and occasional TV shows, I often find myself running out of space.

*UPDATE: Didn’t get a hard drive, so I ordered myself one on the 27th. I decided to go for a 250GB Seagate Barracuda.*

I also need some new slippers. I have made frequent announcements to this end, and I think I can be pretty certain that someone will have heard my call. My current pair were from the market, and within weeks the seams had given way and my toes were pointing out the front. I tried to patch them up, but it was only a temporary fix. I’ll miss the ventilated slippers, in a way. I enjoyed those moments when I was making coffee in the kitchen, minding my own business, only to be startled by small fingers tickling my toes. I’d look down, and there would be Bernard, seemingly unperturbed by the aroma. Perhaps there wasn’t even an aroma to be perturbed by. Another perk of ventilated slippers.

*UPDATE: Yeah, I got slippers. Two pairs.*

I want to rediscover my love of music. Over the last few years I’ve found myself listening to music less and less, and songs that once filled me with emotion are now leaving me cold. My CD collection is dull and uninspiring, and for the most part, I can’t be bothered to go to the effort of picking out something to listen to. My finger traverses the spines, every case that my finger bumps over seems to contain something pointless and unappealing. I reach the end of the row, and repeat the exercise on the shelf below. Once upon a time, music was a core part of who I was. Now, it’s just a neglected category on a blog.

*UPDATE: I’m enjoying Norfolk & Western and Of Montreal. I’ve also managed to get the radio in the car working again.*

I also wouldn’t feel too violated if aliens came down and fixed the leaky gutter outside the front door.

*Next week’s stunt post will be on the subject of New Years Resolutions – look out for it on Monday.*

Categories
Photos

It’s great when you tessellate

it's great when you tessellate

Chairs that can fit together like this are the awesome. These chairs are almost as old as me. Once upon a time, I used them as components in a dining table fort complex. And one day, I hope that Bernard will use them in a dining table fort complex too.

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Photos

Wheel

tractor wheel

We spent last weekend up in Yorkshire with Karen’s mum. This tractor pulls the boats in and out of the sea.

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Photos

The back of Bernard

the back of bernard

We spent the weekend up in Yorkshire with Karen’s mum. These tracks were made by the tractors pulling the boats in and out of the sea.

Categories
About Me

Ego

I’ve realised one of the things that makes me what I am today.

I grew up in an environment where I believed that I was truly great. Perhaps not at sports, or in common social situations, but I believed that I was one of the most intelligent people that I knew. I got good results at school, and my parents where always telling me how wonderful I was.

As I got older, I started to spend more time with people who were smarter than me. First off, I went to University. Admittedly I came away with a first-class degree, so in that respect I must have been smarter than half of the people on my course, but already there’s clearly a shift occurring.

A year after graduating, I began my career in earnest. Since then I have worked alongside some very intelligent people, by whose presence I feel honestly daunted, despite the fact that I know that if you consider all aspects of them, not just their intelligence, they are no greater than I. I also read a lot of articles online by some very smart people, who are clearly experts in their field.

When all this is combined, I feel that there is not much space left for me. As a result of global connectivity, I feel that I am always a mouse click away from someone whose insight on a subject exceeds my own. Despite the fact that I am foolishly attempting to compete with the whole world here, I find myself feeling surplus to requirements. I want to write informative articles on this site, but I know that someone, somewhere, has already done it, with a great deal more knowledge and clarity than I could achieve.

So I no longer feel like a great person. I have surrounded myself with excellent people, and I look weak by comparison. I’m still trying to come to terms with this.

Categories
Photos

Tracks

tractor tracks

We spent the weekend up in Yorkshire with Karen’s mum. These tracks were made by the tractors pulling the boats in and out of the sea.

Categories
Daily