My big pooch has just had his second cruciate ligament operation and won’t be going out for walkies any time soon. He still needs to go the toilet, though, and thankfully we have a small garden. Unfortunately there are some steep steps to get to it and he’s big enough that carrying him is challenging. So, I built a ramp. He refused to use the … Continue reading Ramp it up

A fried who I play Dungeons and Dragons with bought a VR headset recently. This prompted discussion about how cool DnD would be in VR. Sure, it would be very cool to really feel a part of the world my friends and I conjure up in our imagination. But it wouldn’t capture all of the magic and I think would leave the best bits out. … Continue reading Immersion, VR style

Corruption is a thing that most would agree should be stamped out. But what is corruption? Less developed countries don’t fare as well on the Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual list published by Transparency International. Its measures are clear and the conclusions it arrives at are reasoned. For a macro view of corruption, this kind of scale makes for easy comparison. Far trickier, is to … Continue reading Corruption – where are you?

Unexpectedly, you have a chance to share some of your work more widely than you’d anticipated. You’re concerned that it won’t be well received, that the prospective audience isn’t the one you hoped for. You find yourself wondering what there is in the early work you don’t remember so well (which the internet serves up easily), that isn’t great. Worse – what is there in … Continue reading When opportunity knocks

Seth Godin often uses the phrase “people like us do things like this”. He’s written a mini-essay on the idea and graciously made it available for us to read. My beloved and I have been discussing the harm humans do to one another, indirectly, and how hoping that will change seems forlorn. If there is hope to be found, it’s in the idea that “people … Continue reading People like us

Caroline Flack’s death has prompted a boycott of celebrity gossip magazines. There’s lots to unpack about her unfortunate death (though not more unfortunate than that of so many people who aren’t well-known), but this action is both warranted and overdue. It points to a bigger issue in my mind, which is of everyone’s responsibility for creating demand and how this impacts individuals, society, the composition … Continue reading Responsibility

I’m finally starting to get on top of doing some training, after a long period where it’s felt surprisingly (to me) difficult to be enthused about the idea. In years gone by I’ve needed little encouragement to get outside and run, so I’ve had to recognise how major life events have changed that position. The key difference in this most recent attempt to train, is … Continue reading Fitness update: make it easy and attractive

Today I was at a former teacher training college and thought about the futures of the young people I saw there. I’ve also been thinking on food bank use, the political views (as reported) of some of their users, and the resignation of Andrew Sabisky. The common thread in reflecting on the above, is ‘level of contribution’. I believe the UK economy can and should … Continue reading From each according to ability

Watching the American Presidential election campaigning isn’t uplifting for me. Hearing the de facto Republication nominee speak is acutely dispiriting. Trump’s populist mocking of Parasite’s success at the Oscars does serve a lesson though. Trump doesn’t need universal approval, but he does need support and having foregone rational argument he must play to the gallery. It’s a formula that brought him victory and draws large … Continue reading Leadership isn’t winning

My beloved is, in their words, in ‘limbo’ at the minute. It’s difficult for them and is bringing up a sense of ‘running out of time’, which I’m doing my best to help with. Perhaps oddly, I was reminded of helicopter underwater escape training I went through many moons ago. The simulated craft hits the water in the dark, there’s some deliberately disorienting flashes while … Continue reading Helicopter crash simulation