Well, sure, of course things change over time. Caught in the moment though, it often doesn’t feel like it. A friend and I talked about birthdays today, which got me thinking about what I was doing when I was twenty-one. Around that time I was in the Balkans on a peace-keeping mission. I remember flying into Split, Croatia, diving toward the ground to land quickly … Continue reading Wow, that’s change
I’m looking for a job at the moment and bringing some of my knowledge up to date. Any IT Service Management fans out there? Anyone? What I’m struck by in the description of the processes, is how many of them have roots going back a long way, to what seems like mere common sense. Once you layer business need and IT complexity on top of … Continue reading Plan Do Check Act
Reading on from the First Round Review newsletter today (thanks for that tip, Dan), I clicked on a link about imposter syndrome. Dr Emily Anhalt notes: “Most people with competence have some Imposter Syndrome, because they know how much they don’t know. It’s the opposite of the Dunning-Kruger effect.” Competent people know how much they don’t know. If you’re feeling inadequate, remember you’re merely conscious … Continue reading You don’t know, you know
I’m delighted to have read that the University of Bristol Medical School are making changes to their medical training, to better prepare students to diagnose and treat the multi-ethnic population in UK. Progress is being made. It’s important to recognise that, even as there remains so much to be done. Progress is being made. Keep going. . (Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash) Continue reading Bringing medicine up to date
Nearly 14 hours in and half the distance done, or thereabouts. It was properly dark at 2am, and the weather is turning a little earlier than expected. On with the show! Trotting along the River Thames by the moonlight was peaceful for a while, until the clouds rolled in and it started drizzling. Although no longer peaceful, the drizzle was quite nice and refreshing actually, … Continue reading Ridgeway Ramble Write Up – part three: into extra time
I’m a big fan of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – a fictionalised autobiography and philosophical discussion that I read only because I had a motorbike needing more maintenance than I could patiently provide! One of the things that keeps coming back to me from the book, was the proposed use of a shim (a thin piece of metal, actually a cut up … Continue reading Shims, and my running cap
In the midst of the confusion and controversy around grading in the absence of exams, I’ve been thinking about what defines us. Certainly our choices are impacted by the qualifications we hold, especially as a young person who hasn’t had much opportunity to demonstrate other facets of themselves. We’re not defined by these qualifications though. Whether a perfect system assigns grades or not, no matter … Continue reading What defines you
‘How hard can it be?’ It’s an approach that lets me buy-in to uncertainty and challenge. It’s an approach I’m very fond of, but it’s not a plan. In a couple of days I was going to trot along The Ridgeway, 87.5 miles of route I’m unfamiliar with, as quick as I could. A plan was needed. Armed with a map and a friend and … Continue reading Ridgeway Ramble Write Up – part two: a game of two halves
That moment when you realise you gotta get going again, but everything seems quite nice where you’re at and you’re looking at more uphill. Keep the goal in mind. Crack on. I’m working on my next mini-adventure. :’D . (Photo of me, momentarily ran out of steam on the Longshaw Estate in the Peak District) Continue reading Starting again
COVID-19 brought new urgency to the idea of getting healthier, for me. I’d been thinking about it, talking about it, and very nearly getting around to doing it since July 2019. Well, way before then actually – it went on the to-do list as I recovered from a major depressive episode that floored me in 2013. In those days I’d swim in the sea in … Continue reading Ridgeway Ramble Write Up – part one: the prep
