Starting The Year
Posted: Tue 1 January, 2019 Filed under: 2018/19, Business, Change, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »And so, Happy New Year. Another orbit round the sun, and as is the tradition, some thoughts about what’s coming.
As usual, I don’t really do resolutions – particularly not New Year’s ones. I do a list around my birthday, which can be found here, but I’m thinking about some changes this year as part of that as well.
One of the things that will change a bit is that I’m going to put more into sorting out routines for things, rather than necessarily just looking at the goals themselves. There are a couple of bits on my list where it’s about “I want to have done [x]”, and that’s fine. But more of them are about “I want to achieve [y]”, and while I’ve always had the intention, the actuality has evaded me.
Last year I got pointed at this article about creating systems rather than setting goals, and it rang a major bell with me.
All told, I’m in a good place to get started on this stuff.
I’ve just completed version one of a project for another contact, and I’ve done pretty much all I can on it until they get back to me with final information. It’s a working version, although I’ve had to replace some of the functionality/information I’m waiting for with automated processes for the minute. But I’m happy with where it is, and it’s now out of my brain, which is A Good Thing.
Of course, it’s immediately been replaced with another project – this one something that’s important to me as well – which I want to work on sooner rather than later.
So, Happy New Year. Onwards and upwards, etc. etc.
And as one of the Doctors would say, “Allons-y!”
What’s The Plan?
Posted: Sun 1 January, 2017 Filed under: 2016/17, Business, Do More, Domestic, Finances, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Health, Resolutions, Thoughts, Weigh Less, Write More Leave a comment »And here we are, at the start of 2017. Didn’t that come round quickly?
As with previous years, I don’t really make resolutions. It’s all pretty arbitrary, the whole resolutions thing, so I usually choose to make plans from one birthday to the next, rather than the whole “January 1st is for new starts” cobblers.
This year, I’ve got some plans for 2017 as a whole though – although they’re not much different to what I’d laid out back in November. However, in my head, I’ve laid some of these down as being “this year” instead. I don’t quite know why, but it’ll work for me.
So – what are they? Well, in no particular order…
- Finances
- Add a significant amount into the savings
- Work
- Figure out what comes next after the current contract (I’m sure that’ll happen at some point in the coming year)
- Learn some new stuff, because why not?
- Launch at least one of the projects that’ve been in my head for way too long
- Writing
- Complete at least one of the screenplay ideas I’ve started in 2016
- and then figure out what the hell to do with it/them
- Complete a book idea I’ve got, and publish it (for Kindle)
- Health
- Lose weight (I’ve put some on over the Festering Season, and want to lose that, plus a bit more)
- Do some training/practice walks for that walking marathon in September
- and then complete it on the day
And really that’s it. There might be a couple of other projects along the way, but that’s the main objectives, all in one place.
Whether or not they happen, I don’t know. (Obviously, as we’re only on Day One) But I’m going to give it a damn good go.
Year Start
Posted: Wed 1 January, 2014 Filed under: 2013/14, Domestic, Project 42, Resolutions Leave a comment »And lo, here we are in 2014. It seems like only yesterday that it was merely 2013. Oh yeah – it was only yesterday. How time flies.
Anyway, the year comes with some plans. Not resolutions, oh no no no, we don’t do those here chez Lyle. There’s the ongoing plan for 2013/14, which is pretty simple, but this is more of a “Things I’d Like To Do In 2014”.
Of course, the original 2013/14 goals are still in place as primary things, which are…
- Weigh Less
- Write More
But there’s also a few other bits that I’d like to do this year, including…
- Carry on the progress from 2013
- Develop the software / websites for the main company stuff I’m doing
- Keep working on finances and rebuilding
- Take a proper holiday somewhere – even ‘just’ in the UK, but some time out
- See friends more regularly, and generally be a bit more sociable
- Take the IAM driving test – purely for my own ego, but I’d still like to do it
And that’s about it for the ‘plan’ side of things. The “Random shit” side is likely to be a lot more busy, in fairness.
New Year’s Eve
Posted: Tue 31 December, 2013 Filed under: Change, Charm School, Cynicism, Festering Season, New Year, People, Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »
Unsurprisingly, I don’t really do New Year’s Eve. Partly it’s that whole “Everyone else does it, so I don’t” thing I’ve written about before on here, but primarily I just don’t quite get the whole concept. OK, we go from [old year] to [new year]. Big whoop. I get it – or at least more so – with birthdays, the anniversal thing of being another year older. (Or, more pessimistically, the celebration of having got through another shit year) But celebrating a new year leaves me cold – let alone the whole ‘resolutions’ thing.
I suppose it makes sense in a “The new one will be better than the old one” spirit of hope and optimism over [x] years of experience, although one assumes that leaves most people really quite disappointed.
I’ve never been a fan of it though – I did too many New Year’s Eves working in pubs, dealing with pissed idiots singing “Auld Lang Syne” and being all ‘love thy fellow man’ at midnight, and kicking the shit out of each other by quarter-past. New Year’s loses its happy glow when you’re sat (for the third year running) waiting for an ambulance by half-past.
I know, I’m a grouchy old sod. I accept that about myself, and try to stop it from affecting others, and their decisions.
All the same, I’ll be quite contented tonight to be at home, just doing my own thing.
Have a good one, wherever you are, and whatever you choose to do.
Snow vs Resolution
Posted: Sun 10 January, 2010 Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Health, Resolutions 1 Comment »One of my plans for 2010 is to keep on losing weight, and get myself back to the gym, see how things go.
I had planned to be going in some time over the last week, at least get started on the idea. However, the weather has kind of kicked that into touch, and will probably continue to do so this coming week.
It might sound like the weather’s an excuse – and I suppose if I were really determined, I could still go, but it’d be interesting, to say the least. The gym itself is on the outskirts of another local village, where the roads haven’t been gritted at all. But I’ve had one crunch on dodgy roads this winter, and I really don’t want to have another one – particularly while I’m still in the poxy hire car.
I will go back to the gym – but only when it’s safe to do so.
NCFE Photography – The Result
Posted: Wed 1 July, 2009 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), NCFE Course, Photography, Resolutions Leave a comment »So, ten months after starting the course – three terms of ten weeks each, plus breaks for half-term and between terms – I’ve now passed my NCFE Level 2 Photography certificate.
I’ve written about the course on odd occasions over the last year, and it’s been a pretty good course all told. I wouldn’t say I’ve learned masses, but that wasn’t necessarily my goal for the course – it was more about getting more motivation for going out and taking photos, which was more what I needed – and in that way, it’s been pretty successful.
There’s a fair number of the final portfolio images in this set on my Flickr pages although I haven’t added all of them yet.
All told, I’m pleased to have successfully completed the course, and to have built up the portfolio project, and it’s another thing to add to the CV. All the people on the course have decided we’ll continue to meet up on a regular basis, and keep our motivation going in that way, creating in effect our own photography club, so we’ll see how that goes.
And for further further education? I don’t know yet – Norfolk’s Adult Education has apparently been hit hard by budget cuts, so there are nowhere near as many courses for 2009/10, and even more annoyingly it looks like the NCFE have also stopped doing the Level 3 certificate completely. So we’ll just have to see what I decide to do on that score.
For now, I’m going to enjoy a summer off, and take some time to think about what comes next.
Writing Plans
Posted: Wed 28 January, 2009 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Travel, Writing 1 Comment »As I’ve written before, one of my plans for this year is to get some more writing done. I’m working on it, and there’s still a lot of the year to go, so we’ll see how things work out.
However, I’ve also been thinking about getting some impetus towards year-end, where I can both learn a bit more about my preferred writing areas, and (hopefully) get some feedback on ideas that I’ll have written – or at the bare minimum, have outlined and started – by that time.
In that light, and because I’ve known about them for years, I’ve signed up for a course through the Arvon Foundation, which I’m already really looking forward to.
It’s a cost of nearly £600 for the week, but that includes all food, board etc., but I think it’ll be an interesting departure, and something cool to do. Who knows, if it works out well, I might even go on more of them in 2010…
One Month To Go
Posted: Sun 5 October, 2008 Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »In one month’s time, my birthday will be here again, and this year (, Matthew,) I’m going to be 37. That means I need to write out the next progress document for that Five Year Plan, and how things are going.
Looking back over that category, and the plans for the last year (and I admit, I haven’t checked over that list on enough occasions) I look to have actually done OK.
I’ll have the full progress document ready for 5th November though.
Gym Start
Posted: Wed 3 September, 2008 Filed under: Health, Resolutions, Thoughts 1 Comment »About the time this gets published, I’ll be at the gym for the induction guff and first session.
I’m actually looking forward to it – I know that over the last year I’ve put on weight again, so I do want to start working it off again. The gym itself is brand new, and only opened on Sept 1, so it’ll be interesting to see how it’s all come together. (we saw it before it opened, while everything was still getting ready and put together)
Obviously I’m not looking forward to the actual bit where they do the weighing and measuring of my current self, but even that will at least give me some motivation towards losing it again.
I shall post all/any/none of the depressing figures on here later or tomorrow, depending on how I feel about them…
Script One Completed
Posted: Tue 2 September, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Writing Leave a comment »Happy, happy day. I’ve now completed the first full draft of the script I’m working on with Tom – definitely a cause for celebration.
If I’m honest, it’s the first piece of writing I’ve actually completed in far too long – but it most certainly won’t be the last.
In fact, there’s already two or three other ideas waiting in the wings, and getting ready to be added to the CeltX project centre.
Of course, I’m sure there’ll be some alterations come back from Tom, but for now well I’m just happy that the first phase of it is completed. It’s taken longer than expected by about a week, and it’s meant that the project isn’t likely to be done and ready in time, which is a bummer – although we’ll still be making it, and if it’s not ready for this one then we’ll have it ready and polished for next time.
Over to you, Dragon…
Scripting
Posted: Thu 28 August, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Thoughts, Writing Leave a comment »A couple of weeks ago, Dragon wrote about a challenge to get a short film written, filmed and edited in 30 days – which sounded interesting.
So I submitted a brief idea to him – one that wasn’t written, and actually wasn’t anywhere except in my head. Even the brief was only written down for the first time in the first email to him. Admittedly, the initial plan was to have a completed script that just needed something doing to it – which would certainly have been possible in that thirty day limit.
As it is, the script has been being written by me at any spare moment, and is now just about complete. I’m sure that we’re not going to make the submission deadline of the 15th Sept – and I know that a fair dollop of the responsibility for that falls on my shoulders, as even with the writing deadline (and perhaps even because of it) my mind blocked up solidly for the best part of a week on how the entire thing should progress.
It’s been an interesting challenge already though – and we’ve already decided that the short film will be made from it as well, it’s just that it won’t get in to this year’s submissions. It’ll be getting submitted for next year though, you can be sure. (Well, so long as it actually works as a story, anyway)
It’s also the first time I’ve actually written a screenplay/script – so that’s been a learning curve in and of itself. But it’s certainly got the old creative juices flowing – there’s already the thoughts and plans for at least three other pieces to be done once this one is finally completed and out the door. (Well, out of the email box, to be pedantic)
Once again, the biggest bit of the challenge has been to get myself motivated to do the writing – and on that score, Dragon’s challenge has been a complete winner.
Just have to see how long it continues now, I guess…
Fuckin’ Comments
Posted: Thu 2 November, 2006 Filed under: D4D™, Geeky, Getting Organised, Resolutions 1 Comment »Yes, yet a-fucking-gain, the comments system is down.
I’m going to be looking at upgrading/redesigning D4D™ to WordPress 2.0 while we’re away this weekend, I think.
Bloody thing.
UPDATED : And now it’s fixed again. Poxy thing, definitely needs looking at. Grrrr.
Resolutions – The End of The Road
Posted: Sun 29 October, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »Over the year, I’ve had a list of resolutions, and thought I’d do a quick update before the birthday rears its ugly head in a weeks time, as a kind of progress report.
- Photography
Macro Lens– yesPortfolio– working on it as a websiteTalk to Agents/Publishers– spoke to some photographic publishers, which is why the above item changed.Submit work to various places– started off with ImageKind, but no joy yet.Join local camera/photography club– tried, and it all turned to bollocksLook at potential for “proper” photography qualification– looked at it, but nothing that’s viable for 2006/7 academic year- Work
Get the three main sites up and running– two of three, and other ideas too- Make them successful – getting there
- Keep track of how they do – yes
- Reassess in Jan 2007 – if they haven’t worked, kill ‘em – moving this to various times in 2007
Get more smaller sites done and paid– yep, two so far, and more on the way- Writing
More “proper” writing– it’s starting – nothing publishable yet, but it’s starting- Longer pieces for d4d? – no, and that idea is back ‘on hold’
- D4D
- That bloody sweary filter. – nope
- Installing WordPress 2.0 – nope, and not going to
- Photoblogging? – nope, but may come up elsewhere
Thankfully, it actually it looks like I’ve managed to get a fair amount done since the last update back in July. And that’s something I’m pleased about – seeing how little I’d got done by that time was quite demoralising. I knew that the work I was doing at the time, and the influence of Arsehole Boss in general wasn’t helping my motivation one jot, so it’s good to see that moving on work-wise has started having a positive effect on everything again.
New Lens
Posted: Sat 21 October, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions, Getting Organised, Photography Leave a comment »Photgraphically, it turns out I’m a numpty.
OK, that needs a bit of explanation.
On Saturday, I ordered a new Lens for my camera. Turns out I ordered the wrong one. Not the wrong fitting, or anything really stupid. It’s just I clicked on the 100mm f2 USM lens, instead of the 100mm f2.8 Macro USM lens which was the item under the one I clicked on. As Scary would say, “Oh, Spoons”
Luckily, despite being a numpty who can’t even click a mouse on the correct item, the lens I do now have is going to be fine for a lot of things. I’d been looking at (OK, honestly, dreaming of) the absolutely beautiful – and effing huge/heavy – L Series 85mm f1.2 lens from Canon, and while that’s well out of my current price range, this new lens will do a similar job for about a sixth of the price – and will at least give me some range to see how I do with it.
But I still need to order that Macro lens too – I might wait a few weeks now, though…
To PhotoBlog or not?
Posted: Tue 17 October, 2006 Filed under: Own Business, Photography, Resolutions, Thoughts 3 Comments »I’ve been doing some more thinking about the site for my photography that I was writing about yesterday.
Basically, the question that came up was this : Do I make it into a photoblog like Chromasia, DDOI et al, or do I have it as a simple portfolio site, just to show off what I can do, along with contact details, etc.?
I can’t deny, I’ve always kind of liked the idea of a photoblog (I hate that word, but can’t come up with a better one at the moment. Hey Ho) although it does have the potential downside of not updating every day, or – to my mind even worse – the intention of adding a new shot every day, but never quite managing to do so. Combined with that is the part of me that worries about diluting “the brand”, or similarly of diluting the strength of some of the images by just having one every day, so some are great and others merely so-so.
As for having it as “just” a portfolio, that quite appeals too. It’d certainly be simpler, and (in theory at least) a lot less work than a constantly updated site with new photos all the time. This is of particular relevance at the moment, where I can’t deny that my motivation is pretty rock-bottom and merely ticking over, and also where I’m away from home for four nights a week. While this should give me the time to get a lot of stuff done, I can’t deny that at the moment it’s leaving me a bit numb, and slightly “CBA” about the entire thing.
So I think that for now it’s likely I’ll leave the site as “just” a portfolio site, where a selection of my better/favourite photos can be viewed, rather than doing stuff for it every day.
Although, of course, that doesn’t mean that at some point in the future I won’t add in a PhotoBlog section…
Macro Lens
Posted: Mon 16 October, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions, Photography Leave a comment »Over the weekend, I gave in to temptation, and ordered myself the Macro Lens I’d been thinking about.
So, I’m now the proud owner (well, I will be when it arrives) of a Canon 100mm EF f2.4 Macro Lens – and no, I didn’t order it from Jessops, but their site had a decent page that described the lens, rather than the appaling site of the place I did buy it from. I’ve used them before, and the service I got was fine, despite the site, so on this occasion I’m going to go with them again.
At the same time, I also ordered a second battery for the camera – I figure it’s best to have two, which’ll keep me going whenever necessary.
So, that’s one resolution out the way, anyway.
Photography Decisions
Posted: Tue 10 October, 2006 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions 2 Comments »So, before long I really need to get a couple of things for the camera – but the question is which should I get first?
I know I want/need a decent flashgun, but also with the stuff I do a lot of (and intend to get more done over the next few months) is the macro close-up stuff again.
I can get away with not needing a decent wide-angle lens for a while, as I’ve got the 18-55mm lens that came with the camera, and I can do a fair amount of work with that before I need to do anything else.
So really it comes down to : a) Macro Lens or b) Flashgun.
Which first?
Coming Up Fast
Posted: Sun 8 October, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions, Getting Organised, Thoughts 1 Comment »So, in less than a month’s time, I’m going to be thirty-fucking-five. How scary is that?
In the time between now and then, I’m working on getting a few things set up so that I can get going with my plans for the next five year period, and start getting some of those ideas off the ground.
Should be interesting, and more about it as the time comes closer, I’m sure.
Businesslike
Posted: Fri 1 September, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions, Getting Organised, Own Business, Photography 1 Comment »Over the weekend, we’ll be up in Birmingham at the Autumn Fair, a tradeshow for all kinds of gubbins at the NEC. We’ve got some specific stuff to be checking out, but I’m also aiming to sort out a couple of those resolutions, and make some contact with a few photo publishers and the like. Should be interesting.
Anyway, because of this I’ve had to make myself look somewhat professional, and get some business cards printed along with getting a useful stand-alone number that I can redirect to anywhere, so I know if it’s a business call instead of a personal one.
The cards came yesterday, and actually look pretty good considering that they cost me about £6 all told. In fact it’s quite surprising how easy it can be to set up all that kind of stuff now, with all the trappings of respectability…
Weight Stuff
Posted: Wed 12 July, 2006 Filed under: Health, Resolutions 6 Comments »OK, I went to the gym last night for a “reprogramme” on what I do. It was supposed to happen last week, but well, I forgot my kit, and it all generally went a bit tits up.
So last night was the one. And I did OK – I’ve a new programme of work, which should be interesting. I nearly passed out on the rowing machine, but that’s because the instructor told me to breathe on each stroke (Hello Google), and once you start doing 34 breaths a minute – well, OK, once I start to do 34 breaths a minute, I end up hyperventilating. Which really isn’t much good or much fun, and doesn’t tend to do much for one’s health. Particularly when one almost bounces one’s head off the next rowing-machine along.
But anyway. The weird bit is this : Back in January when I went for the initial session my BMI was 30.1. I’ve since lost about a stone, and lost a lot of visible fat. So how come my BMI is now 33.3?
Or is it all just a load of old bollocks, and nothing I should worry about?
Quarter gone
Posted: Fri 31 March, 2006 Filed under: Getting Organised, Resolutions, Thoughts 2 Comments »How the hell is it nearly April already?
Quarter of the year gone, and I just feel like I’ve done fuck all. (and to the smart-arses in the audience yelling “You haven’t”, I respond with a swift ‘piss off’, and a raised digit)
Hopefully the next three months will at least feel like they’ve been a bit more productive. Who knows…
Organisation – Getting There
Posted: Mon 16 January, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions, Getting Organised, Own Business 1 Comment »Well, the first few steps of the organisational stuff are beginning to happen.
I’ve actually (finally) sent out the invoices for some stuff I did before Christmas. Yes, see, I’m even disorganised when it comes to money that people owe me. Not for much longer, but yes, it’d got that bad.
All told, it doesn’t come to that much – less than £100 – which is probably why it’s taken me ages to get round to it. But it’s worth doing. After all, money’s money.
We also sat down last night and wrote out a bundle of to-do lists, which was certainly something I needed to do. My worry with these lists is if I forget to add something on to them – in which case the odds are even higher that I’ll forget all about it very quickly. So I need to get myself into the habit of writing stuff down when I agree to it or remember it, and that way the odds are lessened. But it’s a bit of a faff all the same. Still, I’ll get there.
7×7
Posted: Wed 11 January, 2006 Filed under: Resolutions, Thoughts 1 Comment »via Pix, comes 7×7
Seven Things To Do Before I Die
- Have a book of my photos published
- Go back to being self-employed
- Travel more – particularly the US and New Zealand
- Have hellspawn (now there’s a scary concept – me with a child)
- Do more charity gubbins
- Write a book or a screenplay. Get published
- See something I’ve written on TV
Seven Things I Can’t Do
- Write Lists
- Run a Marathon
- Completely cut out caffeine
- Stop Swearing but hey, you wouldn’t want me to, right?
- Knuckle Down
- Get to 12 stone in Weight
- Not be a techie
Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging:
- Keeping on Writing
- Proving I can keep on with a project
- Immediacy
- Readers
- Using blog as a brain-dump for ideas/stress
- Photoblogging (must get round to that, I know)
- Meeting people through their blogs
Seven Things I Say Most Often:
- Fuck (and variants)
- Cunt (and variants)
- Bollocks (and variants)
- Fucking Cunty Bollocks
- For Fuck’s Sake
- Personally
- I Think So
Seven Books That I Love
- Homeboy by Seth Morgan
- Green River Rising by Tim Willocks
- anything by Chris Brookmyre
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- anything by Peter F Hamilton
- Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again
- West Wing on DVD – not a movie, but still most-watched thing
- 10 Things I Hate About You – embarassing, but true
- Split Second – Rutger Hauer, and the line “We need bigger fucking guns“. Say no more
- Nikita
- Matrix – but mainly for the lobby scene
- Tootsie – again, embarassing, but if it’s on, I just keep on watching it
- Jesus of Montreal – Weird, Canadian, Fantastic
Seven People I Want To Join In Too
Yeah, well, whoever. Times 7.
Savers?
Posted: Wed 4 January, 2006 Filed under: Resolutions, Thoughts 2 Comments »Bah, £350 later, I’ve ordered new glasses.
In fairness that £350 does equate to two pairs of new glasses, one standard, and one with high-index reactolite lenses by Zeiss – which accounts for £200 of it on their own. Plus £30 for the anti-scratch coating. So yeah, could be worse.
And, because I’m officially Blind As A Badger® the NHS sticks me on their “complex lens” thingy, which means I get a whacking £12.40 off the price of the lenses. Which is roughly half the cost of the anti-scratch coating. Or roughly 5% of the cost of the lenses. So, based in the real-world, then. *ahem*
They’ll be ready in a couple of weeks time, and I’m actually quite looking forward to getting them. My prescription had only changed slightly, but the current pair have lasted me three years (if not four, thinking about it) which isn’t bad, all things considered.
Starting Off
Posted: Wed 4 January, 2006 Filed under: Resolutions, Thoughts 1 Comment »I seem to have hit the beginning of 2006 as “start the way you mean to go on”.
So today I’m at the opticians first thing to get an eye-test and two new pairs of glasses (Should’ve gone to Specsavers? Oh, I have) And then tonight it’s my induction at the new gym.
Yes, I’ve changed gyms. The one I was going to was quite out-of-the way, so if we were busy then gym attendance was one of the first things to bite the dust. The new one (I signed up on the 31st Dec, but the induction is today) is just behind the office, which makes it a) easier to get to and b) harder to avoid. Although B) is probably a good thing.
So what with new camera bag, new gym, and new glasses, things are looking fairly impressive so far.
Don’t worry, it won’t last…
2006 Resolutions
Posted: Sun 1 January, 2006 Filed under: 2006 Resolutions 2 Comments »Well, last year I did a bundle of resolutions and things, and got about half of them done. These are the ones that remain…
- Making a photo portfolio, and taking it to a couple of agents, seeing how I do
- Doing a few more bits of proper writing
- Taking time out, and not running round like quite such a silly bastard
- Enjoying life in its new facets
So – they’re still going to be in for the ’06 list. However, rather than having them as resolutions per se, I’m going to have it as more of a to-do list this year, I think. (for ease of reference though, I’m still going to keep it under the ‘resolutions’ category.) That way I can also have some categories within it and so on, which seems sensible in some strange way. So, for now, the list is as follows…
- Photography
- Macro Lens
- Portfolio
- Talk to Agents
- Submit work to various places
- Join local camera/photography club
- Look at potential for “proper” photography qualification
- Work
- Get the three main sites up and running
- Make them successful
- Keep track of how they do
- Reassess in Jan 2007 – if they haven’t worked, kill ’em
- Get more smaller sites done and paid
- Writing
- More “proper” writing
- Longer pieces for d4d?
- D4D
- That bloody sweary filter.
- Installing WordPress 2.0
- Photoblogging?
Resolutions Finale
Posted: Tue 27 December, 2005 Filed under: 2005 Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »Ah yes, back to that old chestnut for the Festering Season, resolutions. Well hell, it fills some space while I’m away…
Anyway, not much has changed since last time I posted on the subject – bit of a dead loss really.
But this is also where it gets interesting. Because I need to come up with some ideas for the ’06 Resolutions. And that’s what I’m going to be doing over the next few days. Some of the outstanding ’05 ones will probably make it onto the list, but perhaps not all of them.
And in the meantime, yes, I’m thinking about some new challenges and ideas. Got to keep myself mentally active and all that. After all, I’m thirty-bloody-five in ’06…
Weighty Issues
Posted: Wed 7 December, 2005 Filed under: 2005 Resolutions, Health, Thoughts 4 Comments »Roughly six months ago, I wrote about the weight I’d managed to lose in the first part of the year – at the time I was down to 19st 10lb. I’ve eased up on the dieting a bit since, and not been cycling to work in a while – although I do generally walk home from the train station most days.
Anyway, I weighed myself yesterday, and while I’ve put on a little bit, I’m now dead on the 20st mark. No, that’s not light – but it does mean that even without making every effort for the weight to come off, or to keep it off, I’ve still managed to maintain pretty much the same weight for six months now.
And to me, that’s still a success. Yes, I’d like to lose some more, and there’s some other stuff I plan to do in order to manage that – but equally I suspect that whatever I lose in fat will just change to muscle (I know it’s not a “just change” procedure, but the fat will go and be replaced by muscle that has developed from the exercise) so I’ll still be in a similar weight range, I guess.
These are the kind of thoughts that follow you on a day when you’re sorting out techie stuff…
Photo progress
Posted: Sat 3 December, 2005 Filed under: 2005 Resolutions, Photography, Thoughts 1 Comment »A very large thank you to the person (he knows who he is) who sent me a monopod for the camera. I’m sure it’s going to come in very useful indeed.
Progress with the new EOS20D has been slow of late – I’m still getting there, but over the last couple of weeks I haven’t really had the opportunity to go out with it and get anything good. I suppose that over time that’s something I need to do more, is make time to go out and take photos. After all, the best learning method is practice, or so people keep telling me.
The monopod will come in handy for a lot of the stuff that I do, I’m sure. I saw one in use at the Euro OSCON in Amsterdam earlier this year, and realised that once I’d got a heavy bit of kit like the EOS20D, it’d almost certainly be something that’d come in handy.
So yes, many thanks again.
More ticks on the list
Posted: Wed 30 November, 2005 Filed under: 2005 Resolutions, Travel 1 Comment »A while back I wrote about the progressions in my driving since passing the test in August. Last night I checked off a couple of the things on the “still to do”.
I’ve now driven in nearly-central London (Shepherd’s Bush and Hammersmith, to be exact) and done my first stint on the M25. And no problems on either thing.
Of course, it being half eleven on a Tuesday night might have helped a bit, but all the same, they’re checked off the list now.
Portfolio Printage
Posted: Sat 19 November, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions 3 Comments »Arse. Remember that post about resolutions? Where I said “I’ve got the portfolio itself, but not done anything with it yet. I’ve also recently found another way of doing it that I haven’t yet experimented with – but I intend to do so before the year’s out.“?
Well, I just tried it out – and failed.
I was quite optimistic when I saw Qoop‘s page, which supposedly made it easy to print a photo-book from your Flickr photos. And yes, in many ways it does make it easy – you can simply select a bundle of photos (either entire sets, or individual frames) to be printed.
But – and, in the context of printing a portfolio-type book this is a bit of a big issue – you can’t organise how they’re going to be laid out. It seems to work from an alphabetical point of view, that the photos are done in order of the alphabetical names of the sets. So really it’s more hassle than it’s worth to come up with something viable.
I’ll keep on looking around, because I do like the idea of a printed book as an alternative method of portfolioing (is that a word?), but I’m also going to have to work on completing that proper ‘folio now as well.
Still, it was worth a try.
Resolutions – Progress?
Posted: Wed 16 November, 2005 Filed under: 2005 Resolutions Leave a comment »Way back in January, I posted a list of my ’05 Resolutions…
- Making a photo portfolio, and taking it to a couple of agents, seeing how I do
- Sorting out the Driving Test
- Doing a few more bits of proper writing
- Taking time out, and not running round like quite such a silly bastard
- Enjoying life in its new facets
- Debating whether to close my current company and restart with something new.
- Lots of other things that I’ll list as I go on
- Change jobs
So, with six weeks to go, how have I done?
- Not much progress – I’ve got the portfolio itself, but not done anything with it yet. I’ve also recently found another way of doing it that I haven’t yet experimented with – but I intend to do so before the year’s out.
- Done and passed
- Nope, not even close. Not even begun, if I’m honest. And no, NaNoWriMo wouldn’t help either
- Yes-ish. I have had more holidays this year than last, so I guess that’s pretty much a “check!”
- Ditto
- Company completely closed and shut down
- Yes, Job changed, and much happier in the new one.
Which means I’ve completed five out of the seven resolutions, with a couple of odds and sods still to go. At least I’ve managed to get most of the big bits completed (except that bloody portfolio)
Driving Force
Posted: Thu 10 November, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions, Thoughts, Travel 1 Comment »It’s now three months since I passed the driving test – doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? (Still, at least it didn’t take me 33 years, like this woman)
In that time I’ve done a fair amount of driving, including fun stuff like motorways. I haven’t yet done the M25 at all, nor driven in Central London – there’s still plenty of stuff I haven’t done, in fact, but I’ll get round to it. For the first piece of time though, it’s been more about gaining more confidence on the road, and being comfortable with driving.
Quite honestly, driving isn’t something I enjoy. It’s something I do. Maybe I’ll grow to enjoy it, but it’s not something I love doing. My brother, on the other hand, passed his test as soon as possible, and covers about 1,500-2,000 miles per month now. He loves driving. I don’t.
But I still do it – and I’ll keep on doing so. Maybe with time I’ll get to like it. For now, though, it’s just something that I do when necessary.
Photies
Posted: Tue 8 November, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions, Travel 2 Comments »Well, I’m back in the land of the living. And photos have been uploaded to my Flickr page so you can see them there. I’ll probably add more to it later, but for now that little selection will do.
As should be fairly obvious, I’m beginning to get the hang of the new camera. It’s an amazing bit of kit (and no, Andy, all the offers etc. on it don’t mean it’s a crap camera by any stretch!) that I hope will be able to keep pace with my development for a few years at least. There’s still a long way to go at the moment – and I definitely intend to sort out a macro lens early in the new year, along with (possibly) a Lensbaby, which could make for some interesting ideas and creative odds and sods.
I still find an awful lot of my inspiration comes from people like Chromasia, although there’s also a lot of other sources involved. And I’ve got a couple more shots that are going to get submitted to Amateur Photographer in the next couple of months and so on too.
So yes, photographic development (pardon the pun) is progressing, and I’m pleased with the way it’s going. I haven’t done a whole lot of photos this year, but I intend to change that in 2006 again. And I’ve *still* got to put together that portfolio…
Getting Back
Posted: Sun 9 October, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »Well, after my second session of archery with the new bow, I can definitely say I’m back into it. There’s still the old skill/talent there, which is something I’m pleased about – I wasn’t sure whether it would be after 15 – 20 years, but obviously it is.
The other shooters at the club thought I must’ve been doing this for a lot longer than two sessions, as the shots were consistent and pretty much on target. Of course, I’m still “finger shooting” (i.e. not using all manner of new and wonderful technology in order to be more of an archery robot) so it’s not perfect. There can be a lot of difference between shots when you’re sticking with the manual method, but I still find it quite satisfying knowing that it’s you that’s doing the work, instead of release aids, mechanical stuff, and the like.
All things considered, though, I’m really happy to be getting back into archery.
With one exception – despite leather boots, outdoor archery at this time of year doesn’t half lead to soggy feet…
Speeding
Posted: Tue 4 October, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions, Thoughts 3 Comments »Last night had one part that was kind of fun.
Going along the dual-carriageway to pick up Herself from her night out (damn, knew this driving lark had a downside! *grin*), I was going past a whole row of cars, although still “only” doing 70 when there’s a whole rain of blue flashing lights in the mirror. Fark – having only just passed, I’m only allowed 6 points before I have to go through the entire malarkey again.
So I check the speedo, and yes, I’m only going 70. OK, the buggers can’t be after me. Fucketty shit he’s coming up fast. And bugger, there’s a whole shitload of cars on the left, so I can’t pull in safely to let him past.
Sod it, speed up – he’s going somewhere else, and if I get stopped for speeding, I can pretty much justify it.
85mph past the traffic, straight back into the left lane, and whoosh, off he goes into the night. Thank chuff for a car that’s got some poke…
Bugger
Posted: Mon 19 September, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »OK, I’ve just decided that one thing I really need to do is organise myself a lot better. I was planning on entering a photographic competition ages ago, but had it fixed in my head that the closing date was the end of September. Having just looked at the site again, turns out it was the end of August, and the deadline was September 1st. Arses.
So yes, what with one thing and another over the last couple of weeks, I really need to start organising myself. Maybe I’ll register with Gordon‘s recommendation, Upcoming, which certainly looks like it’s pretty handy for that kind of thing!
Car hunting
Posted: Sat 20 August, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions, Travel Leave a comment »Over this weekend, we’re going to be looking at getting a new car. Not a completely brand-new “fresh from the garage” one, but a car that’s new to us, at least. Currently Herself has a Ford Fiesta, which is fine for her but for me is – let’s say – comical. I’m 6’4″, and built like the proverbial shithouse, so a Fiesta is kind of cramped and compact. Which is phrasing things tactfully.
Anyway, we’re going to be looking at going up a size when it comes to cars – we’re pretty sure of what we’ll be getting, it’s just dependent on fun stuff like price.
Anyway, I’m sure I’ll write more about it after the weekend, but yeah, that’s the kind of fun stuff that this weekend holds for us.
Courses
Posted: Fri 19 August, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 2 Comments »It’s taken a long time to get round to happening, but I’ve finally signed myself on for a course or two from September at the local FE college. I’ve been banging on for a long time about OU stuff and the like, but well, I can’t deny it, I’ve just never really found a course that interests me that much – particularly if it’s going to be something I’ve got to keep on doing for five or six years, one way or another.
On an introspective front, I know I’m far too flighty, and my interests range too far, for sticking with one subject to be of much use or long-term benefit for me. That’s just being brutally honest – by the time I’ve studied something intensively for six years, I’m not likely to want to look at that subject again for at least a similar stretch of time.
So as a kind of halfway house, I’ve gone for a shorter course. The entire thing will take the best part of a year, but it’s in three modules of about 10 or 12 weeks at a time, which should help a lot on that score.
And the subject? Well, in line with a few plans we’ve got for the next year or so – of which more at a later date – I’m going to be starting off with a course on Book-keeping and business finances. Kind of scary, kind of grown-up, but also most definitely something that should come in useful what with one thing and another…
Hotel Chocolat
Posted: Thu 18 August, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions 1 Comment »I know I mention this company on a semi-regular basis, but I still think that the stuff Hotel Chocolat do is – in general – bloody fantastic.
Herself got me one of their “Ultimate Chocolate Dipping Experience” boxes as a thing for me for passing that bloody driving test, and we opened it tonight. Wow.
The dried strawberries aren’t up to much – they rarely are – but the rest is fantastic so far. And of course if we really push it we’ll just get some small fresh strawbs when we have the rest of it over the weekend. Maybe even go to the local pick-your-own place. Hmm, now there’s an idea…
Eventually
Posted: Thu 11 August, 2005 Filed under: News, Resolutions 7 Comments »Well, that’s one success that was well and truly deferred.
Test One was back in ’98, down in Dorchester in Dorset. I failed horrifically, having stalled the car on a hairpin hill curve while on the way back from Weymouth to Dorchester. And rolled back bigtime. Not an auspsicious start.
Test Two came three months later, and put me off driving for a very long time, by the forty-five minutes I’d spent with every other road user trying to kill me. It was market-day, and (among other things) I was nearly side-onned by an idiot coming out of a side-road, rear-ended by a speeding coach, and narrowly avoided a slow-moving (OK, Stationary) skip on a blind corner.
Test Three was in 2003 in Manchester. Another failure for “failing to do proper observations”. I still argue the toss on that one, but well, it’s all in the past now. Bizarrely it again involved a skip, but this time on a junction so I couldn’t see round the fucker. I pulled out to see round it, and then went. The examiner said I should’ve stopped at the line. The response “Could you see round that fucking great skip? Because I bloody couldn’t.” didn’t go down well.
Test Four was in April this year and failed due to fucking up my clutch control at a junction. Unimpressed, but fair to fail me on it.
Test Five was taken in June, and failed for exactly the same reason as Test Four, bizarrely. Not the same junction, but exactly the same fault.
Test Six was today. And yes, at fucking last, I’ve passed. Halle-sodding-lujah!
Competitive
Posted: Sat 30 July, 2005 Filed under: Animals, Photography, Resolutions, Thoughts 1 Comment »Part of my Resolutions this year was to start working harder on my photography stuff, and to both enter more competitions and build up my portfolio. All of these things are now happening, slowly but surely.
Currently, though, I find entering competitions to be quite a demoralising experience. Last month I sent off one I’m particularly pleased with (and, in fact, that we’ve had printed up and framed for the house) of The Hound, taken when we were in Somerset earlier this year. I sent it in to Amateur Photographer‘s “Amateur Photographer of the Year” competition as part of their “Pets” category, and – I can’t deny – I was optimistic. Technically it’s pretty much spot-on, except for the fact it can be a victim of the “it’s not an SLR” snobbery occasionally evidenced in AP, because I took it with my Fuji S5000. But there’s been no alteration to the image at all – no curves adjustment, or white-balance alterations. Not even a crop to make the photo better – that’s how I took it, and as such, yes, I’m bloody pleased with it.
The results were published from the Pets round this week, and of course it came nowhere in the top 30, which is all that’s published in the magazine. And while I can see why some of the images won, there are others that I simply don’t rate at all, and wonder how they were class as winners.
Photography is a horrendously subjective discipline at the best of times, and I suspect that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of entries in each round. I don’t want this to sound like sour grapes, because it isn’t – I’m not going to throw my toys out of the pram screaming “It’s not fair!”. I just wanted to write out some thoughts about the entire thing. I’m not going to stop submitting photos I’m proud of – in fact, there’s two more competitions that I’ll be entering this weekend – and I’m not going to stop working on building a portfolio.
But yes, sometimes I do find it demoralising, sending off stuff I’m pleased with or proud of, only to see it fail to even be rated. Maybe I’ll learn to harden myself a bit to this sort of thing, I don’t know. For now, well, we’ll see.
Photo category
Posted: Mon 18 July, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions, Thoughts 1 Comment »While I’m stumbling around thinking about how to write a CMS for a photoblog (yes, I think that’s the way I’m going to go with it – having looked at a couple of photoblog templates, they’ve annoyed the shite out of me very quickly for not doing stuff the way I want – oh good, more coding work) I’ve changed around my blogroll a bit.
There’s now a new category, simply named “photography” for the photographic sites I look at regularly, such as Chromasia, DDOI and so on. I just want to keep the two sections seperate for a while, and see how I do with it.
I’ve got a lot of photo stuff coming up – for our Anniversary thing, Herself bought me a portfolio (I’ve been saying about doing one all this year, and hadn’t got round to it just yet) so I’m also going to be working on building that up in order to whore out sell some of my stuff, with any luck. It’ll be interesting to see who says what when I get round to touting it about a bit.
All of which makes this kind of thing a lot more interesting, of course…
A Walk down Memory Lane
Posted: Fri 1 July, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions, Thoughts 5 Comments »Via bsag, a fairly interesting little meme about time…
10 years ago…
Hmmm, 1995. I was working in Rugby, as the manager of the Three Horseshoes hotel there. (Nasty website, but I had nowt to do with it. Promise) Working from 6am-ish through to midnight/1am, with (if I was lucky a break in the middle somewhere. Insane hours, little to no sleep, running round like the proverbial fart in a fit. It was brilliant, and in some ways I’d still go back to that kind of work, if I could sort out the hours a bit. Mind you, that’s hotels for you – the breakfast bit is the killer.
5 years ago…
I was definitely in Manchester by that time, but where was I working? *racks brain* I think that I was actually working for Ebookers in London. And commuting between either Manchester and London or Bath and London, thanks to a friend with a flat in Bath, and depending on what else was going on. It was hugely expensive, immensely stressed, and probably overall not many hours less than I’d been doing five years earlier. The pay was better, but was swallowed up by travel, rent, that kind of thing. So, a major change of jobs, but no change in financial status, really. And still as daft as ever.
This time last year…
I was working in Oldham. Less money, easier job. d4d™ was going great guns, and was nearing its second birthday. Tim Henman had collapsed out of Wimbledon like the wet fart he is, and I was looking forward to seeing Herself properly for the first time following on from when we’d been together at the wedding in June. So… shite… that means it’s our first anniversary soon. Flippin’ ‘eck. Time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?
Yesterday…
All very domestic. Working at the new place continues to be cool as chuff, and really rather satisfying. The cycling’s also going well, and thank christ the weather’s cooled down a bit too. Home, and cooked up some seriously yummy Goat’s Cheese and Caramelised Onion pasta, (cheers, Waitrose) although Hound® nicked some of it before it got cooked. Fucker. Ended the evening by watching The Punisher, which was just as brainless and shite as I’d expected, but entertaining all the same. In a dumb “can’t be arsed to do owt else” kind of way. Oh, and started work on two of the websites I need to get sorted.
Today…
A load of work has landed on my desk, so I’m going to be busy for the next couple of weeks with it all. Which is no bad thing at all. Other than that, sorting out events for next weekend, which as well as a certain anniversary is also Father’s birthday, plus the fete where the charity will take part. Oh, and just for good measure there’s the christening of my god-daughter too. Nothing like a quiet weekend. And yes, that one is going to be nothing like a quiet weekend.
Out tonight for a curry with some of Herself’s friends, and I guess we should walk Hound® at some point too.
Tomorrow…
Shopping, Gardening, more website work, and sorting out some photos etc., I think. Oh, and doing some fruit picking somewhere along the line. No solid plans just yet, but I’m sure we’ll be busy. After all, it’s a “quiet” weekend. Ha.
Consistent
Posted: Mon 20 June, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 6 Comments »Arse. Failed it again – on exactly the same thing as last time. Two minor faults, and one fuck-up.
To say I’m pissed off with myself would be an understatement. What’s more, because Reading test centre’s so busy, my next one isn’t ’til mid-August. Fuck it all.
Driving
Posted: Thu 16 June, 2005 Filed under: General, Resolutions 1 Comment »Oooh, pooh, I’d (almost) forgotten that I’ve got a driving test on Monday. Fark.
So yesterday I had my first driving lesson since the last test. Oops. OK, so it’d kind of passed me by as a “really should keep doing that”. Spoons.
I started off thinking “Sod it, I’m in trouble here, I won’t remember a knacking thing”, but within five minutes it reverted to “Ah, I remember it all. This isn’t so bad”. And it did go really well – I actually enjoyed it, which is more than I was expecting to.
Now, roll on Monday. Eight bastard Forty in the morning. Aargh.
Weight Loss – continued
Posted: Fri 29 April, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions 2 Comments »It’s been a while since I last wrote about the weight loss.
It’s frustrating, but it’s been a slow process. I thought I’d be losing it a lot quicker than I am – but at least it’s still going in a downward direction. I just wish the fucker’d fall off faster. Still, maybe if it comes off slowely it’ll stay off. Or somesuch garbage. We’ll see.
Anyway, as of last Sunday, I’m 19st 10lb. I’ve lost a full stone this year, and it’s stayed off. I still want to lose more – and I think that with the cycling and the more sensible diet (by which I mean “the stuff I eat” not whether it’s Weightwatchers, Atkins, HighGI, F-Plan or whatever) it’s going to keep coming off. With more exercise in the lifestyle too – and a fair amount of gardening and dog-walking into the bargain – I’m still optimistic about losing the weight, and gaining the target weights I want to. I’m not demoralised – well, not too much – and I still want to keep on with this plan.
We’ll just have to see where I end up.
Rebooked
Posted: Thu 21 April, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions Leave a comment »Fucking hell, talk about a leadtime. Monday 20th June is was the next available date for a re-test. Still, it’s booked now. Just two bloody months to wait…
Fuckety Cunt.
Posted: Wed 20 April, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions, Sweary 2 Comments »Buggered it up. Only four or five minor mistakes (you can get away with up to 15, apparently) but one serious, which fucked it up, as you’re not supposed to get one of them. Arse-spoons.
So – booking it again. Chuff. Another £40 up the swannee.
Crashing
Posted: Wed 20 April, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions Leave a comment »Updates will be made later today. For now though, I’m off doing stuff that’s part of the resolutions.
Regular readers will probably know what I’m waffling about. Or not.
Ouchy
Posted: Tue 19 April, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions 3 Comments »Well, the ride home only took about 50 minutes. But shite I was knackered at the end of it. Still, I’ve proved I can do it now.
However, this morning all I can say is “Ow!”. There’s a couple of places where the saddle contacts with my body – no, not those bits – but bloody close – which hurt like a bastard. I knew they would, but still, Jesus Christ.
So today I’ve wimped out a bit, and rather than doing the full sixish miles each way, I’ve cheated and ridden to the train-station, used the train, then from trainstation to work. It’s still about two miles all told each way, but as Herself said last night, now I’ve proved to myself I can do it, and I’ve got a goal, I should perhaps take it a little bit easier than doing the full distance every day right from the start.
So yeah, I’m going to keep on doing it – but maybe just a little bit more sensibly than I did yesterday.
Oh, and yes, Anni, in relation to your comment, I was way optimistic on my timings. I know, I know. Definite faults in the calculations.
Another Step Forward
Posted: Thu 7 April, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions Leave a comment »One of the decisions I was going to be looking at as listed in the Resolutions page was whether I’d continue keeping my limited company active or not, and addressing which way I intended to head with it.
Some decisions still haven’t been finalised – such as whether any future work is done under a seperate company name as a “trading as” , or whether I continue to use the same company name as a “Trading As” without having all the guff of a proper Limited company. But one decision has been made, and has now been started – the dissolution of the Limited Company.
And I’ve just sent off the paperwork to get that sorted and dissolved. It’s a big step, I can’t deny – but I do feel that it’s the right one, and that this is the way it should go.
Driving Test
Posted: Thu 7 April, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 4 Comments »Oh, for fuck’s sweet bleeding sake, I hate the DSA (Driving Standards Agency).
I’ve received a letter today, dated 5th April. (At least it wasn’t dated 1st April, I suppose) It basically says “We’ve cancelled your test on 12th April due to unforeseen circumstances. We’ve rebooked it for Wednesday 20th April instead. If this isn’t convenient, you need to tell us by 5th April, or you may lose you driving test fee”.
Which takes the piss, rather.
Cue a snotty phone call later, when my mood isn’t just to let rip with a tirade of vileness.
Flickr
Posted: Tue 5 April, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions, Thoughts 9 Comments »David asked why I didn’t bother using Flickr to display more of my photos. The simple answer is “because I never got round to it”.
The supplementary answer comes down to other things, including stuff to do with certain resolutions of mine. For a range of reasons, I’m not happy with passing copyright (or even potentially passing copyright) for my photos/images on to Flickr. Or anyone else, in fact. If I keep them hosted on d4d™ as I do now, then the copyright stays with me. Maybe that’s control-freak-esque, maybe it’s not. I don’t know. But it’s part of what I feel about Flickr, and the rest of the online photography stuff.
I rarely (if ever) leave the full-size images anywhere accessible, even on d4d™. They normally stay at 800×600, or perhaps 1024×768 if you’re lucky. Yes, they can be downloaded by people who look at d4d™, and that’s fine with me – I’ve posted them here, and it’s the only place they can be got from. I – for want of a better word – allow them to be used for that purpose from my site. With Flickr, they can be picked up by anyone, with no real link back to d4d™, other than user-name etc.
During 2005 I’m going to be seeking out some commercial opportunities and outlets for some of my photos. I’ve got some ideas already, and there’ll be more things happening. I just don’t want there to be any issues where anything I submit has been publicly available elsewhere previously. In some ways d4d™ suffers slightly for that – for instance this weekend there were a couple of photos that worked beautifully, but because I intend to see what I can do with them commercially,I’m not putting them here. There’s a balance to be drawn somewhere in all that, and I’m still working on managing to draw it.
So – I may try out Flickr, and indeed I’ve sorted myself out an account. But where I’ll use it, or what for, I don’t yet know. We’ll see. In the meantime though I’ll keep using the photos page on d4d™ for some, and this page for others.
Time will tell.
Weight Loss
Posted: Sat 26 March, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions, Thoughts 3 Comments »One of my semi-resolutions that didn’t really get listed was the intention to lose some weight. At the start of this year I was at 21 stone (133Kg, for the metric among us) which really was too much, even for my height/frame.
So we started off on the weight-loss plan, aided and abetted by WeightWatchers, and a plan to go to the gym more. The gym’s happening, and I’m getting back into enjoying going, and there’s also the plan to buy a bike, although I’ve been whittling on about that one for a while now, so don’t hold your breath.
However, the weight hasn’t really come off the way I expected it to. Yeah, I’ve lost a stone, but that’s not really a lot, all things considered, for three month’s work. I’d wanted to lose more than that in this time. Don’t get me wrong, my body shape has changed, and I’ve lost an amount of fat, but the weight hasn’t changed as much as I’d expected hoped. I suspect that some of it has changed to muscle – which, in true Sod’s Law style, weighs more than fat, of course – or maybe I’ve just redistributed my lard a bit.
I’m not going to give up though – I still want to lose more, and there’s a few more ways I can think of to do it, but we’ll just have to see how it all works out, I suppose.
Testing Times
Posted: Mon 14 March, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 1 Comment »Ah, just what I needed – a reminder from the BBC that other people can make epic fuck-ups on their driving tests. In fairness, I’ve never forgotten where I’ve parked the car, but apparently some people have.
See, I’ve a whole new world of things to chuff up this time next month…
Naming of the Shrew
Posted: Thu 10 March, 2005 Filed under: Geeky, Resolutions 1 Comment »About a year ago, I bought the domain name Twadge.com, round about the same time I was having some fun designing mugs with the same word on. It’s not really been used since then – more as a data-space than as a website, if I’m honest.
However, one of my resolutions for ’05 was to fold up my old company and ring in the changes of lifestyle etc. by doing other stuff instead. That’s all continuing apace, and is going quite well so far.
But – and this is where life could get interesting – I’m still going to be doing website-y stuff for small clients and the like. So, should I fold up my existing company’s website as well, and go for total reinvention of website stuff as Twadge webdesign (which appeals in SO many ways – all of ’em wrong!) or keep the old company name active, but simply be me trading as that business name ?
Both ways are doable, and keeping the business name, although not as a limited company, means I don’t have to start completely from scratch.
Hmmm, decisions, decisions.
Driving On
Posted: Wed 9 March, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 1 Comment »The driving lessons continue apace. The last two have been done in snow – two weeks ago it was more “snow showers”, but last week it was (pardon the pun) driving snow – which has been interesting, to say the least.
Tonight’s one will – hopefully – not have any snow, but is two hours instead of one. The test’s on the horizon, so this’ll be a longer one, which should be fun.
A Bureaucracy that works
Posted: Mon 28 February, 2005 Filed under: General, Resolutions Leave a comment »Yes, you’re reading that title correctly. And no-one’s more surprised than I am – particularly when you realise that I’m talking about the DVLA. (Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency)
Part of my resolutions for this year is to sort out the driving test, and that’s progressing nicely. However, because I’ve moved, I needed to get my provisional licence updated with the new address, and all that gubbins. Then once I’d booked the test I thought “Oh fock”, and knew I needed to sort out the address change as soon as poss in time for the test.
Now, knowing most governmental bureaucracies, that was going to be an issue. After all, only six weeks to sort it? Never going to happen. I sent it off with fingers crossed. And it’s now back – all in all it took about a week to ten days. New licence with correct address, and new photocard with correct address. Same manky photo, mind. But there we go, nothing’s perfect.
But yes, I’m impressed – particularly when you think of the farce around the theory test, and finding the test centre…
Changing Times
Posted: Tue 22 February, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions Leave a comment »Back at the start of the year, I was thinking about whether the company I’ve had for the best part of seven years should fold. I’ve been self-employed for a lot of that, doing the IT contracting etc., but I’m wondering if that contracting era has come to an end – or is, at the very least, in need of a change.
So today I’ve started off the process of closing down my old company. It shouldn’t take too long, but the first step is to close the bank account, and the business insurance. No bad thing, the insurance was setting me back about £110 per month, but it’s a necessary business expense for a limited company. Once the bank has confirmed that the account’s closed I get to play with Companies House, the taxman, and VATman. VAT shouldn’t be an issue either, and tax has been taken care of through the year.
So – and I know I’m going to regret saying this – it should be a fairly painless process. But it’s definitely the right time to do it.
I’m currently undecided which way I’ll go next. I could form up a new limited company – and indeed would have to were I to start contracting again – or for the moment I could stick with simply “trading as”. I could even continue to use the same company name, it simply wouldn’t be a limited company any more. Or I could close the chapter entirely, and let some new idea rise, phoenix-like.
We’ll see – but for now I’m closing one door, and letting several others slide slightly open in its place. And that’s a good place to be.
Gymmage (again)
Posted: Fri 18 February, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions, Thoughts 4 Comments »After nearly a month of going to the gym, I’ve come to the following conclusions :
- I really hate communal changing rooms. They’re the one place where I actually do feel body-conscious. Maybe in the end I won’t, but for now, yeah, totally.
- Whoever designed the cross-trainer missed out on a satisfying career creating torture devices for S&M people
- The TV screens in gyms are invariably filled with shite. Although at least we don’t have kids programmes like Adrian’s one does.
- My legs are far more developed and muscular than my arms/torso. Not in an unbalanced way, but it’s noticeable.
- Did I mention that cross-trainers are torturous?
Food Stuff
Posted: Wed 16 February, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions 6 Comments »While I am (in general) being pretty good food-wise at the moment, I do still have some thoughts about certain things.
- Following on from a gym session, walking the dog, and generally freezing one’s arse off, the restorative powers of chip butties (or, in this case, chip ‘wrap’s in tortillas) are greatly under-rated. And not excessively fatty.
- No matter how appetising their muffins and cookies look, there’s just something that stops me from buying Otis Spunkmeyer foods. Don’t know what *cough* other than a slightly childish sense of humour, but I just can’t do it.
- Cheese must have addictive qualities. I’ve cut down on my intake of it since moving, and it’s the only thing I crave.
- Hotel Chocolat‘s Chocolate enrobed fruit (particularly the Mangos and Oranges) are truly evil and lovely.
Fark
Posted: Fri 11 February, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 3 Comments »Oooh, flippin’ ‘eck, I’ve gone and booked my driving test. Roll on Tuesday 12th April.
NOW can I be nervous?
Driving
Posted: Thu 10 February, 2005 Filed under: General, Resolutions, Thoughts 3 Comments »Bit of a theme developing, but there we go. I’ll try and break it up with some other posts in between too…
So – no, I don’t have a particular problem with driving, and in fact when I’m doing it I actually quite enjoy it. It just never made the top ten on the priority list. People look at me in a combination of shock and horror when I say I don’t drive – and in some ways I can understand that thought process when they’ve been driving ten years or whatever. But all the same, for the most part it’s just not been something that was necessary. I’ve generally lived in towns and cities where I could get around no worries without driving.
Yes, weekends and the amount of travelling I’ve done would have been easier in a car. But at the same time I was able to sit on a train and read, or do work on the laptop, or even sleep. Sure I’d get there quicker in a car (well, most of the time) but I’d not be able to do any of those other things. Maybe I’m just trying to provide excuses to myself – but whatever the reason, it’s not been a matter of urgency.
Over the last year though, it’s become more important. The travelling between Manchester and Reading/Bracknell would’ve been a lot easier, and the move down here would’ve been easier and quicker too, I can’t deny it. And now, living with Herself, I’d rather be able to share the driving work, and make both our lives a lot easier.
So yes, now it’s more important to get it done, which previously it hasn’t. That doesn’t mean I’m going to suddenly transform into a “drive everywhere” type, because bizarre as it may seem, I actually enjoy walking to work, or (when I get it sorted) cycling to places. Because of the way I’ve been over the last decade or so, I don’t see the car as the way to get everywhere – but it definitely has its uses too. Bracknell’s got less of a transport system than the last few places I’ve lived, and as such driving will be useful. Getting around the area will be easier in a car – and yes, so will things like shopping (although home delivery is still a grand idea, and saves a lot of work!) and visiting friends/family.
It’s going to happen – and I’m sure many people, Herself included, will say “About bloody time too!”
Vroom – part 2
Posted: Thu 10 February, 2005 Filed under: General, Resolutions 3 Comments »The lesson actually went really well, I’m pleased to say. There’s an 8-week lead-time for the test itself, and I’ve been told to get it booked. Looks promising, anyway.
This time I’m learning in a Ford Focus. Much much much nicer than the Corsa I was in last time. (And yes, Razorhead, I’d agree, avoid BSM like the plague, they’re toss) For the first time ever, I actually had leg-room – being 6’4″ and the width of the proverbial shithouse, a Vauxhall Corsa is NOT the best thing to be driving. I could definitely get to like the Focus though…
Still, all’s good so far. Oh, and Herself has asked me to point out that she’s been encouraging me to sort out the driving, and NOT nagging…
Vroom
Posted: Wed 9 February, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 4 Comments »Yes, tonight the driving lessons start again. In fact, somewhere right about now.
Driving is one of those weird things that I’ve just never got round to, and never seriously felt the need to do. I don’t know exactly why – although there’s been a number of reasons in the past – but it’s just not something I’m overly bothered about. Yes, in some circumstances it would have made my life easier, but in others it just doesn’t change things all that much.
For example, even if/when I pass the test, I’m still not going to be driving in to work – I’ll be walking or cycling. It’s quicker/easier/cheaper, so why bother using the car? It’ll be useful on longer journeys, so it’ll be good to have it passed, but ’til now it’s just not been on the priority list really.
But Herself has been nagging encouraging me that it’s better to have it passed, so now I’m getting round to it.
Resolving
Posted: Wed 9 February, 2005 Filed under: D4D™, Resolutions 1 Comment »Well, I’m getting round to writing a proper “resolutions” page at last. It needs doing, particularly with WordPress’s archiving bits being tits up and an utter pain in the arse. Oh, and yes, yet again, the support forums were about as much use as a kick in the crotch. Utter cunts, the lot of ’em.
Anyway, the resolutions are slowly being whittled away. With luck the resolutions page will be up later and I’ll have some information on what’s being crossed off, and why. For now though, we’ll leave it like this…
- Making a photo portfolio, and taking it to a couple of agents, seeing how I do – Getting there, the photos have been printed and I’ve gone through them.
- Sorting out the Driving Test *cough* – getting there – the first lesson in the new set is tonight
- Doing a few more bits of proper writing – yes, well, not yet.
- Taking time out, and not running round like quite such a silly bastard – getting there.
- Enjoying life in its new facets – ditto
- Debating whether to close my current company and restart with something new.
- Or Not.
- Lots of other things that I’ll list as I go on
Gym thoughts
Posted: Wed 2 February, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions Leave a comment »Last night was the first visit proper to the gym, following on from the induction session last week. And my general conclusion is : “Holy shit, I’m out of shape”. 45 minutes of work-out (including a bit of warm-up and cool-down) including 10 minutes on the rowing machine, 10 minutes exercise bike, and 10 minutes on the cross-trainer.
I’m OK on the exercise bike – six miles in ten minutes is OK. The cross-trainer, well, it’ll increase those “steps per day” for sure, and it’s agreed that I’m comfortable for a walking speed of about 120 paces per minute. The rowing machine I currently feel was probably designed by someone with a degree in medieval torture implements. I still feel utterly unco-ordinated on the bloody thing, and really don’t get how it’s supposed to work. Still, practice makes perfect, I figure.
Assembling the Proof
Posted: Sun 30 January, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions 1 Comment »I’ve spent a large part of today sorting through some of my photo collection (a rather worrying 3,750 images, or 4.5GB) to build up a selection that I can build up a bit of a portfolio from. Thankfully, today’s work has involved just one section, the flowers and macro shots I’ve taken. Mind you, even that worked out initially at just over 100 photos, although I’ve since whittled it down to a mere 69.
I’m getting them printed by my normal place, so I’ll have them here for Tuesday, or at latest Wednesday. Once that’s done, I’m going to look at how best I can crop some of them, get them reprinted, and then start work on assembling them into some kind of comprehensive grouping.
There’s a reason for all this. Not only was it part of my resolutions to myself this year, but I want to test the water and see what the reactions are. I’ve got a couple of companies lined up that I’d like to see printing up these photos, but well, we’ll have to see how it all goes, and what they say.
Catching Up
Posted: Fri 28 January, 2005 Filed under: Photography, Resolutions Leave a comment »Over the last few weeks – really since before Christmas – one thing I haven’t done much of has been photography. What with one thing and another, it’s just taken a bit of a back seat. Partly because there’s been a slight lack of inspiration, partly I’ve just been hugely busy with other stuff.
Still, on that score it’s not been an inspiring start to the year. I’m hoping to get back on track with it over the next couple of weeks though – and I also intend to go and see what Bracknell Camera Club is like next week (particularly as they’re doing something about flower photos, which are a subject I’m quite into)
I’m also going to go through the process of putting together some of my photos, then braving the vagaries of Amateur Photographer’s critics. Oh, and also submitting a few others to a couple of greetings card manufacturers who specialise in the type of shots that I enjoy, and seem to be pretty good with. So we’ll see how it all works out…
Gymtastic 2
Posted: Fri 28 January, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions Leave a comment »Actually, the gym was nowhere near as bad as I thought. A blood pressure of 128/88, lung something of 530. Just need to lose weight (No? Really?) and keep going regularly.
Cross-trainers are still some form of medieval torture device, but I think I can get used to them. Exercise bikes are no worries, and the rest? Well, I’m just going to take it all as it comes. But it should all be OK.
Gymtastic
Posted: Thu 27 January, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions Leave a comment »Expect a post saying “Ouch” at some point later (or in the morning, if I can’t be arsed tonight) for tonight is the night of the induction session at the gym.
I haven’t been to a gym in about a year now. I should’ve done, I know, but I haven’t. So this session is going to be interesting. I know the kind of things I’m interested in doing, but we’ll see what they have to say – should be fun, if nowt else.
10,000
Posted: Tue 25 January, 2005 Filed under: B&Q, General, Health, Resolutions 1 Comment »Today, Gordon’s talking about pedometers, and how many steps people walk in a day. As it’s something that’s good to do as part of the healthy thing, I thought I’d have a quick count-up of the main part of my walking each day.
Thanks to the B&Q delivery (still cocked up, but less cocked-up than it was) I was able to count my walk to and from work. just for this post (He lies, in a fit of “look what I do for you people” pique) It works out as roughly 2,100 steps, although I’ll be verifying that tonight. So assuming I walk both to and from work (I do most of the time, but occasionally get a lift from Herself) just the walk nets me approximately 4,000ish paces. Not bad considering that the average is only 3,000 per day, and that doesn’t take into account the walking I do around the house and office, at lunchtime, or when we take Hundus for a walk. So I reckon that on a normal day I probably average about 5,500-6,000steps – possibly more, but I doubt I break the 7,000 on average.
What interested me more was my walking speed – those 2,100 paces took me approximately 20 minutes. That’s 105 steps per minute, or 1.75 per second. Fairly fast, I’d say.
Upgrading Health
Posted: Mon 24 January, 2005 Filed under: General, Health, Resolutions 2 Comments »Since the start of this year, I’ve been working a bit on general health and fitness. The first part of that was to start losing some weight. As of yesterday, I’ve lost nearly a stone in weight in three weeks, which I reckon is pretty good. I’m working on losing it sensibly, rather than any crash-dieting or whatever.
The next part of it starts this week. Over the weekend we joined up with a local gym, and the initiation initial consultation is going to be on Thursday. We may go in the meantime just for a tryout, but having visited it before Christmas I pretty much know what to expect.
There’s still a long way to go – including a visit to the GP, and a thyroid test. (It runs in the family, so it’s best to see how I’m doing on that score) There’s also a plan to buy a bike, which should be interesting as I haven’t ridden one regularly in about eight years.
Still, it’s all working so far, and it’ll be interesting to see how things go.
Changes
Posted: Wed 5 January, 2005 Filed under: Health, Resolutions Leave a comment »The new job is still going well. I think I’ve done more brain-work in the last 48 hours than I did in 18 months in the previous job. The learning curve is somewhere just short of effing vertical, but that suits me just fine. I like being challenged mentally (as opposed to being mentally challenged *Grin*)
Along the way I’m also working on weight loss – we’ve both joined Weightwatchers’ online programme (and I have to say that for a system that’s entire web-based, their website is utterly fucking shite) and that’ll continue to be worked on. It was one of my targets for 2005 anyway, to lose some of my ample bulk, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it works. There’s also a gym membership in the offing, which’ll help too. There’ll be fairly regular updates on that score – not that anyone really cares, but well, what the chuff, it’s going to be interesting to me.
Now I just need to get the move and so on sorted – there’s a lot of stuff around that still to be organised, but with luck I’ll be able to get a lot of that dealt with while I’m up there again this weekend.
But in general, 2005 has started well, and I just hope it’s going to keep on in the same vein…
2005
Posted: Sat 1 January, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions 4 Comments »Hmmm, New Year, New Lifestyle. There’s going to be a lot of changes throughout 2005, and while I’m normally averse to resolution lists and so on, the following are some of the things I’m planning on doing during the year.
- Making a photo portfolio, and taking it to a couple of agents, seeing how I do
- Sorting out the Driving Test *cough*
- Doing a few more bits of “proper” writing
- Taking time out, and not running round like quite such a silly bastard
- Enjoying life in its new facets
- Debating whether to close my current company and restart with something new.
- Or Not.
- Lots of other things that I’ll list as I go on
What I’m likely to do with this post (or some form of “resolutions” page, anyway) is to have a link off the sidebar over there >>> and keep it updated as new stuff occurs to me, and/or when stuff gets done.
And in the meantime, Happy New Year to all D4D™ readers. Have a good one!
Resolutions 2
Posted: Tue 21 December, 2004 Filed under: D4D™, Festering Season, Resolutions 3 Comments »The second part of the resolutions (or as close to them as I get) were as follows (and can be seen in their original format here)
- New Tattoo
- Pass the fucking Driving Test
- Redo D4D in
Movable TypeWordPress- Lose weight
- Spend the Festering Season™ away from the UK
So – how did things go this year?
- Nope
- Halfway – at least I got the Theory test sorted out
- Done – still tweaking, but done, and you’re looking at it
- Ish
- See below, but no, not seeing it out abroad
However, during the year I’ve also :
- Printed up my own photos, and had other people want them
- Been paid for commercial photography work, now published in an Annual Report
- Been to Iceland
- Finished at my current workplace (well, that’s tomorrow technically, but hey ho)
- Developed new sites and systems for a bunch of people
- Started to believe in myself a fair bit
- seen D4D™ get another 150,000+ page views
- various other things
- and made a lot of plans for the start of ’05, including new location, new job, new domestic situation, and new lifestyle
So overall I reckon I’ve done a lot more than a simple list of resolutions indicates – but there’s likely going to be a new list for ’05 too.
Resolutions
Posted: Tue 21 December, 2004 Filed under: D4D™, Festering Season, Resolutions Leave a comment »So, last January I wrote about some of what I planned to do in 2004. One of those was what I intended to do for Christmas.
- Go somewhere sunny – and possibly non-christian.
Now this one appeals, knowing my need for sun, and my desire to avoid as much of Christmas and it’s traditions as possible.- Go somewhere snowy
Prague still really appeals, and the entire thing of going somewhere that’s capable of a “proper� christmas- Stay home, and work a soup kitchen or similar
Done it before, and I’m pretty sure I’ll end up doing it again. Maybe not in ‘04, but definitely before long. We’ll see though.
And what’s happening for Christmas? None of ’em. Instead I’ll be down in Norfolk, with the family of Herself.
However, I did manage to do some work with soup kitchens over the last couple of months, so that’s that one kind of fulfilled.