Month: June 2009

bookmark_borderShiny and New

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Despite suggesting that I had, I didn’t actually purchase a 1TB drive the other day. I was perilously close and it was only the realisation that we were getting the bathroom done (and the car needs an MOT) that stopped me.

The same basic maths (money in – money out) is what will stop me getting the new iPhone 3GS when it is available. The one thing that excites me the most is the improved camera as it is safe to say that I’ve started using it far more than I imagined, largely thanks to the application Flickit which makes uploading images from my iPhone to Flickr achingly simple. Add in CameraBag for some post-processing fun and I’ve actually quite enjoyed using my iPhone as a camera.

Still needs must and if I’m honest a new iPhone isn’t a need. Neither is a 1TB drive, nor a second monitor or a second LCD TV for the bedroom, nor any manner of media gadget for the living room, indeed there is not really any need for any other shiny new things.

Yet the desire to get something shiny and new remains and, no matter how many I purchase, just isn’t sated by recent Threadless purchases.

Note to self: whatever happened to that t-shirt project you were gonna do? huh?? Lazy sod.

The iPhone remains the best gadget I’ve bought for a while, largely because the “ohh new and shiny” appeal is constantly being polished by the discovery of a new application that I didn’t know I needed. Apparently there’s an App for That too…

I don’t think I’ll ever be cured of the need for something new. It’s almost, but not quite, a grass is greener type desire balanced only by the fact that I can’t really afford to ‘experiment’ with new shiny things so said purchases are always well considered and match my exacting and specific needs. Part of me wonders if I enjoy the planning/researching stage more than I let on.

And part of me wonders just how much I have left on the credit card…

bookmark_borderHalf Landing*

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I may have mentioned this before, or at the very least hinted at it, but I’m big on planning. I research things, figure things out, make sure I understand them and then progress. If money is involved then I’m always keen to get the best I can, or something unique and original.

So when it comes to a major bit of house renovation like, say, getting a new bathroom fitted, obviously I’m going to spend a lot of time preparing for something like that, right? Well I should’ve but, truth be told, the bathroom is small, there aren’t many options (or at least I didn’t think there were) so after receiving some quotes we decided to go ahead.

Which means that tomorrow the plumber arrives to rip out the current bathroom and on Monday they’ll come in and starting tiling. We’ve chosen the wall and floor tiles, as well as some ‘effect’ tiles. We’ve picked out the bath, shower, lights, sink and w/c but, as of yet, we’ve yet to decide what goes along with them.

We’ll either get some built-in units under the sink (boxed in alongside the w/c) or we might just decide not to bother. We have a small cabinet which holds plenty so don’t really need any more storage. So we might end up with a nice wooden counter top and just get the rest boxed in.

It’s all been a bit of a rush since we got back from our holiday and I can feel my stress levels rising every time something else comes up to be discussed. Frankly I’m teetering near the “fuck it” stage.

It’ll all work out in the end of course, same as it did, eventually, for the kitchen. Hopefully we won’t be without a bathroom for a month though, that’d be a bit awkward… and smelly.

* The post title is in tribute to my prim and proper wee Granny. The bathroom in my parents house is on the half landing and rather than say she was going to the loo she always referred to it as “visiting the half landing”. I do miss her.

bookmark_borderReturning thoughts

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Back from Spain, lightly roasted and still not quite up to speed with a working day (what, no siesta?!).

As I normally do, I reviewed the list of actions I jotted down before I left and looked over some of the last bits of work I completed, just to make sure I had been focussing on work and not been too distracted in the run up to the holiday.

One thing that leapt out at me was how I still, all these years later, struggle with consistency. It isn’t something that comes naturally to me and, truth be told, I’ve still to find a working system that helps.

It’s all well and good relying on Style Guides and whatnot but until I can make myself write consistently it’s always going to be something I need to consider. It’s not a huge problem, I am talking about a very fine level of detail here, but it does irk.

Aside from that, the usual hurtle towards the finishing line is well under way and by the end of the month we will see where things stand and what things we need to tackle next. All part and parcel of software development and, even though it’s a high stress time, I did kinda miss the buzz whilst I was away.

bookmark_borderThe Black Album by Hanif Kureishi

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Part of me thinks I’ve read The Buddha of Suburbia, part of me doubts it very much, and a quiet part of me, which knows better, points out that it was probably White Teeth by Zadie Smith or the unending London Fields by Martin Amis. The comparison is all I’m looking for which is particularly unfair as I thoroughly enjoyed this book, far more than London Fields (still to be finished after several years) and White Teeth both of which feel a little exclusionary to those not ‘blessed’ enough to live near the capital of England.

The Black Album is the story of a somewhat naive and trusting soul who embarks, unwittingly, on a journey of discovery in which it comes to light that, of all the characters presented here, he is perhaps the best balanced and most well reasoned, if not the most rounded.

He is a young British Asian, taken in to a Muslim group whilst simultaneously embarking on an affair with an older married woman. He learns the ways of both worlds, of sex and debauchery, of fastidious religion and fanatical shortsightedness, all of which adds up to … well that’s the thing, I’m not entirely sure but so much the better to be honest.

The book covers many moral and semi-religious themes, from the bettering of oneself, the abandonment of morals and finally to the integrity of man. Large themes, yes, but all presented in an easy manner, sweeping you along as the story progresses. It’s a rich world this, veering from run down council estates and squalid student accomodation to the upper reaches of English society. Whilst perhaps a little too obvious in direction, the journey is enthralling and after a slow burn beginning you are soon turning pages, delaying dinner and generally grasping each moment you can to get to the next page, then the one after.

The Black Album

bookmark_borderSay Cheese!

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Well not you obviously, and no, before anyone asks I didn’t JUST take photos of the scenery, there are photos of family too I just don’t upload them often.

Here then, the best of the 100 or so photos I took.

bookmark_borderHome again, home again

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I’m currently operating on about 4.5hrs sleep having landed earlier this morning and suffering the return of the 6.30 alarm.

Spain was warm, sunny for the most part, a little misty some mornings, blowing a gale for two of the days and we saw a beautiful lightning storm rage over the Mediterranean.

I read books (more on those later), drank beer, sang at the karaoke (a rare event, I was quite spectacularly drunk mind you), sunbathed and did pretty much bugger all for the entire week.

I couldn’t half do with a siesta right now though.

Aside from a vigorous can of cider erupting all over my sister on the plane on the way there, and my sister-in-law deciding to get herself a tattoo there isn’t a huge amount to report. Like I said, the sky was mostly blue, the sun was mostly hot, the beer was always cold. Same as it always is.

It was good to get back to my bed last night though, and I’m REALLY looking forward to spending a bit longer in it tonight! Only a few thousands RSS feeds to read, a handful of photos to upload and, if I can be bothered, I’ll jot down my thoughts on the books I read.

Enough about me though, how are you? Aside from the political goings-on (anyone want to own up to voting in the BNP? No I didn’t think so), what did I miss?