Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.
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Activity by circle
A photo posted by Gordon McLean (@gmclean) on Jan 8, 2017 at 2:53pm PST There is no doubt that since getting my Apple Watch the three little coloured circles that appear on my watch face have helped me realise just how little I used to move. Since then, and admittedly with a change of job…
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The Tree
I love mornings like this, the late winter chill fading away as the sun climbs lazily into the sky. I can feel the gentle dew on my extremities starting to warm, and the ground beneath me stirring into life. There is a gentle breeze playing over my naked branches and I find myself yearning for…
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Sciencing the Resolution
HAPPY NEW YEAR! (I know, it’s a bit late) Ohhh dearest reader, what a wonderous time, the probability of hope, the desire to finally be a better me!!! And so, in this year of two thousand and seventeen I resolve to… ummm… well I’m not really sure. Towards the end of last year I saw,…
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The Other Side
Mental health issues can be violent, invasive and debilitating illnesses, chasing you around and demanding your full attention to the detriment of others. They can also be a gentle inhibitor, a subtle manipulator that sits quietly in the background influencing everything, all day, every day, even if we aren’t fully aware of it because it…
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Podcasts Update
The list of podcasts I subscribe to is ever evolving, so here’s a quick update. I’ve slimmed down the number of subscriptions a little recently, and found some new ones too. Couple of things to note. As I’ve found more quality content I’m much more willing to listen to longer podcasts than I was previously,…
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Todoist update
Time flies when you are being all productive and shit – or something like that – anyway, I was revisiting some old blog posts recently and I spotted that it’s been a while since I mentioned the continued joy of using Todoist, in fact the last post was 17 months ago and, my oh my…
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My Own Christmas Carol
It’s early December, and I’m helping my Dad get the boxes down from the attic. Christmas music is playing in the living room whilst Mum declutters the everyday ornaments to make room for decorations and festive bits and bobs. We unpack the familiar glitz and glitter and start to untangle the fairy lights. One set…
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Weltschmerz
I think English needs new words or, at the very least, some words that exist in other languages need to be adopted. As an example, look to schadenfraude. Schadenfreude is defined as “pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. Borrowed from German into English and several other languages, it is a feeling of joy that…
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Nosce te ipsum
I hate myself. I just ‘verbed a noun’ and I can’t un-see it and now I’ll have to admit it and tell you that the original title for this post was ‘Do you journal?’ … I KNOW!! So there you go. Please don’t judge me (too harshly). (Who am I kidding, I know all of…
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Kate Tempest
Head slightly bowed, Kate Tempest casts a slightly shy, almost apologetic figure as she walks on stage to a huge roar. After thanking us for being there, and some heartfelt indications of how much she likes the ‘people and soul’ of Glasgow, she pauses and says she has something to ask us. She’s there to…
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Why I love films
I recently saw the movie Arrival at the cinema. I was sitting about four rows from the front, dead centre, and was soon immersed in the story that was playing out. From the opening scene, that long fade from dark to light, the framing of the shot out across the lake, to the first hint…
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Dark is the light
This post is an attempt to process my own thoughts about recent news and my reaction which has been to shy away from any mention of ‘Trump’. Perhaps it’s just fatigue, but perhaps that fatigue is partly my own doing? Read the news, pick your flavour. Trouble is what news? And are you getting the…
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The old room
His chair sits to one side of the bay window. The unloved leather is cracked, shiny dark patches worn smooth, seams barely holding on, tired with all the life it’s seen. Cold air creeps through the rotting window frame, tickling the rising pale curls of smoke as they fade into nothing. Beside the chair a…
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Rotterdam or anywhere
I need some time off work. The last week I had off was in June and whilst life as a contractor means no worky = no money, I know I need some downtime. So I’ve booked the middle week of October off and I’m planning to try and get away somewhere. Where? Well that’s the…
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Recently Observed
Organised, Not Organised Having a digital calendar that I can access on my phone is wonderful. Except when I forget to put things in it. In totally related news, I have a ticket for the next Honeyblood gig (8th Dec) at St.Lukes in Glasgow going spare if anyone wants it… me? I’ll be at the…
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New Apple Hardware and Software
Given the upgrade cycle I choose to follow with my phone, this past week saw me get a new iPhone (7), which has a new version of iOS (10), as well as a new Apple Watch (Series II) which itself has a new version of watchOS (3). That’s a lot of new and whilst a…
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Single woman walking
Walking home from a gig, late on a balmy evening in the West End of Glasgow, light rain was falling as I and others plodded our way along Great Western Road, disappearing and emerging from lamp light to lamp light. Most people were heading in the opposite direction to me. It’s a nice part of…
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The Positive Limitations of iPad
I’ve recently made the jump from laptop to tablet as my main ‘home computer’. It sounds dramatic but, for my usage, all this really boils down to is changing my modus operandi from a multi-window to single/duel window way of working. The transition has been pretty straightforward, largely thanks to my slightly over-obsessive desire to…
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Found in song
Walking in silence through the nest of headphone cables, dodging pigeons and detritus as she picks her way through the tangle of closed minds. She lets her ear guide her on days like today, days where she doesn’t need a place to hide away. She walks past shops whilst buses and taxis produce their every…
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#Glasto2016
Mud. Lots and lots of mud. Thick, gloopy, sticky, and slippy all at once, my legs feel very toned after a few days of dealing with it, but hey, what’s a little mud amongst friends? Glastonbury, for me, is a strange place full of experiences weird and wonderful, of random conversations with friendly strangers, of…