Tag: REALLY

bookmark_borderThe Hourglass

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I’m running out of time. All of a sudden it’s Friday and I’ve only JUST bought FIFA ’09 for the PS3, where on earth am I going to find the time to master it before I go on holiday??

Seriously though, what is up with time these days?

It’s either way too fast, I mean it’s almost June for fricks sake!, or it’s way too slow and no end of stern glares will make the minutes pass any quicker. It’s not like I’m just passing the time of day either, for time is, always, of the essence! Yes, still I can’t seem to control time, it flummoxes and bemuses me, for the time being at least.

Oh god, I’ve just realised, it’s because I’m getting old, right?

So not only do I have hairs growing in places where, frankly, hair is just not required (what is up with that, by the way, haven’t we evolved far enough that we really REALLY don’t need hair on our backs?), not only do I judge a pub based on volume and the comfort and availability of seats, and not only do I catch myself murmuring and grumbling about how things weren’t “this way” when I was young, or how spoiled kids are are “these days”, now I have to come to terms with the fact that my days are drawing to a close.

I mean, I’m 35, everything after this is shit, right? Surely, when it comes to the vagaries of time, and other such phrases, the key message here is “we can’t control time”. So if we can’t slow it down, when it’s running too fast, and we can’t speed it up, when it’s crawling along at snail pace, then we truly are at the whim and mercy of the timelords.

No, not THAT timelord, … bloody geeks (he was better in my day ya know…).

It seems that the realisation that time and tide wait for no man, even though we are all pressed for time, is only brought to bear with the passing of time itself. And, to be honest, it’s about time I got a grip and realised such things are outwith my control.

So, I’m quite happy for the time being at least but if action is required, we’d all do well do remember that time and tide wait for no man, and there is certainly no time like the present.

bookmark_borderPlanning the big move

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I’ve waffled on about single source and our plans for long enough so, as we are finally starting the process itself, I thought I’d capture some information as we go along. However, it’s probably good to set the scene, so I’ll cover that stuff first. Over time you’ll be able to see all the posts related to this work here.

With a most recent product release almost out of the door, our thoughts turn to the next few months and, finally, beginning to move our content to Author-it. During our weekly team meetings, and across several shorter planning meetings in the past months, we’ve covered most of what we think we need to have covered.

However, to be sure we’ve decided to have an entire day, locked away in a room, to go over the basics and properly plan the content migration. We have a provisional agenda but it’ll be a fairly open session for most of the time, as long as we can drive out actions I’ll be happy. I’ll be shifting my PC into a meeting room and running it on a large screen so we can actually try things out whilst we are there.

So far the agenda looks something like this:

  • recap the basics – what is reuse, what topic types do we have
  • EXERCISE – take a sample chapter and walk thru the import method
  • where will the imported topics live? (we have a structure, is it right?)
  • how do we handle maintenance of different versions of the guides?
  • EXERCISE – working practice – RID needs changed from 2.7 through to latest – how do we do that?
  • output templates – what do we need?
  • working with graphics – agree best practice
  • what import templates need to be created
  • who will import what?

The two exercises are there to help us troubleshoot any potential issues that may arise in everyday usage. We’ve already had discussions around topic types, the structure of the content within Author-it and I think we’ve covered everything but the main underlying aim of this day will be to flush out anything we’ve missed, or highlight any minor niggles that we aren’t aware of yet. Hopefully we can answer all of our questions (or at least understand the questions properly) and move forward from there.

Of course the REALLY big question is whether I bring in doughnuts or chocolate biscuits for the day…

bookmark_borderVersions

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I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not. I’m not sure if I’m about to completely humiliate and embarass myself. Or (I hope) this is another one of those things that everyone else does but that we just don’t talk about.

No, not picking your nose…

I adapt who I am depending on who I am with.

The most obvious change is when I’m in a heavily alpha male environment, where I become a lot louder, more forceful and laddish (aka “non-politicially correct) behaviour is not only pushed to the fore but heavily encouraged and instigated.

In less intimidating surroundings I become the joker, eager to make people laugh, possibly eager to gain some level of acceptance (still not sure about that one) and tend to come off as confident, self-assured and a bit cheeky but likeable. Yes, it helps that I’m really REALLY cute.

Those ladies that have met me can feel free to back that claim up in the comments. Or not.

Not you though, Mother.

In the company of close friends I become a little more introspect, and probably closer to my true self. I have nothing to prove and I’m happy that my friends accept me and my faults, as I accept theirs. Although there is always the nagging feeling that they have fewer faults than I.

Then we get to the version of me that few have seen, only a select few are allowed through that door and even then I do tend to tidy up the first few times they visit. After that I tend to start to care less about the appearance back there and at that point you are as close to the true me as is possible.

Finally, there is me. The me only I see and consider, the me that thinks things but never utters them, the me that knows when to shut up and when to push forward. That version of me is ME. My core, my centre, my very being. I don’t understand that version of me all that well, I am still learning all of the foibles, fissures, and flaws that barely scratch the surface.

Oddly enough the older I get the happier I am to let that version of me exist as it wants, no longer do I try to sway and coax it towards the me I think I want to be for, as should be obvious by now, even I don’t know which version of me I want.

To say that there are distinct versions of me is, of course, complete nonsense. Instead the various traits can be found everywhere, manifesting themselves where they aren’t expected. The quiet version of me can still be loud and laddish, the cheeky version of me can be still and introspective.

There is no version of me, I am consistently flawed. Each version can be selfish and compassionate, thoughtless and kind, harsh and tender all at once. Each version breathes with the next, changes with each heartbeat, and remains mercilessly unaware. I am inconsistent, there is no version of me.

bookmark_borderThere's nothing like a good book

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We are off to Spain next week so there are some vital things to sort out. Namely what music to put on my iPhone (I’ve got Series 1 of The Wire on there already), and most importantly what books to take!

I’ve got a Jeffrey Deaver and an Ian Rankin on standby and have just ordered Casino Royale and Live and Let Die so that should get me through the week, in between trips to the pub and general lounging around of course.

I don’t really make time to read all that much these days, in fact I struggle to get through the two monthly magazine subscriptions I receive (Esquire and Runners World if you must know). Aside from that mostly everything I read is for work related purposes and even then I’ve got a backlog, it’s just never that high up my priority list to be honest. I’ve tried to ‘hack’ my habits to get back to reading more often but nothing has worked, my attention and thoughts continue to lie elsewhere and, if I’m honest I’m fairly happy with that at the moment. We’ll see if that changes any time soon but my take is that, if I was REALLY that bothered I’d have done something about it.

Obviously I’m not.

That said there is a part of me that is looking forward to getting away, purely to be able to completely zone out in a good book, or at the very least a trashy thriller. There is nothing quite like losing all sense of time whilst you frantically flip pages, desperate to get to the next part of the story, and the quiet sense of despair you feel when you reach the end and, just like that, it’s over. You don’t get that with every book, some just fizzle out and leave you somewhat deflated but others take you on such a journey that the temptation to re-read them immediately is almost overwhelming.

Go on then, what are you reading right now? (aside from this blog, obviously!).

bookmark_borderAre you pondering what I'm pondering?

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Sshhhhh.

I’m thinking.

I’m thinking about what to write.

I’m thinking that I’m not sure where the tub of Polyfilla is, I’m hoping it didn’t get thrown out.

I’m thinking that I shouldn’t really be writing this post as my entire week is chock full of meetings and I need to grab every single available moment to ping off some emails and keep up to date with what’s going on outside of the meeting rooms which are currently almost a semi-permanent home.

I’m thinking that finding a better way to do things AFTER you are committed to a particular way of working is a little daft…

I’m thinking that having all 103GB of my music here at work is actually a bad thing as I spend WAY too much time flicking through tracks to find something that suits my mood.

I’m thinking that I really REALLY enjoyed the Pixar book I finished reading yesterday (it was a Christmas present) and that I should post up my thoughts/review but I don’t currently have the time.

I’m thinking that I should stop thinking and get something done!

What are you thinking?

bookmark_borderReady or not

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I have made the lists.

I have checked the lists.

The lists do not lie.

I think I finally have a grip on … dammit … just remembered something else.

OK, let’s start over.

The coming few weeks will be hectic. The arrival and fitting of a new kitchen requires preparation, the erecting of a new fence in the back garden requires a little preparation too, and there is the small matter of an (overdue) website, on top of some new stuff at work which is REALLY exciting and which I’m trying not to let intrude into my ‘downtime’ (I’m failing on that count but I don’t really mind).

So I have a list of things that need to be purchased. A list of things that need to be done, ordered by when they need done by (paint the kitchen ceiling before it’s fitted, for example), and split into things that need done on the computer, and things that don’t. Fairly simple.

This is always the way of things, I no longer get (too) stressed out knowing that, in the end, things will come together and with everything safely stored NOT IN MY HEAD, then I can tackle the tasks as and when needed.

Although I’ve just thought of something else I need to do…

Right, I THINK I’m prepared now. Maybe.

Lemme just check that list one more time…