Or, digging out some old words
Published at 5:03 pm on January 1st, 2022
Filed under: Dear Diary, The Old Blog.
Of the feline variety
Published at 11:42 am on September 5th, 2021
Filed under: Dear Diary, The Family.
We had an unexpected visitor in late July. One morning, as I was heading out for my morning 6am walk, I noticed one of the neighbourhood cats lurking outside the house, asking for scratches and strokes. When I came back an hour or so later, it was in the back garden instead. I opened the back door, and it followed me inside. It prowled the kitchen, miaowing boldly, before deciding to lie down as Guardian Of The Recycling.
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Keyword noise: cats, pets, feline, Random Cat, The Plain People Of The Internet.
But without any other explanation
Published at 5:12 pm on June 15th, 2021
Filed under: Dear Diary.
A significant event is coming up
Published at 10:57 am on November 27th, 2020
Filed under: Geekery, Astronomy.
On inclusion and diversity
Published at 8:47 pm on November 16th, 2020
Filed under: Political, Technology.
Serious posts are hard to write, aren’t they. This article has been sitting in my drafting pile for a couple of months, and has been sitting around taking up space in my head for most of the past year. It’s about an important topic, though, one that is close to me and one that I think it’s important to discuss. This post is about diversity and inclusion initiatives, in the workplace in general, and specifically in the sort of workplaces I’ve experienced myself, so it will tend to concentrate on offices in general and tech jobs in particular. If you work in a warehouse or factory, your challenges are different and I suspect in many ways a lot harder to deal with, but it is not something I am myself in a position to speak on.
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Keyword noise: diversity, inclusion, the workplace, The Plain People Of The Internet.
It's a new day, and so on
Published at 7:53 am on September 17th, 2020
Filed under: Meta, Dear Diary.
In which I hasve been to see an operatic adaptation of that classic 20th century Irish novel The Third Policeman, so write a review filled with in-jokes
Published at 11:54 pm on November 11th, 2011
Filed under: Artistic, Media Addict.
Thursday night: to the Cube Cinema. Not for a film, but for an opera: The Third Policeman, adapted and produced by a chap called Ergo Phizmiz. Having read the novel, I was intrigued as to how a stage adaptation would work: of all the books I have read, it is…
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Keyword noise: adaptation, Bristol, Ergo Phizmiz, Flann O'Brien, literature, live music, music, opera, The Cube, The Third Policeman, theatre, The Plain People Of The Internet.
In which things get into a circular reference
Published at 9:14 am on January 2nd, 2010
Filed under: Artistic, Geekery, Meta.
Things go around in circles. This site has been quiet for a while in the past, more than once, and it will probably happen again in the future at some point. I can’t tell when, but it will probably happen.
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Keyword noise: Yuletide, Christmas, circularity, Douglas Hofstadter, E Shrdlu, The Plain People Of The Internet, Godel Escher Bach, infinite loop, ouroboros, self-reference.
In which the readers speak up and demand photos
Published at 9:58 pm on October 23rd, 2007
Filed under: Geekery, Photobloggery, Trains.
Here at Symbolic Towers, we pay attention to our readers. If they send in tips, we pass them on. Mr E Shrdlu of Clacton writes…
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Keyword noise: E Shrdlu, The Plain People Of The Internet, Grosmont, London, London Underground, nonsense, North Yorkshire Moors Railway, NYMR, photography, railway, secret, secret tunnels, trains, underground, Yorkshire.
In which we wonder if an editor might help
Published at 5:10 pm on July 13th, 2007
Filed under: Meta.
Mike Troubled Diva recently posted a set of lecture notes on: going from blog to book. It’s an interesting read, and touches on one element that I, struggling to come up with something to put down on screen, have been thinking about a lot lately. If you’re a blogger, you don’t have anyone to restrain you, or point you in the right direction.
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Keyword noise: blog-to-book, blogging, editing, J K Rowling, publishing, The Plain People Of The Internet.
In which we start reading something
Published at 7:42 am on January 27th, 2007
Filed under: Artistic.
In which we remember things, but look forward too
Published at 4:36 pm on December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Dear Diary.
…is a bit of a cheat. Because there isn’t one thing I want to add which would round the year off. There are too many moments which would leave it incomplete. The Cat returning. Someone taking me for a quiet walk in the park, so they could split up with me. Going for a first date with someone else, and watching their last train home pull out of the station because we didn’t realise it was about to leave. Someone trying to kick my car windows in, whilst I was sat inside the car. So many people who have made this year very special—in particular, V-
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Keyword noise: 2006, The Cat, dating, looking forward, memories, Memories Of The Year, relationships, self-reflection, The Plain People Of The Internet.
It’s Friday afternoon, regular reader K is texting me at regular intervals to tell me she’s safely driving up to Scotland on her own, and I’m here at the office watching the clock tick around ready for my own weekend to start. Nothing much ever happens on a Friday afternoon. Noone phones up and reports faults; noone breaks anything very serious. The other staff always claim that this is because they’re far too busy on Fridays to report faults; I’ve always suspected that it’s because they’re not doing enough work to break anything.
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Keyword noise: colleagues, nonsense, Stereolab, The Plain People Of The Internet.
Hurrah, it’s Friday again. I have a busy busy weekend ahead, though, so I’ll probably be more tired on Monday than I am now.
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Keyword noise: photography, Samsung, Colleague M, Big Dave, weekend, local government, elections, The Plain People Of The Internet.