Week 8: Clapping along with the contestants on the telly
October 20, 2018
- [The pumping chronicles] I am going to a thing called “Breakfast Ops” on Tuesday at Scale Factory. It is a breakfast for CTOs / “people with purchasing power” and they’re talking about some things relevant to the FT. It runs from 9:30am until 12:30. I have to express at some point during that time (ideally in the middle of it). Initially I thought “Oh well, I’ll have to leave early”, but then I realised I should at least ask them if they can help me out with a room. If only to make a point about what it sometimes means to be a woman returning to work with a baby under 1. Anyway, turns out they have a room with a power outlet, which is private, and has a lock AND they have cancelled all the morning’s meetings in that room so I can use it as I please. They were also super nice about it.
- This week Edith has learnt how to climb stairs and how to clap her hands. Lachie thinks she learnt how to clap from watching “Pointless”. He said he first saw her clapping along with the contestants on the telly.
- I thought there was a guy at work with a tattoo on the underside of his chin that said [the worst swear] but actually it said “REPENT” so that’s fine.
- I gave a talk at DotEveryone about how to give presentations. We had a good discussion afterwards about bits I’d missed out which was useful. I’d like to give it again but it kind of has to be given in isolation or it will look like I’m slagging off any other talks in the line up (unless they all comply with my advice).
- “UX people need to stop navel gazing and grow up” is a good talk and transcript. Actually I think this is very relevant to developers and maybe even product people too. (via Cheathco)
- Ella Fitzsimmons did a great talk on the hero narrative in tech. Well worth your time.
- NO MORE MICE! NO MORE MICE!
- I have started work on an Ottoline jacket from Merchant and Mills. Ever since Nat showed me this pattern I’ve been interested in making it but I am quite time poor at the moment what with the tiny human. So far it’s been a real treat to sew. Lots of nice touches and clever bits without being especially challenging.
- There is more Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History! This is old news but I only just found out because I don’t listen to podcasts properly and my friends clearly don’t care about me. When I was in hospital before Edith was born, the only thing that would help me fall asleep in the semi-darkness over all the bleeps and bloops and people noises was Malcolm Gladwell chatting softly about (for example) inequality in the US college system. Of course his podcast is also extremely interesting so I ended up listening to the same episodes over and over.
- Dan Catt alerted me to the fact that san pellegrino has changed its recipe. It has switched from sugar to the artificial sweetener stevia. It tastes bad. GIVE ME BACK MY SUGARRRR. There is an episode of Revisionist History about when McDonalds stopped cooking their fries in beef dripping and how now a whole generation of people have no idea how good those fries used to taste.