Confessions of a technology junkie

It is really only when sat in an aeroplane, stranded on the tarmac due to a "security incident" at my destination with a fading iPhone battery that I realised quite how dependent I have become on technology in general and the iPhone in particular.

As a regular commuter I have my little rituals and habits. I check the weather as I get up and that the train is on time (on my iPhone) before getting in the car. I go through my to-do list in OmniFocus on my iPad as soon as I'm seated. I check out the headlines from my favourite websites and newspapers in FlipBoard (iPad) and then get down to email or reviewing material that the team have tagged for my review in Box.net (iPad again). Before the train pulls in, I'll have had a couple of text exchanges with one or other of the team or another member of the management team (they know I sit in the quiet carriage!).

And then I'm sat on a plane with a phone battery that I thought would have lasted until I got to the hotel and my MiFi device is flat because I forgot to charge it before leaving the office. Sure my iPad is good for another couple of hours but I'm deprived of the Internet as it is WiFi only. No Twitter. No headlines. No being able to look up what the security incident is and find out how long I'm going to be bloody sat here!

Nothing else for it then: I'm going to have to talk to my fellow passengers...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Heathrow

"I Speak Because I Can" by Laura Marling

I had a couple of revelations just before Christmas.

The first was while I was on the motorway to IKEA (what's not to get excited about in those words on their own?) and I'd grabbed a pile of un-listened to CDs to relieve the boredom. The one that made it into the CD player first was Hidden by These New Puritans; none of the others got played as I was utterly blown away by the sheer breadth, depth and fantastic ambition of the album. I realised that this was probably the first really new (to me) band that I had "got into" for quite a long time.

The second came a few days later when I read a blog by Nick Southall (@sickmouthy), a fellow These New Puritans acolyte and former music journalist. He had written a post about his Top 2010 Albums and I realised I hadn't heard of any of them. Of course that doesn't mean that I've been living in musical isolation all year (some of the bands are a *bit* obscure) but there has probably been way too much Radio3, Radio4 and buying "best ofs" like this one. There certainly hasn't been enough listening to 6Music and discovering new stuff.

So, thinks I, the time has come to discover some new stuff and @sickmouthy's top 10 seems like as good a place as any to start. He has informed opinions on this stuff and that makes him a better guide than the album charts or Amazon reccommends.

I don't intend to write a detailed review of the albums, just a few impressions really. The reason for blogging about this is to see if I can reinvigorate my love of new music and expand my horizons rather than just extending my already huge music collection with more of the same.

So I decided to start with Laura Marling as I've been building a bit of a folk collection thanks to my complete love affair with The Unthanks (discovered by way of a session on the excellent Radcliffe & Maconie Show). Maybe this wasn't the most adventurous start but I had to pick one and... it's lovely. Not outstanding or earth-shattering but lovely.

I Speak Because I Can

Laura Marling has a great voice (I would say she bears some comparison to early Sandy Denny but with the odd - alarming - hint of Alannis Morisette and k.d.lang) and the tunes here are good enough to set her apart from the slew of of female singer/ song-writers who seem to be kicking around at the moment. It's not too pop-y (unlike the tedious Ellie Goulding) and neither is it so scarily folk-y (which I admit some of the Unthanks stuff is) that it's inaccessible to your average punter.

I'm enjoying it and I'll chalk this one up as a "hit" but I wouldn't say my musical tastes have been expanded yet.

Some of the others on the list look a bit more challenging...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mobile blogging

I thought that the time had come to revive Sweaty Ramblings as a way of heralding my return to running.

It's the OMM this weekend and when I went for lunch with @NeilySan yesterday I had to admit to being really jealous of him and @Reefbreak heading off to Dartmoor this weekend. Then I got a text from Jeremy S asking if he could borrow my rucksack and that was the last straw!

So, I'm going to do Reading in March. AND I'm setting myself a goal of 1:35 which will be quite a stretch but it will make sure that I put the miles in over the winter to have the discipline and routine to be able to train for the OMM next year.

Despite being in London tomorrow I'm aiming for quick run round the loop in the morning to prove to myself that I'm serious. Watch this space...

Oh, and the point of the title? I've downloaded BlogPress on my iPhone and when I've proved to myself that a) I'm running again and b) I'm blogging reliably I'll post links. Until then I'll continue "shouting in a dark room"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wantage,United Kingdom

The Childrey 10k Invitation Fun Run 2009

Posted Monday evening

A beautiful morning. Up early to set the course with Jeremy.

Most of the preparation last night paid off although the bike was difficult to ride with nine, carefully prepared sign-posts strapped to it with bungie chords. Said sign-posts then promptly fell to pieces when we tried to hammer them in to the ground... Ho-hum.

Used all 50 of the route markers and most of the other signs. Kept forgetting to put the distance markers up though so had to keep going back to do them while Jeremy pushed on ahead.

Back in time for lunch and a quick read of the papers before heading off to do last minute fussing. Karen, Andrew and the boys arrived as I was leaving so I knew that we would have at least a few supporters!

Race went well. The start on the gravel drive in front of the Manor was really friendly with everyone shaking hands and having a few minutes to catch up; I was really pleased that Neil and the family had travelled to be part of the race, things like that mean a lot. Its that kind of spirit that we need to keep if (when) the race grows - a group of old and new friends out for a run.

Out on the course a blisteringly quick pace was set by Dominic and Jason up in front with Jeremy coming in a creditable third (again). Karen won it for the ladies as had been widely forecast (must try harder to get more ladies involved next year!).

The finish down the avenue of trees facing the Manor House was as spectacular as I'd hoped and although I (obviously) missed the first three come in, Chariots of Fire was still playing as I finished. There was a really good crowd of people to cheer the finishers in and several supporters got involved in holding the finish tape, handing out water etc. William did a great job handing out the medals and we couldn't have done without Jane's time keeping again (and keeping me sane in the run-up).

I'm delighted that the race details and timing spreadsheet/ program worked really well; it took a lot of stress away for Jane. I'll take the data out and post it on a suitable online forum seeing as I couldn't find any software under $200 when I looked...

So I'm classing the second Childrey 10k Invitation Fun Run as a success (well I haven't had any complaints) and the planning for next year starts when we get back from holiday in August. Thoughts include a 5k and 1k run (both off-road) for children and those not up to the 10k. Also thinking of following Neil's great suggestion of starting the 10k at about 1400 so we can present trophies at the start of the Fete. All ideas welcome.

"Today I have been mainly..." sweating!

Run around the 10k route

Posted on Wednesday morning

Beautiful morning. Up with the lark (well Year Of The Cat on the iPod actually) and out round the final route for the Childrey 10k.

We have a grand total of 12 entries which is 50% up on last year and nearly half our target capacity. While I would have loved a full field, the opportunity to build slowly is probably a good thing. Next year we will have an announcement in the January village newsletter so that people can make it their New Year's resolution.

"Today I have been mainly..." remembering to buy Dad a card for Father's Day

Childrey 10k route finalised

Went out for a final check of the course this morning. I've decided that the canal tow path is just too overgrown to make that a realistic option. Its back to Silver Lane I'm afraid.

Had a lovely afternoon with Adelaide, Stuart and Ava; barbecue, enjoyed the sunshine and got a lump-hammer out and started demolishing walls!

"Today I have been mainly..." getting ready for the builders coming

I'm a firestarter

Can there be any greater pleasure on a Saturday afternoon than having a bonfire? Well obviously yes but you know what I mean!

"Today I have been mainly..." satisfying my inner pyromaniac!

Work, work, work...

Bit of a mad day work-wise but at least I managed 1,600m in the pool this morning before spending literally all day on the phone.

Time for cocktails methinks! Especially as I'm going to have to do more calls over the weekend.

"Today I have been mainly..." conference calling.

Google Sync and Maps - technology that works

I've been playing around with Google Sync and apart from a couple of "gotchas" (which do actually make sense when you have them pointed out to you!) it most definitely falls in to the "technology that works" category.

I've now managed to achieve that almost mystical state of serenity that comes from having the contacts on my phone, Outlook, Gmail and BlackBerry all the same without having to export/ merge/ import all my data via Excel.

Its not perfect in that it doesn't handle Outlook categories and due to my company's security policy I can only sync manually but it does what I need it to which is to make my life easier without first making it harder! The really big deal is that the decision I took about 10 years ago not to keep separate personal and work address books appears to have finally paid off.

And while we are on the subject, Google Maps has done a pretty good job today of getting me from Paddington into the City on foot as the Tube strike is still on. I walked via the parks (Hyde, Green and St. James; the shot above is the Joy of Life Fountain in Hyde Park) which took about an hour-and-a-half but as I was on the phone and email all the way it didn't really matter.

The "walking" option in the latest version of Maps works brilliantly and even has Streetview (the little picture at the top of the screen).

I know that Google is now supposed to be evil but while they keep innovating geeks like me will keep drinking the Kool-Aid!

"Today I have been mainly..." Travelling on trains and walking through London.

Devil's Punchbowl

Been having a bit of a mad few days; plenty of running (well a fair bit) but not much time to update the blog.

Lovely run with Steve and his dog round the Devil's Punchbowl this morning. Misty, sun starting to burn the clouds off, skylarks singing - the picture doesn't really do it justice.

More or less ready for the 10k. Signs and trophies have arrived, medals have 2009 ribbons on them and I've produced all the route and distance markers. Just need a few more entries now...

"Today I have been mainly..." feeling glad I didn't risk going in to London given the tube strike!