Three Postcrossing postcards arrived in today’s post. They’re from Finland, France and Germany.
If you’re interested in exchanging postcards with people around the world, you can find more at Postcrossing.com.
Catching up with some old Sketchnote Army Podcasts. Listened to the @Patrickrhone episode, which reminded me that I need to practice daily!
Now listening to the Catherine Mi Sook episode.
Cat lovers might like this:
Have a thought for the books you read: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2019/sep/21/berger-wyse-on-book-groups-cartoon?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Attributing quotes …
Recently saw a couple of quotes without any attribution, so I looked them up on the internet. The quotes, and the attribution I found on the internet are:
A hard beginning maketh a good ending. – John Heywood
Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday and all is well. – Dale Carnegie
Something to think about from Execupundit.com: A Subject Worthy of More Discussion in the Workplace
Catching up with articles in yesterday’s Observer I found this interesting: From fan mail to fiction: the letters from famous authors that made me a writer by Julie Myerson.
It left me wondering whether others have done something similar? And what the outcome was?
Testing posting to Micro.blog from Drafts
Interesting article in The Observer today: Ronnie Wood - Art saved my life
I read this article in the London Review of Books yesterday. I describes the author’s experience of being diagnosed with cancer and his treatment. He doesn’t pull any punches.
Worth a read. Helps put things into context.
On 14 April 2019, an article in The Observer’s new review section on Ian McEwan said:
That would make him about 700.
The online version of the article has been corrected.
Saw this on Twitter:
This is why it is important to #write a #diary I found this diary in our loft today after 26 years
An idea from Tim Ferris' interview of Neil Gaiman:
“I’m giving myself permission to write or not write, but writing is actually more interesting than doing nothing after a while”
Struggling to find something to blog about each day on my business blog. I’d hoped to have “news” items from HMRC each day. Time to delve into my notes on technical issues: how boring!
Read “The American Agent” by Jacqueline Winspear over the past couple of days. I haven’t been so engrossed in a book for a while. It’s the fifteenth book in the Maisie Dobbs series.
How true?
If you want to hear Austin Kleon talking with a couple of British podcasters have a listen to He Shoots, He Draws.
I’m not putting up links to Amazon for Austin Kleon’s book, Keep Going, as I’d like to encourage you to use your local independent bookshop.
If all my posts seem to be the same, it’s because I’m following the advice in Austin Kleon’s book, Keep Going, to treat every day as Groundhog Day.
I’m attempting to follow Austin Kleon’s advice on what to share here.
Did it again. Reflecting on an earlier meeting, I had an interesting thought and instead of writing it down immediately…
I’ve no idea what it was now. I must remember to keep a notebook and pen close to hand all the time. I wonder how often I have to forget before I start to remember to write things down now?
My wife tells me that there are hamsters that have known nothing but Brexit…
She’s right as they only live for around three years.
Review Studio Neat Mark One pens
In May 2018, I subscribed to the Studio Neat Kickstarter campaign for the Mark One pen. I selected the two pen option, deciding to have one white and one black pen.
The design of the pen is very simple. Straight sided with a retractable refill. The pen body is aluminium coated with cerakote. The refill is a Schmidt P8126. Not much one can say about the refills that hasn’t already been said. The refills are also used in Retro 51s. I have a Retro 51 (or two, okay, three. Okay, make that four) so I know the refills are good.
The Mark One pens are nicely balanced in the hand, and easy to write with. I took one of the pens and added it to the pen loop on my daily carry notebook. I’ve used it everyday since it arrived. It is easy to write with, and for longer writing sessions I have had no issues such as hand cramp.
The pens are plain. There is no clip, nothing to stop the pen rolling off the desk. The package it comes in is made of cork, and once opened provides a pen tray, which allows you to keep the pen on the desk. You just have to remember to put it back in the pen tray.
You may have noticed that it took around ten months from backing the project to getting the pens. It had originally been hoped to have had the pens before Christmas 2018. It seems, though, that the white pen was more difficult to produce than the black. Production was slower for the white pens. It was frustrating having to wait so long for the pens to arrive. Were they worth it the wait? Yes.
Want to give one a try? You can order them from Studio Neat.
Oh! Dear! What can the matter be?
The matter is the UK’s “decision” to leave the EU. Note, please, that the UK is not leaving Europe. I’m afraid the rest of Europe is stuck with us — the UK is going nowhere. At least not in the physical sense.
The fuss and nonsense that’s happening now in the House of Commons, and replayed ad nauseam on news programmes, is the result of poor judgment on the part of politicians in 2015 and 2016. The referendum result was, apparently, only advisory. It was an indication of how voters felt about being in, or out, of the EU. I only found out that the referendum was advisory, rather than a mandate after the results were announced. I suspect it was the same for many people. Being advisory there was no need for the Government to act upon the result. On the day after the referendum, there seemed to an air of confusion, as though people were asking themselves, “OMG! what have we done?” Of the electorate, only 37% voted to leave the EU. That means that 63% voted to remain (35%) or couldn’t be arsed to vote (28%). That, however, is how the system works in the UK.
The issue now is that Members of Parliament are divided in their opinions and the best course of action, and have, apparently, drawn lots of red lines they say they will not cross. There’ll probably be shortage of red ink and paint in the next couple of months. Some MPs are refusing to talk to each other unless things are taken off or put on the table. Beware of low flying clichés.
Some people are calling for another referendum. What will the question be? “Did you mean it last time?” or “Do you want to leave now you know the havoc that attempting to do so has created?” Others are saying it would be undemocratic to have a second referendum. What is undemocratic about asking voters if they’ve changed their minds? Isn’t the electorate allowed to change its mind now the chaos created by trying to agree the leaving process is visible?
I wonder if those who want to push ahead with leaving the EU are too focused on the goal? Have they got too close to the trees to be able to see the wood? Something similar appeared to happen in 1996, when climbers on Everest, it has been suggested, were so intent on reaching the summit they ignored safety considerations. Eight people died on Everest over three days.
Leaving the EU is, one hopes, unlikely to lead to any deaths, although doom-mongers are predicting the UK economy will be badly affected, and there will be shortages of food and medicines because of long queues at ports. The alternative, it seems, is to allow free movement of goods and people into and out of the UK, keep the association with security and research bodies open, and allow qualifications to be recognised. Of course, there are potential benefits to leaving the EU. Control of immigration into the UK. No need to follow EU laws, although manufacturers will still need to comply with EU standards if they wish to sell their products to the remaining members of the EU.
This is a poorly researched, badly written article. It’s based on heresy; or do I mean hearsay? Add to that the boredom from listening to endless apparently baseless speculation on news programmes, and the wall-to-wall coverage of MPs behaving like school children. It’s almost enough to make one want to emigrate…
A goal is a dream with a deadline.