Considering we’ve not been able to go out, April flew by.

Thoughts

Seems like lots of folk are talking about data standards again, which is good.

Seems like we still aren’t all talking about the same thing when we say standards. This is one of those problems that isn’t really a problem, it just feels like one.

A good dose of pragmatism to make the effort to disambiguate some of the things that fall under the umbrella of standards would be a good start, but I am glad that across government folks seem to be willing to grasp the nettle (again).

I have been blown away by the work being done to get the right information to people at the right time, in the right way. Doing what you can to contribute, and doing it well is all anyone can ask. This “digital” stuff, however small it might be in the grand scheme is important, necessary, and not easy. Well done my bewties.

I caught up with Dan and had a good old chat about data. That was nice - he was wearing his new hat.

I was this (👌) close to packing in Twitter. Over the decade or so I’ve been on it I have been reasonably good at ignoring the terminally stupid. But twitter had become a lot more adept at ramming it down my throat through their various app changes and the “5G causes coronavirus” bollocks was very nearly the last straw.

It would have been a real shame, as I feel I have benefitted far more from twitter over the years than it has harmed me, but it had become something I was checking far too often and for no discernible reason other than feeding my dopamine habit. It was beginning to effect my mental health during this lockdown so I had to think seriously about just binning it off.

Thankfully, I was recommended tweetbot instead of the official twitter app and it’s pared down design has been a god send.

I can send tweets. I can read tweets from people I follow. I know when someone tweets or DMs me. That’s it.

No notifications for likes, no “for you”, far fewer idiots. I am optimistic it will help realign my relationship with social media a bit by trimming the energy sapping “opinionati” and helping me only see the cool stuff from people I like. Best £5 I’ve ever spent.

Feelings

We, like everyone else, are managing. Tomorrow marks the beginning of our eighth week together as a family in lockdown, and we haven’t yet been at each others’ throats.

I have had this last week off. We were originally due to have a week away, but it was unsurprisingly cancelled.

Still, I was beginning to feel fatigued, not having had an time off of note since Christmas, and it has been a bit of a tonic. Not least of all a literal tonic as I have done more afternoon drinking than I would have normally. I guess that’s the result of the sun being out.

Not having to mentally switch between work mode and parent mode constantly has helped but I must say I still struggle at times being cooped up with a toddler, and I am grateful every day for the amazing support of my wife. I’ve never felt more like we are a proper team.

I took the boy out for a drive on Thursday, just he and I, to get the car running properly for a bit as it’s hardly moved in 6 weeks. In one 60 second stretch I was asked;

“Daddy, where is the electricity?”

“Daddy, did you see those sheep?”

“Daddy, do you like sandwiches?”

About five minutes after that he fell asleep. I was still trying to explain the electricity bit.

It can’t be much fun for him either though, having no one on his own wavelength to bounce his wacky-ass ideas off. That afternoon we did a video call with his best friend from nursery and that seemed to cheer him up enormously. A happy child makes life considerably easier.

On the good news front, he got accepted into our first choice of school. Most of the schools around here are pretty good but this one always had good reports from people we know. On the less good news front we hadn’t realised the uniform there is yellow, so I guess I need to buy 52 yellow jumpers or something.

Man, I have never missed having a haircut more than I do now. My mum used to be a hairdresser many years ago. I had a video call with my parents this week and there’s my dad, grinning back at me with his freshly cut hair. Bastard. 👦

Words

I read a whole bunch of articles that appeared in my twitter feed.

Once again I did not (seemingly) bookmark any of them.

I did not read a single book in April, although I did finish the first Fables collection which has been on my list for a while.

I am convinced now there is a word for reading inertia, but I haven’t got around to looking it up.

More seriously, if anyone has any tips for improving reading discipline other than “just do it because it’s great” line which is about the long and short of the advice I have found on the internet then I am keen to hear it.

Sounds

Friend of the show Steve, has provided me with a month’s worth of recommendations all by himself nearly.

Starting with this incredible Late Night Tales from Zero 7 which has an absolutely amazing dub version of Witness by Roots Manuva amongst a series of belters.

Then there’s Steve’s own 5 mix series he did called “Morning After” which have some choice tunes. WARNING, SOME OF THESE SONGS ARE VERY SEXY.

If all this weren’t enough there’s then his choice tunes for April and this set by Skee Mask.

Well done Steve for exemplifying the GDS PaaS (playlists as a service) product. 👏

I also finally picked up a turntable after many years of wanting one and several months of picking up records in anticipation.

New this month was What Kinda Music by Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes. I stumbled across an NME review which gave it 3/5 and honestly I can’t think of a more ringing endorsement than that. The WH Smith of music review rags.

Tastes

We got bread flour! There has been a lot of nice fresh bread made by my wife, and the smell of it has been filling the house.

We did have to buy a whopping 5lb loaf tin though because the tiny slices you get from a 2lb tin made us all feel like giants who had robbed the villagers of their sandwiches.

The return of the sunshine meant I have been enjoying a “refreshing evening drink”. I’m not a lover of margaritas but I can’t resist a paloma. Silver tequila, lime juice, sugar syrup, grapefruit soda. Heaven in a glass. You can use another citrus soda in a pinch but you don’t want it too sweet. I’ve found San Pelligrino grapefruit to be the best.

Fun

I mentioned last month that we had built some raised beds, and that the dilapidated greenhouse was next on the list.

I had underestimated just how much work was there. Here’s what we started with;

Before

The hardest job was repairing the blockwork the greenhouse sat on. On advice of a builder friend I bought enough new blocks to add a second layer underneath, as the gap between the blockwork and the actual ground was ever-widening. I had not anticipated quite how much effort it would take. Remove the old block, dig out enough material to get another one in, get it level, get the old one back in so there’s a friction fit that’s not too loose and not too tight. Rinse. Repeat.

That alone took me over a week of afternoons, evenings and weekends.

Then came the seemingly never-ending removal, cleaning and reassembly of the glass and frame. Because the greenhouse was about 50 years old it had no safety glass either so cleaning it with a sponge meant often cutting my fingers.

But it is done, it looks great, and we already have lots of seeds growing in there.

After

Games

Sonny and I have played Lego City Undercover together. It’s been our first father-son gaming experience and I am seriously impressed with how quickly he’s grasped using a controller. Especially as it’s clearly too big for his hands.

He likes building things, I like the schlocky homage to 80s movies dialogue. Everyone wins.

Cheers ‘n’ gone.