Jamie McHale

Month notes: February 2026

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:59:59 GMT

February flew by. The first half of the month we were eating healthy, exercising despite the lack of sleep. Rory has still not been able to consolidate sleep cycles on a regular basis! We have had a fun time with both of the boys though, including some visits to the museum to see their "Giants" exhibition.

Mid-month we went down to near Hull for Steph and Chris's wedding. It was a lovely ceremony, and it was great to be able to celebrate with them. H was a bridesmaid, and I was on parenting duty most of the time.

After the wedding the healthy eating and exercise routine seemed to take a bit of a hit. My achilles has been playing up, so I've tried to take it easier. With sleep deprevation it's also harder to summon the willpower for running.

We didn't have a GlasgowJS in Feburary, as the venue arrangements fell through. I attended an AI Demo evening, checking out various projects and tools people have built with and for AI.

EdinburghJS this month was on WordPress, NextJS and Cloudflare. We will be back next month with a talk from Sara Vieira on building emulators.

My reading has also suffered this month. I picked through the first bits of the Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome, by Venki Ramakrishnan, The Baby Sleep Solution by Lucy Wolfe and Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

I'll be back at the end of March with another update - hopefully a little more rested! 👋

Month notes: January 2026

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 23:59:59 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

In my December update I had said we had relaxed over Christmas and New Year, although it had been "mostly exhausting". I think I understated just how tired we were after the holiday. Rory had difficulty sleeping for more than 45 minutes at a time, and with a three year old big brother there is no possibility of a lie in. Over Christmas I drank too much coffee, started really feeling the effects, and so decided that if Rory wasn't going change then I had to. I'm back to running, but with emphasis on healthy eating. My aim is to get back to the level of fitness I had before both the boys arrived. So far I've lost over 2kg, and have rediscovered the joy of early morning and late night runs, mostly cutting across Marchmont and the Grange to get up Blackford Hill.

Family

We kicked off the new year with a quick visit to the National Museum and their Sprogmanay event. This month has been about spending quality family time, getting out more with the boys, and going to new places.

We spent a nice day out in East Lothian celebrating Norma's birthday, and sneaked in a visit to Dunbar Beach on the way home. It was fun seeing Jack jumping in puddles and stream, letting off a bit of energy after a day of good behaviour on our schedule.

JavaScript Meetups

I organised two Code Jams with EdinburghJS and GlasgowJS. Unfortunately CGI cancelled our sponsorship and venue booking only two working days before the Glasgow event, so there was a last minute scramble to arrange something. We pulled it off, and I think everyone involved in both events had a good time. The theme for each was Personal Websites - build something to publish. I wanted to focus on personal websites as I think it is important to carve out a space online to write, publish, think and connect with others. Having a personal website is a great tool for playing the long game. Social media comes and goes, but you can take responsibility for your own content if you run your own site.

It was also an opportunity to discuss the state of the industry with other web developers and engineers. AI is obviously having a big impact - it's part of my daily workflow now, and I'm bullish on the posibilities that it will offer not just software development but the wider world. I work with both Claude Code and Codex, and have integrated it not just into software development but project management and life planning workflows. We live in exciting times.

Reading

I read three books, and browsed a selection more:

Next month I intend to run more, starting my marathon training, delve deeper into using AI agents for work and life organisation, and try to set up my life and environment to deal with constant sleep deprevation (and support H too!). Wish me luck 👋

Month notes: December 2025

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 23:59:59 GMT

December wa a family month with outings to Portobello and to The Botanics. Rory is still not sleeping particularly well, so it's been a month of juggling running around with a toddler with early bedtimes.

I held the Scottish Technology Club Christmas Social in December. It was great to meet some new faces, and catch up with regulars without the pressue of organising talks.

Christmas preparation was fun - although we were away for Christmas itself, we decorated a tree. It's nice now that Jack is old enough to get excited and know what is going on.

In the run up to Christmas and to celebrate H's birthday we went away for a couple of days in Northumberland. We stayed at Laverock Law Cottages "North Star Treehouse" which was lovely. It's a great location near to Bamburgh. We ate at The Potted Lobster which I highly recommend.

The Christmas-New Year period was relaxed. We joined the National Trust and visited Wallington Gardens a couple of times to catch up with friends.

Overall, it's mostly been exhausting - but we're going into the New Year optimistic and grateful for a great 2025. 👋

Month notes: November 2025

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 23:59:59 GMT

I started the month with a weekend with Jack as Harriet was away with Rory. I decided that we should have some cycling adventures. On the Saturday we cycled out to South Queensferry: across the Meadows, down the Canal, onto the Roseburn path, touched the edge of the A90 and B924, and along the cycle path into town. We walked around the Marina looking at the bridges and boats, then had lunch at Down the Hatch, which serves up Canadian-style food. At this point Jack had a very short nap at the table, then we picked up and cycled home via the Dalmeny Estate.

On the Sunday we did a ride in a similar direction, out via the Roseburn path, but this time we turned down through Silverknowes to the Cramond Shore. We played on the beach, walked on the Causeway and then headed along to Granton Pitt for lunch. It was another beautiful day. We cycled back via Newhaven, and the Hawthornvale Path. Jack managed a snooze mid-journey. I think the fresh air was tiring!

On both days we made it around almost exclusively on bike paths - the new link at Dalry Park mades it really easy to get across to the paths to the west of the city. I'm keen to do more days out like this - it's lovely spending the day in the fresh air chit-chatting away about all the things to see.

Later that week Jack turned three. How time has flown! We spent a lovely family day riding the tram (first time for Jack) and some buses, then lunch at La Casa Leith. H made a cake, decorated exactly as Jack had asked.

I was pleased to run two more JavaScript meetups this month. At GlasgowJS we had a talk from Ryan on building a "local first" app using SQLite. Ryan participated via the Scottish Technology Club speaker launchpad programme that we have started to encourage new speakers. The event went well, and you can watch the recording on YouTube. Fanny stepped up as the speaker at EdinburghJS where we did a crossover event with the UX community. I appreciate Mike at UX Edinburgh reposting the event, and was glad to see a lot of new faces at the event. You can watch the livestream recording on YouTube.

I managed a couple of nights off, taking a wee break from childcare. I celebrated Pete's birthday with a night of bowling and pizza; and at the end of the month had a team night out with Mapify.

Reading and Watching

Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places, Paul Collier. A little vague.

Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Made me think about what I saw and what I wanted to see when I watched the news.

I watched A House of Dynamite on Netflix, which then inspired me to read Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen which had been on my reading pile. My Goodreads review:

This was a quick and gripping read. I can’t judge the book on its technical merits (it doesn't seem like it should be marketed as non-fiction) but the fundamental questions of process and policy it raises are worth thinking about. Even if the details are speculative or overstated, is it not mad that the fate of billions could rest on a small number of decisions of those with very different ideologies and motivations than our own?

I caught up on the last episodes of Andor, then watched the latest seasons of Slow Horses and The Diplomat. We've had a fair amount of TV time sitting on the sofa with a feeding baby.

In December I hope to see folks at the Scottish Technology Club Christmas Social on the 16th in Edinburgh.

That's all for November, back at the end of the year! 👋

Month notes: October 2025

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 23:59:59 GMT

So I should probably lead with the big news of the month: H and I are engaged! In the middle of October we took a wee trip up to see the autumn leaves near Pitlochry. It was the first time away as a family of four. We stayed at a small cottage in Strathtay. H loves autumn and being out and about, so I figured it was the perfect time to pop the (long overdue) question. I was also pleased that despite it being overdue the timing was a surprise. We walked up the Birks of Aberfeldy trail, I read the Burns poem, and H said Yes.

Let Fortune's gifts at random flee, They ne'er shall draw a wish frae me; Supremely blest wi' love and thee, In the Birks of Aberfeldy.

We drove along to Loch Tay, had a late lunch at The Courtyard as our boys slept in our laps. After a quick stop at the playground, we went to a small beach and threw stones into the water in the afternoon sun - a beautiful and happy day.

On the Friday drive up we visited Dunkeld and the cathedral. On the Sunday we went into Pitlochry and wandered around the dam in the drizzle, with great sandwiches from Jessie's Cafe at the end of the town.

The rest of the month was busy as we adjusted to having two children. It can be pretty relentless! We still managed some nice walks in the fresh autumn air.

Halloween came and we took Jack out guising with some of the other local kids. It was fun!

I ran two JavaScript events: one talking about AI with Patty O'Callaghan, and the other with Emmanuel Demey showcasing a WordPress to Astro migration.

I'm pleased that we've started getting more volunteers to help out at these events. Having more people involved makes the organisation more robust and sustainable. If you want to give me a hand then fill out the volunteers form.

My running and reading have both fallen off a cliff, particularly since Rory's arrival. I hope to get back to the regular routine soon. I did read through 1177 BC by Eric H Cline, which gave a tour of the ancient civilisations of the eastern Mediterranean.

Until next month (and hopefully not as late with the notes next time!) 👋

Month notes: September 2025

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 23:59:59 GMT

It's been a whirlwind of a month since we welcomed Rory at the end of August. We have now mostly settled down into a routine, and are figuring out how to juggle a newborn and an almost-three year old. It's been the usual lot of household responsibilities, lack of sleep, and making sure Jack was getting the attention he deserves. We've tried to make sure we are doing things that Jack will enjoy, rather than simply doing the easiest thing. I was really pleased to take Jack out to the skatepark for the first time. He is riding a balance bike, and I hope he graduates to pedals soon. It was great seeing him try and succeed at riding well.

We also went to the Lothian Buses Doors Open Day, perfect for a transport-obsessed wee guy!

I ran two JavaScript events. Michael Hayes of Rookie Oven volunteered his time to talk about mobile apps vs the web platform at GlasgowJS. We had an "AI" night at EdinburghJS the following week with Alan, Sabastine and Steve presenting talks and Fanny talking about the Scottish Technology Club "Speaker Launchpad" programme.

In October we have another "AI" night at GlasgowJS and a talk on Astro+WordPress at EdinburghJS. I hope to see a lot of folks at each of those!

In reading this month I've been making my way through War in Human Civilization by Azar Gat and the first few chapters of the Sources of Social Power by Michael Mann. I'm hoping to round these off in October, then figure out if I want to continue to plough through the "Rise and Fall of Civilisations" reading list, or switch to something else for a while.

👋

Hello Rory

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the world Rory.

Our family just got bigger. We welcomed Rory last weekend. It's been a whirlwind, with a very quick but intense labour, home the same day, introducing him to Jack and visits from the grandparents. Harriet is doing well, and I'm remembering how to take care of a newborn.

I'm looking forward to finding out who this wee guy is.

Month notes: August 2025

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 23:59:59 GMT

This month note is late, but for good reason. I'm just finishing up two weeks of paternity leave after the arrival of Rory. He arrived a week late (like his brother) right at the end of the month.

August was a fun month, mostly spent preparing for Rory's arrival and spending quality time with the family. We took Jack to some festival events, went for walks, and ate some lunches out (Paz Taqueria, The Gruff Goat, several festival food trucks). Jack has been getting better at his balance bike, and we spent many sunny evenings looping the block near the Meadows.

Towards the end of the month I went to see AC/DC at Murrayfield, a long-overdue bucket-list band. I did keep in constant contact with H, to check that she wasn't suddenly going into labour.

I started reading Azar Gat's War in Human Civilisation, trying to make progress on the Rise and Fall of Civilisations reading list that I've had on the backburner for a while. I guess I'll be spending a lot of time with Rory on the sofa, so resuming the reading list is probably a good idea!

That's it for August. I'll be back at the end of September, which will include more baby-chat and JavaScript meetups. 👋

AC/DC

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

I ticked off a bucket list band, seeing AC/DC at Murrayfield. A long time coming! I was worried this wasn't going to happen: gig on the Thursday, our baby due date on Saturday, but it all worked out! 🤘

Month notes: July 2025

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 23:59:59 GMT

This will be quite a short update for July as it's been a month of churning through regular life tasks, and getting the flat ready for our new arrival at the end of August.

I took Jack down to Kirkcudbright for a a weekend to pick up all his old baby stuff, and spent a lovely day relaxing in the garden. Jack got to pick fresh fruit and run around in the garden.

We took a trip to the zoo to see the Capybara for the first time.

I organised a Summer Social for EdinburghJS. It was nice to welcome regulars and new folks out for a drink. We'll be back with the technical meetups in September.

I have been picking through Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler by Tim Bouverie.

Until next month! 👋

Month notes: June 2025

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 23:59:59 GMT

I started the month with a lovely break to London with Harriet. I think this is our "babymoon", but whatever you call it, it was a chance to eat some good food and lie in bed for a couple of hours longer than we usually would.

We are starting to prepare for the arrival of Baby #2 - clearing the house, retrieving Jack's baby stuff which has been in storage, and attending a "birth yoga" workshop together. This time round things seem to be moving faster than last time. Life is a blur with a toddler. We've had a lot of lovely days with Jack, particularly with the warm weather, pottering around the local area, swimming, and getting to sit in a fire engine at the Meadows Festival.

Work has been busy implementing a logistics web app and a WebRTC Calling system. I'm continuing to explore how AI workflows can assist in coding, combining CoPilot, Claude Code and Codex. I am unlikely to have contract availability for the rest of the year, but if you want to chat please do get in touch.

JavaScript Meetups

I organised two JavaScript meetups in June. The first was conversations about AI at GlasgowJS and the second was Geo and JS at EdinburghJS.

This month I was pleased that we had two guest hosts: Robbie at GlasgowJS and Amandine at EdinburghJS. It's great to be able to provide the opportunity for others to be involved. It takes the pressure off me a little, and helps make the meetups more sustainable. Again, I'm grateful to our hosts and sponsors: BJSS and TravelPerk.

I've scheduled social events in both Glasgow (hosted by Kelsie, Sergio and Victoria) on the 15th and Edinburgh (hosted by Me and Allan) on the 22nd of July.

I also represented Scottish Technology Club and the JS meetups at a "Digital Drop In" organised by Gordon Guthrie, in an attempt to bring the tech ecosystem into better contact with the Parliamentary ecosystem. The main points that I emphasised to Parliamentarians was that technical meetup groups are an important and occasionally overlooked part of the "tech startup" strategy; that meetups are often in need of venues and small amounts of money; and that the current ecosystem funds don't seem to be "right sized" for ongoing, sustainable community groups. I'll hopefully work on this more over the next year.

This month I also moved the Scottish Technology Club website from a Markdown-based system to a database-backed system. This will hopefully give me the flexibility to automate a little more, and to give selective access to organisers and helpers in the future.

Running, and the great outdoors

My running, yet again, seems to have not gone too well this month. I have done some light runs, and the Solstice on the Segment run with Gordon/Interval Running, but my back has been injured after helping a woman chase her hat that had blown away in the wind (the day after running down Arthur's Seat, coincidence?!).

I managed a walk with Aileen in Swaledale at the end of the month, a fairly light 10km at the north of the Yorkshire Dales. A lovely part of the country, and a long-overdue catchup.

Reading and Watching

This month I read:

Growth: A Reckoning, Daniel Susskind. A tour of the ideas around growth and progress.
The Technological Republic, Alexander C. Karp, Nicholas W. Zamiska. Founders of Palantir think we shouldn't take military technology and strength for granted.
Why The Allies Won, Richard Overy (started, continuing my exploration of war that I seem to be doing over the past few months)
On the Calculation of Volume I & II, Solvej Balle. Enjoyable fiction exploring seasons, daily ritual, memory, persistence. Now to wait for the next five books in the series.
Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green. Light narrative about TB.
Pathogenesis: How germs made history, Johnathan Kennedy (started)

I also watched the first season of Andor, and started on the second. Thanks to Allan and Michael for pressuring me into it (although Harriet did comment "is this a recommendation to watch Star Wars from a guy who has a Star Wars room in his house").

I'm looking forward to seeing folks at the EdinburghJS social in July, until then 👋

Swaledale

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

I spent the weekend down in Harrogate staying with Aileen. We decided on a Saturday walk in the north of the Dales at Swaledale.

We drove up and parked at the Surrender Bridge just past Reeth, and did a 10km circuit to the north.

It was pretty misty, although still warm. Up and over the top it turned into a lunar landscape - lots of gravel surrounded by boggier ground. A few barely visible cairns appeared through the gloom.

Once out the other side the mist cleared a bit for views to the opposite side of the valley. We ate some lunch in the car and went to the Dales Bike Center and Cafe for coffee and cake (recommended!).

The rough route we took is posted on Komoot.

Solstice on the Segment

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A fun afternoon out for the solstice at the Interval Running Shop event - run from the shop to the top of Arthur's Seat to complete their Strava segment, get your name on the board. It was wet and misty, then suddenly clear and warm. Gordon and I contributed our segments. The winner contributed 20, doing 100km+!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

London

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

We had a lovely trip to London at the end of May - a rare weekend away as a couple. We're looking forward to August with our new arrival, so this is likely one of the last times just the two of us for a while.

We stayed in Bloomsbury at the Kimpton Fitzroy, well located for walking to the various restaurants, museums and galleries. The breakfast was excellent, with great service.

Across the long weekend we visited The British Museum, The National Gallery, the Hunterian Museum, and Imperial War Museum plus a wee wander around the surrounding areas for shopping, a trip to the LRB Bookshoop and Daunt Books.

It's been a long time since I've been in any of these museums, so it was good to see their collections again. I enjoyed the Hans Holbein at the National, plus the Medieval galleries. The Imperial War museum was good, and it was interesting to see artefacts and personal stories related to the books I've been reading recently.

We ate out at Tampopo (nice food, but an incredibly strong red wall light!), Scarlett Green (Aussie-style brunch), Honey&Co (middle eastern, sharing platter and then amazing meats, recommended).

I managed a run out around Regents Park in the sunshine. Strava informed me that I'd set a personal segment record, my only other time being ten years previous. Nice to know that my running has improved.

Month notes: May 2025

Sat, 31 May 2025 23:59:59 GMT

One of the things that I appreciated most in May was the family time we spent together. It's amazing how ordinary days with Jack and H can end up feeling deeply fulfilling. Early in the month we took Jack out for his first evening meal as a toddler - an early dinner at Matto Pizza; visited the Garden Cafe at Archerfield, with a small playground and gardens; got sandwiches from the new Toscano Sandwiches place in Bruntsfield; went to the Botanics (I do not recommend the cafe there, expensive for tiny portions); cycled to Torduff and Clubbidean reservoirs, stopping at Clubbiedean cafe (service from a window with a few seat); and looked after one of Jack's pals for an afternoon. He's at a really charming age, chatting away, asking "how does it work", spotting different cars, and running around with so much energy.

One of the other big pieces of family news is that we are expecting again - with a new baby arriving towards the end of August or early September.

This month has been busy, as I've taken on more work to fill the bank account before our new arrival. I've been working on projects with clients with a focus on DevOps, CI, Terraform, plus some front-end work in React. We had a GlasgowJS event on building a game engine, and an EdinburghJS on State Machines with XState. I missed the Edinburgh event due to a family event, but caught up on the live-stream. At the end of the month I attended Tectonic Night Summit in Glasgow, where I got to spend more time hanging out with volunteers from our community, also catching up with Michael Hayes who runs RookieOven.

In personal non-family life, I've been trying to keep up my running, but the weeks have been a bit variable. I managed a ParkRun, a couple of loops of Arthurs Seat (I saw a terrapin in the Loch!), and some routes over the Braids. I also ran into an old friend from Leighton Buzzard who was running Edinburgh Marathon.

In reading and watching I read: Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze which was an excellent tour of the economics of the Nazi war machine and how it influenced their military strategies. On a similar topic I also read Freedom's Forge by Arthur Herman on the organisation of American industry during the war. The scale of the effort was fantastic.

In TV we watched The Chestnut Man (Scandi-noir detectives), Mindhunter (abandoned, I didn't get into it) and Luther: Fallen Son (weird story, but entertaining).

At the end of the month Hazza and I also got away for a trip to London which I covered in my journal. A great end to the month, and a lovely start to June.

My month notes aren't usually the space to talk about world affairs or politics, but I wanted to acknowledge the turbulent times that we are living in. I always try to keep in mind my core politics of freedom and responsibility, currently being denied to so many. I am also aware of my limited circle of influence. I can still do my part, so this month I made a donation to MSF to help with relief efforts both in Gaza and in other places around the world.

In June I have more client work, two JavaScript meetups, and starting to get the house in order for our new arrival.

Month notes: April 2025

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 23:59:59 GMT

April has been a bit of a slog. I had a cold, hayfever, sore back (from toddler wrangling), Jack was ill for a week with a nursery bug (so we missed a weekend away) and I fell off the running & exercise wagon. That said, I did manage to fit in a bunch of stuff around client work, and now the sun is shining and everything seems better.

I started the month with an EdinburghJS hackathon organised by Ljupche and James. We spent the day hacking on "Shiny" new tools at KPV Lab. I am pleased that we can run events like this where other organisers get involved. I want to make sure that the Edinburgh and Glasgow JavaScript meetup communities don't rely solely on me for organisation, and provide opportunities for new organisers and hosts to run with their own ideas. If you want to run or host then let me know.

Despite coming down with a nursery bug for a week, Jack has had a lovely month. We've been out at Portobello, running in the park, and up at the museum. He's so chatty, fast and active these days!

H and I had a date night out seeing Swan Lake. We ate at Junk in Newington before the show. The food was great. It's "junk" food, but remade for a restaurant. We had burger sliders, fried chicken, "pizza", and chips. We ordered too much and they gave us our leftovers in foil shaped like a swan. The ballet was great!

It was my birthday later in the month. I did one of the things that I like best which is to have a massive sandwich and spend some time with Hazza and Jack.

I mostly fell off the exercise wagon for the middle two weeks of April. I am still ahead of my annual goal for running, but only just. I started to get back into it at the end of the month, another gym session with Pete, and a run around Arthur's Seat where I saw a basking terrapin!

In books this month I read James Gleick's "The Information" in advance of a book reading group on Claude Shannon, and have made progress with The Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze talking about the Nazi economy. H and I watched a fair bit of Nordic crime drama, the best of which was probably The Chestnut Man.

Month notes: March 2025

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 23:59:59 GMT

Spring has arrived in Edinburgh, and March has been a packed month.

Looking back through my camera roll, it's mostly of hanging out with Jack. His chatting is developing each and every day. We had several days out, including a fun one at Dobbies Garden Center to see the fish.

We spent a couple of days in Hexham visiting H's family. I took the opportunity to go for a couple of nice runs.

We had a nice Mother's Day out at the end of the month with lunch at Hectors and a walk in the Botanics. Jack made a card the night before, excitedly announcing "Mummy I made a secret card!" within two mins of making it!

JavaScript Meetups

I ran two JavaScript meetups: Sergio Castillo on Design Systems and Tailwind (hosted by Victoria Lampard) and Jaime Torrealba on Creating Immersive Experiences in the Browser (hosted by Ljupche Vasilev). In April we are taking a break from the regular schedule, with a hackathon in Edinburgh. We'll be back at the BJSS office in Glasgow in early May, and (hopefully) at TravelPerk in Edinburgh.

I'm keen to speak to JS devs using AI in their development workflow, or building it into products. Give me a shout - I want to run a discussion and project sharing evening.

Exercise and Health

This month I've been trying harder at exercise and health. After Jack was born I seemed to get several Kg heavier, and it hasn't shifted in two years, despite a fairly decent running programme. This month I watched a viral video of a guy "training like David Goggins for 100 days". I don't advocate his training plan, it seems very injury prone, and there are certainly better ways of getting and staying fit, however, I was inspired with his dedication to the bit. He showed that if you take it seriously then you (possibly?) can make fitness progress reasonably quickly. With this new found inspiration I have upped by gym-attendance from one to three sessions a week, and have become (temporarily) a Huel bro.

I mostly hit my weekly running target, with 96km clocked up over the month.

Reading

This month I picked through some of On Freedom by Timothy Snyder and read The MANIAC, Benjamín Labatut, a worthwhile fiction on John von Neumann and reflection on AI.

I attended the Edinburgh Progress Reading Group to talk about Bacteriophages and biotech.

The main reading event of March was the epic The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, a 1000+ page look at the run up to the bombing of Japan in World War Two. This tour starts with a detailed look at the scientific community of the early 20th Century, outlines the experiments and breakthroughs, deals with gas attacks and the development of new weaponry in World War One, Jewish emigration in the face of rising anti-semitism, and then finally the politics and scientific organisation behind Los Alamos, the supply of radioactive materials from across America, and then finally the bombing. I recommend this book. It is (at the moment) only 99p on the UK Kindle store. You should get it and read it. I found several things interesting: the organisation of scientific work across the international community, the excitement of breakthroughs, the gamble on practical applications of theory, the tension between the scientific, political and military communities, the momentum of the project, and the contrast and similarities between the first atomic bombs and the intense firebombing campaigns occuring throughout the war. We still should be thinking about the weapons we use and how to prevent war. We should study the past and learn from it.

I've added Dark Sun (on the Hydrogen Bomb) by Richard Rhodes and Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen to my reading list.

Coming up

In April I'm continuing with client work, attending the EdinburghJS Hackathon, planning a nice date night, going to visit friends, and celebrating my birthday.

Get in touch if you want to hang out / work together / speak at a meetup 👋

Month notes: February 2025

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 23:59:59 GMT

The month kicked off with H doing another run of nights. I had a good time with Jack, running and walking down at the Hermitage, seeing horses and a pony. We've looked out my old Duplo - it's fun to see it get some use 40 years after I played with it.

Hazza and I have also managed a couple of nice dates during the month, a quick meal out at DunDun Delicious and lunch on the roof at Chaophraya.

My client work has been going well this month. I am well into two major projects and enjoying the challenges. It's full stack JavaScript for both of them, with a little bit of infrastructure management on the side. I don't expect to have much availability for a few months, but I'm always open to conversations about new software consultancy contracts.

JavaScript and the community

I ran two JavaScript events: Feature sliced design at GlasgowJS and Building with AT Protocol at EdinburghJS. This month was our first time at the TravelPerk office in Edinburgh, and they have kindly sponsored the catering too. It's great to see local companies step up. I do wonder how many more companies could spare a little cash from their training budgets? Developers learn from their peers and high quality meetups should be an integral part of the technology ecosystem. I often wonder why so many millions have been ploughed into "startup" facilities, but popular technical meetups still struggle for resources.

This month we also had two guest hosts (thanks Jamie & James!). I'm keen to get more people involved to increase the sustainability and resilience of the community, plus it seems inherently good to share the opportunity. James and Ljupche are organising a hackathon in April, and I'm glad the group can support their efforts. I have more speakers lined up for later in the year and have put together a volunteer and speaker form to help new folks get in touch.

I am also keen on establishing a community of practice around AI in software and development (in Scottish Technology Club). I've been using Claude Sonnet 3.7 to help with coding, establishing workflows, and building small tools (like Raycast AI extensions). Give me a shout if you want to join a few calls or meetups to share knowledge.

Running and Reading

I ended the month ~30km ahead of my annual target, with approx 100km in both January and February. I run Jack to nursery and back and have done a few extended morning runs over Blackford Hill. Sunrise is timed just right for fresh views from the top of the hill.

Reading has been great this month. I picked up a DC1 from Daylight (think supercharged Kindle), so I can have a nice surface for reading RSS as well as books. I read:

...and I have picked through/started/dabbled in:

Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life, Agnes Callard
Meditations for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman. I think Burkeman is one of the more thoughtful writers on productivity and mental health. I have enjoyed his previous books. Probably in the reminders and affirmations category rather than introducing anything new.
Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks. I want to give this a good go, but need to find a clear few hours to tackle it properly.

March is going to be a busy month with friends visiting, a trip to Hexham, and two JavaScript meetups. Lots to fit in! 👋

Month notes: January 2025

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 23:59:59 GMT

I didn't feel like I had a full go at a week in January: it was a balancing act between unexpected family obligations, new work and trying to implement some new year resolutions. After a lovely Christmas and New Year break I was keen to get stuck into work with a new client: working on some security and infrastructure migrations, then full-stack JavaScript feature development. Jack had other plans! His nursery closed for a day on the second day back due to flooding, then a week later he developed Chicken Pox. We'd had him vaccinated, so it was a mild case, but he still needed to be at home for a week. Then it was Hazza's week of night shifts, just to round off the month. Still, we managed some nice family time together, visiting Portobello for lunch and a wander.

We got cracking again with the JavaScript meetups. We had Daniel Roe at GlasgowJS speaking about font optimisation. Daniel is a great speaker, and we're lucky to have him here in Scotland. Exposure to all the different facets and types of JavaScript development is one reason why I run the meetups, and why I think it's worth attending even if the topic isn't in your usual area of work. The EdinburghJS meetup was without a venue, as FanDuel are unable to host us anymore, so we opted for a social event at JPs. This year I am altering the programme of events to provide a little more socialising time, both at our talks and adding a few more purely social events throughout the year. EdinburghJS will be at the new TravelPerk offices in February.

I have also added a Patreon page for the Scottish Technology Club. I needed to diversity the sources of income for the JavaScript meetups, as I have to personally bridge the gap between sponsorship and what we spend. I'm happy to do so, but more money means a more sustainable future for the community. Thank you to Duncan and Ian for being early supporters!

I managed to hit ~100km of running in January (squeaking the last few km on 1st Feb). I typically run Jack to and from nursery, but I have added some more long runs over Blackford in the morning. It's nice being up high for a winter sunrise.

Hazza and I had an evening out at the Scottish Ballet's Nutcracker, with dinner out at Matto Pizza beforehand. We'll be back at the ballet in April for Swan Lake. I'd neither been to the Festival Theatre or the ballet before, so it was good to try something new in January.

Reading and Watching

I had a good month of reading and watching:

Medieval Horizons, Ian Mortimer is a good tour of how life changed in the Middle Ages, a period in which Mortimer claims our values and priorities were shaped. He attacks the idea of several public intellectuals and writers that a peasant from the ~distant past (1750 BC for Ian Morris, 1000 for Yuval Noah Harari) could be transported to shortly before the Industrial Revolution and find life mostly unchanged. Mortimor says that this is false, and the Middle Ages is where the bulk of the change happened.

Even our most respected public intellectuals believe that society’s development largely depended on technological innovation. My contention is not only that this view is misleading but also that it results in a cultural denigration of the Middle Ages as an unsophisticated ‘dark ages’ in the public imagination. [...] What of the Twelfth-Century Renaissance? What of the Italian Renaissance? What of the great cathedrals? If you think ‘medieval’ is synonymous with backwardness, then you are exposing your own ignorance – for this was the age that gave us universities, Parliament and some of the finest architecture to be found in Europe.

On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything, Nate Silver. Gambling, crypto, risk, AI. I feel adjacent to this online space. Interesting to take a tour through it.

I have made a commitment to read more fiction this year. I started with Things Fall Apart, and No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe giving insights into colonialism, development and the loss of society and culture. I followed up with Greek Lessons by Han Kang.

I watched Lee (2023). I thought the film needed a better pace, but it still made me pick up and start reading the books that Harriet has on Lee Miller. At some point I want to post book or photo reviews on my /photography page.

I had an afternoon with Sam Enright's Progress Reading Group discussing The Merchant of Venice and Shakespeare in education with Henry Oliver, author of The Common Reader newsletter and Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Success and Reinventing Your Life. In preparation I watched Abagail Graham's production available on the Globe Player.

Some articles I highlighted:

Principles, Nabeel S. Qureshi

Fun is underrated. The best and most creative work comes from a root of joy and excitement. You can feel this in your body.

Do things fast. Things don’t actually take much time (as measured by a stopwatch); resistance/procrastination does. “Slow is fake”. If no urgency exists, impose some.

Figure out what your primary focus is and make progress on that every day, first thing in the morning, no exceptions. Days with 0 output are the killers. (Tyler Cowen)

There’s a lot of alpha in being willing to do “menial” work (take notes, send out agendas, order pizza, manually inspect raw data, whatever). Beware over-delegation and being too far from the details.
How to have a career even when OpenAI's o3 drops, Pradyumna Prasad

What lessons can one draw from this? I argue that the main lesson is that if your job is legible enough that people can make a dataset clearly pointing out what is right and what is wrong, you are at the highest risk for an AI model being “superhuman” at your job. It is even more risky if it is possible to articulate your thought process in a way that is verifiable.

That's all for January folks - see you in February! 👋

Month notes: December 2024

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 23:59:59 GMT

December was a fairly relaxed month, despite starting a new role with a client. We held a social for the JavaScript meetups, celebrated Harriet's birthday, we visited Kirkcudbright for Christmas, and that was about it! The rest of the time was spent looking after Jack.

I read Second Act by Henry Oliver on late bloomers, the moral of which is that it is actually not too late. I also read The Dawn of Everything by Davids Wengrow and Graeber. That was a fairly epic read giving a tour of the more distant past of humanity. The basic argument was that the standard narrative of state formation is not supported by evidence, and that the forms of human organisation are more complex and varied. This chimed and rhymed with some of what I have read from Ostrom, etc on ways of community management of resources, but I wasn't entirely convinced that their rejection of some mainstream ideas necessarily lead to the conclusions they had made.

Month notes: November 2024

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 23:59:59 GMT

I started the month on my bike with a wee trip to Pitlochry. It had been a while since I'd been out and about on my bike for a multi-day adventure, so it made a good start for the month. I think cycling is great for motivation practice: coming up to a long slog of a hill that you know you are going to be climbing for an hour or so and getting yourself in the mindset to keep going.

It was Jack's birthday at the start of this month. I can't believe he is two! We asked what he would prefer to do on the day and he chose a trip to IKEA. A wander round interesting rooms, getting to play and then some meatballs. Perfect fun!

We had the last Glasgow and Edinburgh JavaScript talks of the year. TravelPerk have sponsored the last few Edinburgh meetups, so we did a travel-themed event to close out the year, including some community intros as well as technical talks. I think the year has gone well for both meetups. We've maintained a good audience throughout, and through the livestreams and videos have an ongoing resource that people can draw on. I have plans to grow the meetups and community in 2025.

I managed to sneak in a competitive trail race at Glentress. I went down with H, Gordon and Amy. Gordon entered the half marathon and I entered the 10k. It was a big ol' slog, but worth it.

It was nice to celebrate Pete's birthday at the Sheep Heid Inn. Happy birthday Pete!

It snowed in Edinburgh - and it lay for at least half a day. I managed to get some photos out and about.

I managed to get back on with my reading habit this month:

Why War?, Richard Overy
Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart Again, Robert Kagan
The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism, John Gray
Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, Alex Hutchinson

I'm looking forward to December as I have some more client work to get stuck into: working with AWS and a full-stack JavaScript app. We'll be having an EdinburghJS social, and hopefully I'll get out and about to share Christmas cheer with friends.

Glentress 10k Trail Run

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

On Saturday I ran the Glentress Winter series 10k trail run. I managed it in 1:09:11, which although sounds slow compared to my other 10k times felt good considering that it was around 6km up a big ol' hill.

We stayed at the Peebles Hydro Hotel, joining Gordon (who ran the half) and Amy. The next day we took a walk at Kailzie Gardens and stopped in the cafe for a snack. Although it wasn't the best time of year for appreciating the gardens, it was still a nice walk and worth a visit.

Pitlochry

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

I had an unexpected couple of days free at the start of November. Harriet was in London, and the Grandparents volunteered to look after Jack for the weekend. I decided to take myself off to the countryside for some cycling. I have posted both days of cycling on Komoot.

On the Friday I took a train from Edinburgh to Perth and cycled to Pitlochry. The route mostly follows the National Cycle Network route 77, known as "the Salmon Run" due to the proximity to the River Tay.

The afternoon of cycling started nicely, picking up a Greggs from Perth town center, and wheeling my way out of town along the riverbank. The autumn colours glowed in the low sun, and faded as the rain started.

I got a bunk at the Pitlochry Backpackers, basic but clean and friendly, and located right in the center of town. I popped along the road to the Auld Smiddy Inn for a pint and a meal.

Saturday was my main day of cycling, with a route around Loch Tummel then up and over via Trinafour to Blair Atholl.

The day was damp with mist rolling over the hills in dribs and drabs. After leaving Pitlochry and crossing the Garry Bridge the route left the B8019 on the north side of Loch Tummel and via some singletrack crossed the Coronation Bridge to the Foss Road on the south side.

The Foss Road was quiet, peaceful, and had a lot of Autumn colours. The sun occasionally peaked through. If I was coming back to the area for a day ride or walk with the family I'd certainly consider this route again.

At the end of the loch I turned right to Tummel Bridge, and then started the grind up and over the Bohespic Road.

After dipping down at Trinafour there was another climb back over to the A9. The views back were great.

I stopped at the Bothy Bar at the Athol Arms Hotel for a coffee, then cycled back to Pitlochry via Blair Atholl. I enjoyed this section a little less as the road was busier and it was getting darker. Still, the whole route was a great day out. I grabbed dinner from McKays Fish and Chips.

On the Sunday I needed to get back to Edinburgh fairly promptly, so didn't cycle. I took a walk aroud the town, over the dam (saw the fish ladder), and then back to the train station. If you are taking the train make sure to book your bike tickets in advance. Space is limited and facilities are poor and cramped for cyclists!

I have no doubt I'll be back to Pitlochry again as it's an easy getaway from Edinburgh and a beautiful location.

Month notes: October 2024

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 23:59:59 GMT

It's a fairly short update this month. I spent most of the month working on landing new clients (success!) and automating some of my own work on Scottish Technology Club.

We had a guest host for GlasgowJS (thanks Jamie!) as I was away at a family dinner, but I was at EdinburghJS which was guest hosted by Ljupche. All the videos from the events have now been published on the Scottish Technology Club Video Library.

We hung out with Gordon and Amy in South Queensferry taking a walk along the coast and then having lunch at Down the Hatch, a Canadian-style diner.

My running has somewhat fallen away the last few months. I am simply not in the routine of running every day. I still get out for the nusery run on my bike, but it's not enough. I am currently "training" for a trail run in Peebles in November. My one bit of training is doing a loop around the back of the Braid Hills. We will see how it goes!

At the end of the month I went cycling in Pitlochry, which I have journaled about.

This month I have been reading (but not completed):

Exercised by Daniel Lieberman
Slouching Towards Utopia by J. Bradford DeLong

and I finished:

The Identity Trap by Yascha Mounk

Next month I am looking forward to getting started on a new round of client work, organising the final Glasgow and Edinburgh JavaScript meetups of the year, and running in Peebles.

Crail

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

In late September, we decided to take a few days break over in Fife. We went Monday through Wednesday, staying in the small village of Crail. Our accommodation was in the centre of the village at small Airbnb run by Clare.

On Monday we drove over in the afternoon and visited Crail Harbour, pausing for coffee and cafe at Crail Harbour Gallery and Tearoom. The tearoom is in a 17th century building, with exposed flagstone floors and a low ceiling. There was a beach library at the harbour with lots of toys for Jack to play with. We hardly made it down to the sand as he spent so long playing with the trucks. It was a little bit grey and rainy, so we just hung out there for awhile then drove round to Kingsbarns Beach for a wander.

The second day was also rainy. We went over to Kingsbarns Beach and hiked along the Fife coastal Trail. Jack went in the hiking backpack. He didn't really enjoy the wind in his face, but we did some splashing in some rock pools which perked him up.

Later that day the weather improved and we drove around to Saint Andrews. We wandered around in town and Jack had a nap in his buggy as we sat at the Old Union Coffee Shop in the sunshine. We visited Topping & Co Bookshop and then drove back to Kingsbarns beach for some more playing around in the water.

That night we went to Anstruther for fish and chips which is pretty much the main thing that is recommended to do in the area. We ate at Anstruther Fish Bar, delicious!

On the third day, the sunshine was beautiful so we took a walk back down to Crow Harbour and played in the sunshine again. We had lunch at the Harbour Tearoom and enjoyed the outdoor seating. We then drove back to Edinburgh via Loch Leven.

Overall, a lovely trip. I'm glad that we've been out exploring closer to home. It's easy to forget that there are so many great places to visit on our doorstep here in Edinburgh!

Month notes: September 2024

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 23:59:59 GMT

I started off the month with a trip down to Kirkcudbright to see my parents. Jack had a great time running around the garden, picking fruit and playing on the local beach. It was nice to see my parents garden in bloom.

I took a quick trip to Dunbar with Gordon and Amy for an 8km run and lunch.

As like most other months I spent a fair amount of time at the National Museum with Jack. He loves the technology room with spinning wheels and the hot air balloons that "go up!".

Harriet and I had a nice date night out at Muna's Ethiopian Cuisine in Bruntsfield. Worth a look!

We rounded off the month with a trip to Crail in Fife for a few days, visiting Anstruther and St Andrews.

I organised both GlasgowJS and EdinburghJS, resuming the meetups after a summer break. I did a short talk on Astro and Personal Websites, we heard from Alistair at the Scottish Tech Army, and Emmanuel (visiting from France) gave a talk on NX.

I read:

Chip War by Chris Miller on the history of semiconductors and the geopolitics of the semiconductor industry

China’s import of chips—$260 billion in 2017, the year of Xi’s Davos debut—was far larger than Saudi Arabia’s export of oil or Germany’s export of cars. China spends more money buying chips each year than the entire global trade in aircraft. No product is more central to international trade than semiconductors.
How to Know a Person by David Brooks

A person who is looking for beauty is likely to find wonders, while a person looking for threats will find danger. A person who beams warmth brings out the glowing sides of the people she meets, while a person who conveys formality can meet the same people and find them stiff and detached. “Attention,” the psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist writes, “is a moral act: it creates, brings aspects of things into being.” The quality of your life depends quite a bit on the quality of attention you project out onto the world.
Great Britain? by Torsten Bell on the problems the UK faces in the coming years. It examines inequality, and how our cities have failed to make the economic transition through deindustrialisation to new economy. Often there are policies that have held us back:

...in the 1960s, concerns that Birmingham’s economy was too strong saw the Labour government legislate to stop the city expanding. Having already restricted manufacturing growth two decades earlier, ministers now limited the building of new offices, on the grounds that the city, with incomes well above the national average, was attracting more than its share of economic activity. No one has that worry today – Birmingham was declared bankrupt in 2023.

and stagnation costs us:

And what’s the material cost of stagnation? If wages had continued growing at the rate we were accustomed to before the crash in 2008, around 2.2 per cent a year, British workers would now be earning £14,000 more a year on average, cumulatively taking home an extra £340 billion.
Stoner by John Williams

I also started on The Principles of Product Development Flow by Donald Reinertsen and Slouching Towards Utopia by Brad J DeLong.

That's all for September!

Belhaven Run

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

I took a day off today - I joined Gordon and Amy at Belhaven Bay near Dunbar. Amy was off surfing, so Gordon and I went for an 8km run along the coast path.

There is a nice loop with an out and back along the John Muir Way as the River Tyne turns into an estuary. At Belhaven Car Park there is a food van and public toilets. It's around three quid to park. We set off crossing Biel Water, running past the Linkfield Car Park, and then into John Muir Country Park.

After the run we went to Dunbar for pizza at Hector's.

Month notes: August 2024

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 23:59:59 GMT

August was relaxed.

At the end of July I wrapped up work with my main client of the past two years. I spent the time with them substantially improving the performance of their web app and services, plus improving the codebase so that they could quickly and easily make changes to their features.

I decided to take a break in August to recover from the fatigue of Covid-July, spend some time with family, and to automate a little more of the Scottish Technology Club and JavaScript events that I run.

The family time was fun. Harriet and I took Jack up to Harlaw Reservoir for a walk, and we ate lunch at The Balerno Inn. Jack collected stones and pointed at birds.

I used our zoo pass several times - very useful for days where Harriet is at work and I need to entertain Jack.

Harriet and I went out to dinner at Sofia's Lounge on Sailisbury Road. It's billed as Lebanese Street food. The restaurant was quiet but the service was still slow. The food was good, but I couldn't help feeling that there was something missing.

Towards the end of the month we took a brief trip down to Hexham. We fitted in a nice walk in the town center, a trip to Cogito Books, a nice run and a cycle over to Corbridge.

I'm back at work in September and will be looking to take on new clients requiring web app development, consultancy or prototyping. I'll be organising the return of GlasgowJS and EdinburghJS after the summer break, so keep an eye out for those.

Month notes: July 2024

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 23:59:59 GMT

July was a bit of a write-off, and I've spent a good few weeks into August deferring the writing of this post.

I voted in the General Election, taking Jack along to the polls for his first democractic experience.

I caught Covid towards the start of July, and had a bit of a lethargy hangover for a couple of weeks. Harriet and I did manage to get out and get some fresh air with Jack at Arthur's Seat.

Hazza and I went over to Glasgow to do the Van Gogh immersive experience at the SECC. I am a big fan of Van Gogh, and although the show was good, I felt it was a little lacking in atmosphere. If I was a director of the show I would have: made a few smaller rooms each with a "period" of his life, rather than one long experience; added some narration drawn from his letters to provide context to the paintings; put a draped ceiling over the room, so it didn't feel like a space in the middle of an almost empty larger venue.

At the end of the month I did my only real bit of running: Good Time Running's "Beach to Brewery" from Portobello Beach to Cross Borders Brewing in Dalkeith. I joined three other dads from our NCT group. It was nice to be out in the sunshine, with a few beers and tacos and good company.

Back in a month with a longer update 👋

Month notes: June 2024

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 23:59:59 GMT

I kicked off June by heading down to London for a few days with Tadas to attend SaaStr 2024, a conference for software as a service technology businesses. Tadas and I are starting something new, so wanted to network, check in on the state of the industry and spend a few days together working through our idea. Over the month we have refined what we want to work on and are currently looking to speak to Sales leaders who run teams of 2+ sales reps (preferably more!) for research. If this is you and you want to help me other with a call or introduction then get in touch or book some time in my calendar.

We held the last Glasgow and Edinburgh JavaScript meetups before the summer break. I was pleased that Luce Carter travelled up from Manchester to speak with us. I think it shows that we are successfully growing the repuation of our meetups and making it worthwhile for guest speakers to visit. Dave Leitch also provided a bit of fun with his talk on brewing beer with JS, including a wee free sample at the end.

Another month, another taking advantage of our zoo pass. It's been nice to pop along on a regular basis for a walk, to see a couple of new animals each time, and to get Jack out and about in the sunshine. Half the time he's more interested in climbing and running up and down the hill, but he's starting to know the names of the animals and it's usually a fun time.

At the end of the month Harriet and I had our first extended time away from Jack with a short city break to Berlin. It was a great chance to relax, enjoy some food and the thirty degree heat. I added some photos and links to what we did in my journal.

This month I read:

Stories of your life, Ted Chiang
Status and Culture, W. David Marx
Politics on the Edge, Rory Stewart
We are free to change the world: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience

See you next month!

Berlin

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

H and I had our first holiday with just the two of us since Jack was born. We'd been away overnight before, but not for more than one day. We decided on Berlin as it is cheap and quick to get to from Edinburgh, and there were flights every day should we need to return.

We booked an AirBnb in Neukölln, close to places to eat, the canal and transport links into the city. The area was nice, the apartment clean, bright and quiet. We spent most mornings relaxing and reading, followed by brunch and then a trip into the city.

Here are the highlights:

First evening was settling in with pizza at Mater.

On the first full day we had at Venue Breakfast where they serve small tapas-style plates. We had wurst, eggs, avo, grapefruit, calliflower and a crepe. The vibe was nice, with lots of folks out enjoying the sunshine.

We went up to the Jewish Museum which is well worth a trip. The architecture really creates an emotional connection: the slope of the floor and the crossed corridors leading to the Holocaust Tower and Garden of Exile, then the stairs ascending up towards the "continuity" parts of the museum.

That evening we had dinner at Cafe Pilz, also serving up Middle-Eastern style small plates. It was packed, but we got a nice window seat.

On the second day I took a quick 3km run around Neukölln and then had lunch at Dots which was standard-fare city-break avo-on-toast. We went into the city, walked around, and visited the DDR Museum. I don't think it's particularly worth it as a museum: it's small, and most of the stuff is hidden behind wee doors you have to open. It might be better suited to families with kids.

That evening we ate out at Oliveto and then walked home along the canal in the evening sun. Folks were out drinking beer on their inflatable dingies.

On the third day we went to Bloom for lunch. It uses locally sourced ingredients. We both had the "Bloom Bun" which had egg, rosti and cabbage. Delicious!

We went over to the Topography of Terror museum near Checkpoint Charlie. I'm not a big fan of the area, too busy and touristy for me! But the museum was interesting and worth a visit.

That evening we ate out at Maison Bleue, a Tunisian place that served up cous-cous dishes. Afterwards I decided to blend in with the locals by getting a beer from a small kiosk then wandering along the canal enjoying it.

The last day I took a run and then we went for brunch at Love Deluxe. The owner was serving us: he moved from New York a few years ago, and this cafe has been running for a year or so. I had a shredded beef sandwich with chili and basil. It's clear that the guy paid good attention to the food and service. A great find.

We headed into town and wandered around near Museum Island before heading back to the airport. A short and sweet break, and lovely to spend some rare time with H without the pressures of family life.

Month notes: May 2024

Fri, 31 May 2024 23:59:59 GMT

May was a busy month. I really feel I packed a lot in!

The coolest thing that I saw was the northern lights over Edinburgh. I had waited up looking out my window and saw a glow in the sky, so headed out to Holyrood Park to take a look. In real life there were pinks and faint columns of light dancing across the sky. My camera picked up more spectacular colours with the long exposure. I was pretty pleased to see the aurora in real life - a bucket list item checked off!

I organised two community nights for the JavaScript groups in Glasgow and Edinburgh. We had a range of speakers at each, showcasing what people are working on or thinking about. It was a fun switch in format for the event, and I think we will try and run another set of these next year.

In addition to the JavaScript community meetups I also attended the first Tectonic event in Glasgow. It was good to see a new addition to the scene, and to have the chance to catch up with some folks I'd not seen in a few years. It was also kind of Nick to add both the JS Meetup and Scottish Technology Club logos to the partners page / badge.

I went viral on Twitter after complaining to the Council about bad parking (after speaking to the bad parker directly), causing a reaction where many hundreds of people decided to send abuse my way - over 3 million people saw my tweet, and tens of thousands visited my profile. It seems the source of the traffic was the "archbishop of banterbury" IG account who featured someone quoting me telling me to "get on with my life". I feel totally justified in my original tweet. The Edinburgh pavement parking ban has been great for people (like me!) who regularly push children in buggies and prams, but also for wheelchair users, partially sighted folks, or people with mobility issues. It was fascinating seeing a lot of the reactions: people making up all sorts of weird justifications, ignorance of the situation, calling me a grass (Edinburgh parking = mafia omerta apparently!). The reaction on IG was much better, with lots of people pointing out the issues with the parking. The original quote-tweeter eventually said some of the pushback against him from wheelchair users was justified, but I was a pedantic attention seeking prick. I guess people have a fixed view of other people in their head, and even if they are persuaded by the argument, they hold onto their original conception of the person. Weird! The episode certainly made me aware of what a firehose of traffic feels like, and will hopefully make me more cautious about assuming intent in other people online.

I trained for and ran the Edinburgh Marathon in May. I ran a few ParkRuns with the boy, enjoying the warm weather. I think that the investment in the Thule Chariot has been one of the best purchases I have made.

I did two long training runs, one 21km, and one 31km. The reasoning being that with limited time to train, if I can run 20km I can run 30km. And if I can run 30km, I can run ~40km. I did the longest training run looping around the hills near Kirkcudbright, with beautiful bluebell woods and the sea to spur me on the last few km.

Unlike the previous two marathon attempts, my training regieme was very limited this year, but overall I think this helped! With only two really long runs under my belt I decided to go out as easy as I could and stick to a pace that I knew I could handle. I had to resist the urge to run at the pace of the crowd. Another difference this year was that I ran with headphones. I haven't listened to music while running for at least a decade, as I like hearing my breathing. To keep the connection with my breath I opted for a pair of Shokz bone-conduction headphones. They worked well! I used Spotify to generate me a playlist with a bpm that matched my prefered pace.

I ended up running 4:31 - an improvement of more than 15 mins over my previous time.

Aside from that I managed to fill time in the nice weather taking trips to the Botanics and the Zoo with Harriet and Jack. We have a zoo pass now, so no anxiety about getting our moneys worth on any individual trip!

At the end of this month I finished up the final assessment for the British history module that I have been studying at the Open University. That's me now completed (grade pending!) 'two years' of a three year degree. The module was enjoyable, as it helped me find and put into context a number of other sources.

That's what I have for this month - see you in June.

Month notes: April 2024

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 23:59:59 GMT

I started the month heading out climbing with Daniel - it's been years (a decade?) since I last went climbing. We went to the new Climbing Hanger down near Portobello. It's worth checking out if you enjoy climbing - the facilities seemed great, with a friendly and busy atmosphere.

Hazza and I both took two weeks off mid-April. We decided on a Scotland-based holiday, part visiting family, part staycation. We headed down to Kircudbright to stay with my parents. Their garden was looking excellent. Jack had great fun with all the extra space that he doesn't get in the city!

We hiked at Balcary Bay, and I posted an entry on my journal about the route.

We also took a walk at Carstrammon Wood, although were a week or so early for the majority of the bluebells. There is a small carpark (for just a handful of cars), and you can grab lunch at Gatehouse, just a short drive away. It was a lovely walk, as we headed out of the wood and up a nearby hill.

When we returned to Edinburgh I celebrated my 41st birthday. We had a very low-key day, sending the boy off to nursery, and having a meal out in town together. I'm not one for a big fuss at my birthday, and spending the day with H is just perfect.

The following day I hosted EdinburghJS. We were lucky enough to have Daniel Phiri visit us from Paris to talk about Weaviate, and Kimberly Blessing from FanDuel to talk about the history of the web.

We continued our holiday with a staycation. Sunnier weather appeared so we headed along to North Berwick and Gullane for the day. Jack loved the beach, playing on the sand and splashing in the surf. He's much more chatty now, and it really felt like he was taking in the experience.

The next day we headed to Jupiter Artland, just outside Edinburgh. It's a country house park that showcases sculpture and landscape. For us, it was an excuse for a pleasant walk where the boy could run around. My favourite part of the day was the excellent cafe.

We tried out the new Mara’s Picklery in Marchmont. Cheese toastie with chili jam, sweet potato toastie, and a blood orange and anchovy salad. Service was a bit slow, but food was great! Worth a look.

My running has been slowly improving. I have done several ParkRuns now with Jack. He seems to enjoy them, as we can play on the grass after. It's also nice for H to have a morning to herself. I also did a half marathon to test out my legs. Seems they still work over longer distances!

In terms of reading, I'm revising for my OU Exam at the end of May, and still picking my way through The Making of the English Working Class by E.P. Thompson.

Balcary Bay

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

We took a short hike today at Balcary Bay near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway. The sun was out, the views were excellent. We stopped in at Balcary Bay Hotel afterwards for a quick lunch.

Here are the photos.

We did the longer of the two routes available around to Rascarrel Bay and Loch Mackie. It took us around two hours, covering around 5km, and this time included several breaks to sit and look at the views.

And here is a short GoPro video of the walk:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: March 2024

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 23:59:59 GMT

March was a lot better than February for sleep. Jack seems to have settled down into a nice routine, and particularly with the clock change, we have a much better start to the day. Again this month we've tried to do more at the weekend. I've been to Holyrood ParkRun a couple of times, once with Jack and once by myself. That, plus a few morning runs per week are really helping on the exercise front.

We had another successful month with EdinburghJS and GlasgowJS. We moved to the downstairs room at FanDuel. Although slightly smaller, it has a nice atmosphere for talks. We heard from Frances Maxwell on React Native with Expo and Patty O'Callaghan on Tensorflow.js, and then from Peter "Fuzzy" Singh on Astro and Daniel Roe on Nuxt.

Keep an eye out for details of the April and May meetups in both cities. May will be a "Community Showcase" evening, so a big chance to get involved and take a five minute speaking slot.

H and I took a trip over to Glasgow to hang with Gordon and Amy one weekend. We ate out at Lobo on the south side. It was great! A strong selection of small plates, and plenty for vegans. My personal fave was the baked cod and chorizo.

Aside from that, it's been fairly chilled. Swimming and soft play with Jack, walks in the Meadows and checking out the new "Margot" cafe, which has taken the place of Costello on Bruntsfield Links.

This month I have not finished any books, but made progress through The Making of the English Working Class by E.P. Thompson and We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience by Lyndsey Stonebridge.

That's all for this month - see you at the end of April!

Month notes: February 2024

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 23:59:59 GMT

Goodbye to February, in which my sleep suffered, but we did more at the weekends.

Having Jack meant our life patterns changed. Although Hazza and I have made efforts to still face out to the world (which includes our 2 month jaunt to New Zealand & Australia), we have spent a lot more time at home than we previously this. It's very easy to skip making plans in favour of resting, but this year we are making a conciouss effort to develop the habit of going out into the world with Jack. We've had some good weekends in February with Jack: we visited the National Museum of Scotland, the National Portrait Gallery, a day trip to Ikea (does this count? Jack loved it, and we had lunch!), a walk down the Hermitage of Braid, a trip to South Queensferry to look at trains on the bridge, and an afternoon at Edinburgh Zoo. Now that the weather is picking up, I'm hoping to start getting out for longer walks with Jack in the backpack.

The JavaScript meetups have been going from strength-to-strength. I'm feeling the pressure of organising now - we keep on raising the bar! I posted about GlasgowJS Accessibility and Calendars and Astro Islands and Robust Rendering on the new dev section of my site.

Reading

I read:

An Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler. Great food writing.
How to keep house while drowning. Not for me. I think I want more of a practical guide than self-care manual.
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion. Life can be sudden. Love and loss are intertwined.
So late in the day, Claire Keegan. Be generous, in short story form.

March

More meetups, sunshine and daffodils, walks in the Meadows, new work projects. See you at the end of the month!

Month notes: January 2024

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:59:59 GMT

We seem to have crammed a fair amount in to January. The big news is that Jack started walking. At the start of the month he was walking whilst holding our hands, pulling up, and reaching out. We spent a few days encouraging steps, and it finally happened. A few toddling steps between our open arms, with a few breaks to look at the washing machine and yell "raa raa raa" (round and round). Now at the end of the month he is default walking. The crawling era is over. He charges about in our living room, and has taken a few walks at the playpark, around the swings, in the sand, and following birds. More of the world is opening up to him. and we are really pleased with his progress!

Running was a bit mixed in January. The first couple of weeks were good, with 10 runs in 14 days. I ran with Jack around Arthurs Seat, and a good run with Gordon when he and Amy visited. The second half of January I did less, due to work and (toddler, cold-related) fatigue. I'll be back on it in February though! If anyone fancies a run/swim/bike ride in Edinburgh then give me a shout.

Harriet and I went and ate out at Educated Flea on Broughton Street, followed by a couple of drinks and bluegrass music at the Barony Bar. It was nice to get out and spend some quality one-on-one time with H! It's easy for time to slip by when dealing with day-to-day family life, so babysitting help is appreicated! We even had the next morning off to get pastries from La Barantine, and enjoy the winter sun at Castello Coffee.

I ran two JavaScript events in January: Full Stack+Building and Selling at GlasgowJS and Notation Showcase + Cypress, Sheets & Sites at EdinburghJS. I appreciated Nate stepping in at the minute to cover a talk postponed due to illness. We ran trailers for the events on the Scottish Technology Club YouTube channel. I hope that the trailers make the events seem more welcoming for beginners. We live-streamed both events, and have published high quality versions of both James's and Ryan's talks. If we can keep up the livestream momentum then we'll have a nice archive of talks by the end of the year. The intention is to use the YouTube channel to showcase the community, sign-posting to subject experts, and to provide a valuable learning resource. We have some great talks coming up in February, so keep an eye out for trailers & info!

This month I didn't read too much, as I focussed on work for the OU History & Politics course I am doing. I finished David Cannadine's "Victorious Century: UK, 1800-1906" and picked up a few £1 books to browse from the Ammesty shop in Marchmont on the history of ideas, culture and political philosophy.

That's all for this month folks - speak to you in February!

Month notes: December 2023

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 23:59:59 GMT

Turns out I was right when I thought December would be a "big rush". I kicked off the month by going to ParkRun with Jack in the buggy. It was my first time taking him out for a long run (there+the run+back > 10km). He coped well (by napping most of the way)!

The first half of the month was a real slog. Harriet went back to work, Jack had a series of colds and viruses which he then duely passed on to me. I spent one glorious morning trying to juggle childcare with lying wretching and exhausted on the floor, thankfully rescued by Harriet. That weekend we had an overnight trip to the hospital to have Jack checked out for more illness. It was relentless!

Still, on the positive side of things I managed to get a lot of client work done, Jack is picking up new words and sounds, and Harriet's return to work has gone well. We held a combined EdinburghJS and .NET Edinburgh Christmas social. It was well attended, which makes me hopeful for the JavaScript meetups that I will be running next year.

It was a relief to get away for Christmas down in Hexham. We drove down via Barter Books in Alnwick. We made the same journey last year when Jack was very new, so it was fun to see him toddle around the shop, enjoy some fish fingers, meet a dog, and point to the books he liked the look of.

I went out for lots of runs, trying to increase my base fitness, and we took a lovely day trip to Craster.

I usually round off my month notes with a list of books that I have read - but I hardly made any progress this month. I've been making my way through David Cannadine's Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800–1906, and will hopfully finish it in Jan.

I hope everyone had a good break. Wishing you a peaceful flourishing in 2024!

Craster

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Harriet and I spent the day wandering around near Craster on the Northumberland coast. We strolled up to Dunstanburgh Castle, the coast lit up in the winter sun. Parking is easy, with a paid place at the edge of the village alongside tourist information and public facilities. The walk was short and easy, despite being a bit muddy!

We stopped in at the Jolly Fisherman pub and restaurant for lunch. They serve a variety of seafood sandwiches - we went for the "posh" fish finger sandwiches with tartare and mushy peas, with a side of chips. The village is nice, with a small harbour and a place that smokes kippers.

After lunch we drove a few minutes up to Low Newton and walked south along the beach back towards Dunstanburgh. We'd previously been here in January 2019 when Harriet forced me to get in the sea. The sun was going down, the sea in blues, purples and pinks. It was a lovely walk in a beautiful part of the world.

Month notes: November 2023

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 23:59:59 GMT

The month started with Harriet finally getting a shoulder operation that she'd been waiting for since pre-Covid. It was quite a lengthy operation, including an overnight stay in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow. Fortunately the operation went smoothly, and H is now well recovered. It did mean that I had to do a lot of lifting for the first half of the month, and Harriet's return to work after maternity was delayed by a few weeks, plus I got to spend an afternoon with friends in Glasgow.

November seemed to be mainly about JavaScript meetups. Coming quickly on the heels of the EdinburghJS CodeJam in October, alongside Daniel and Rounak, I relaunched GlasgowJS. It was a fun evening of socialising, and I was really pleased with the turnout. We'll be back with another event in January, which I will post on the Meetup Group.

I then organised the regular EdinburghJS meetup, this month on maps and testing. Rachael and Kat both had really interesting talks, and thanks to a mix-up between peppers and pepperoni and a quick re-order there was an abundance of pizza.

Jack started nursery this month, after a few settle in days at the end of October. He seems to be enjoying his time there, which is a big relief. He is of course picking up bug and viruses, so we had several days of him being sick, then us getting sick. Apparently this lasts a while! We celebrated his first birthday despite the illnesses (he was too bunged up to enjoy his first taste of cake!). I wrote him a letter to reflect on his wonderful first year.

We picked up some shoes for him to start walking outside, and crunched on autumn leaves in the park.

We also spent an afternoon at Portobello beach with Jack exploring the sand.

Despite illness, JavaScript meetups and family commitments I did find the time to be a little social, celebrating Pete's birthday at the mini golf. Happy birthday Pete!

Reading

This month I finished Joel Mokyr's detailed account of the "Englightened Economy", that goes through the Industrial Revolution in Britain. It was interesting, and pairs up well with the Open University "Ambition and Anxiety" course on British history that I'm currently doing.

I also sneaked in a quick read of Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich.

December I'm sure will be a big rush before Christmas. We have the EdinburghJS and .NET Edinburgh combined Christmas drinks, family visiting and lots of domestic organisation to do, so see you in the new year 👋

Month notes: October 2023

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 23:59:59 GMT

October was a packed month. The highlight was running two events for <a href="https://www.edinburghjs.org">EdinburghJS</a>, the JavaScript Meetup. The first was our regular monthly meetup. We had Harvey from FanDuel talk about building libraries and Rusty talked about Chrome extensions. We had some people join from further afield: Manchester, London and even a couple of folks from India who were just visiting the city!

The second event was the first EdinburghJS Code Jam: an all-day Saturday event where we learnt about the <a href="https://astro.build">Astro framework</a> and built out some personal websites.

I was really pleased that we raised sponsorship from <a href="https://gigged.ai">gigged.ai</a> and Codebase. Without their support the event would have had to be a lot smaller. We had a good crowd of people, and I think everyone who attended learned at least a little bit. I'm keen to repeat this style of event next year - so will take suggestions as to themes or topics.

I chose the topic of building personal websites as I think having a community of people sharing thoughts and experiences is key to building a scene. I want to grow the Edinburgh (and Scottish) technology scene. That means writing about technical issues, management, growth, ideas, companies and people. I'm doing my bit here. It's been beneficial for me. I want to share that with others.

We are relaunching <a href="https://www.meetup.com/glasgow-javascript/">GlasgowJS</a> in November, so look out for that!

The rest of the month I have spent with Harriet and Jack, eking out the last of H's maternity leave. We tried take away from the new Pomelo location in Sciennes (always busy). We went for their chicken sandwiches - delicious!

We took Jack to our NCT first birthday celebrations. All the kids in our group turn one year old in the next month, so this was to celebrate that milestone. Jack seemed to have a good time playing, and it was nice to socialise with the other parents.

As every other month, Jack has been a delight. He has grown so much, and can't be too far off taking his first steps. It seems like every week brings something new.

This month I read The Blazing World by Jonathan Healey on revolutionary England, following up on last month's Restless Republic by Anna Keay. This month I part read: The Enlightened Economy by Joel Mokyr dealing with the history of Britain during the Industrial Revolution and Birmingham: the first manufacturing town by Eric Hopkins both in support of the OU History module I recently started.

That's all for this month. See you at the end of November 👋

Month notes: September 2023

Sat, 30 Sep 2023 23:59:59 GMT

This month started with Jack starting to crawl properly. It's exciting to see him get moving so quickly. We've had to buy door gates and start child proofing the living room and his bedroom. The weather in early September was great, so we spent some time in the park with Jack out on the grass. He's looking a lot less like a baby now. We've been re-watching videos from the start of the year, which feels like a lifetime ago.

We've had some help from the grandparents this month which enabled us to head out for date night, and a bonus meal with Jac. It's nice to be out with both H and friends. We ate at tapas3 by Crosscauseway, which I recommend for low-key delicious Spanish food. Harriet also discovered 101 Bakery in Newington, which makes great vegan cinnamon swirls.

As every other month, I still haven't got back into running regularly. I did manage a few good runs, and went over the back of the Braids. I am going to have to skip the Dramathon that I had previously signed up for, as October is too busy to take a trip, but I want to get some winter training in. I have ordered a running buggy for Jack, so I'm hoping that helps combine looking after him and my training time into one block.

At the end of the month we took a road trip to St Albans for a memorial for Harriet's Grandpa who died earlier this year. We spent a night in Harrogate on the way down, where I managed to sneak in a cup of tea with Aileen, and a night/morning in York on the way back where Jack met Mia for the first time. It was nice to see all of Harriet's old family photos, and Jack had a lovely time playing with his Uncles and Aunts.

EdinburghJS

We've been going from strength to strength with EdinburghJS, the Edinburgh JavaScript Meetup. Last month we moved location to FanDuel, where we will be for the foreseeable future.

This month in addition to our regular monthly meetup we will also be running a Saturday Code Jam, helping people make personal and portfolio websites using the Astro framework. I'm really excited to be putting on a weekend event. It feels like a big step to move beyond the monthly meetups. One reason I wanted to start with a "personal sites" event is that I have hopes that we can create a networked community of people publishing creative works, coding and side projects on their own sites. My theory is that this might facilitate new connections and learning between members of our community, helping build a creative scene. The only way to find out if this theory is right is to do it, so please come and join us on the 28th.

Reading

This month I read:

The Good Life, Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz on the Harvard study on happiness. Turns out relationships are important.
The Restless Republic, Anna Keay. I'm just about to start an OU Course on the UK 1789-1914, so what better to do to prepare than read about a totally different period of British history?! The book was excellent, and I'm following it up by reading The Blazing World, Jonathan Healey.

I also picked through The Creative Act, Rick Rubin, as it was on Kindle sale. Not something that needs to be read in one go.

Month notes: August 2023

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 23:59:59 GMT

I started August by hiking for a few days with Aileen on the Settle-Dales Loop. It was great to spend time with Aileen and get outdoors for a few days. Read my linked journal for more photos and details!

We stayed with Harriet's parents in Hexham either side of my walk. As soon as we got back we had to adjust Jack's cot as he started standing. A week later and he was crawling properly, rather than just dragging himself around and rolling. It was incredible to see how quickly this developed from some halting movements into him exploring the rooms, seeking out toys and trying to follow us. We have started swimming lessons at the Commonwealth Pool, and it's exciting to see him kick and splash in the water too.

Jack is getting bigger and more active. It's strange looking back at photos of just a few months ago, he seems so small and fragile in comparison. We have a lovely morning routine going at the moment, after waking up I bring him through to our living room, prepare some breakfast, and then roll up the blinds, he stands and looks out at the street: people, cars, cats, birds, the sky, the flowers. I point, Jack sometimes points, but always observes. He seems curious, excited, and fascinated. I love these moments.

I skipped most of the festival and fringe this year. The month flew by, and I buried my head into work and spending time with family. I managed to attend one event, the fringe of the book festival: an event with Will MacAskill, author of What We Owe the Future. He spoke about long-termism, risk and giving effectively. Interesting throughout!

We went down to Kirkcudbright for a weekend with all of Jack's grandparents. He had fun crawling around, touching plants, fruit and veg in the garden, and watching a tractor in the field.

Harriet and I went out to the Kirkcudbright Tattoo. It's a town festival with singers, Scottish dancing, invited entertainers and Scottish music.

We also took a lovely walk down the coast admiring all the colours in the hedgerows by the sea. Fresh air, and a little peaceful company. Perfect!

Reading

I finished:

The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War by Robert J. Gordon. A detailed look at how progress shot forward as households became "networked", then growth slowed. Interesting to consider how much the world changed, the drivers of change, and how we might yet increase our living standards.
Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians by Tara Isabella Burton. I also attended the Interintellect Salon with the author discussing her book.
How to be you: Simone de Beauvoir and the art of authentic living by Skye Cleary. A tour of life events, and how de Beauvoir's philosophy applies.
The Precipice by Toby Ord. A short catalogue of disasters that could imperil the entire future of humanity (AI risk?)

Settle Dales Loop

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Last weekend I joined Aileen for part of her walk on the Pennine Way. Aileen was walking for ten days, and I joined her for two of those days between Malham and Hawes, with an additional day of walking at each end to reach the route. I used the Carlisle-Settle train line, arriving at Settle on the Friday and leaving from Garsdale on the Monday. You can see my route on Komoot

Settle is a lovely wee town, around an hour and a half away from Carlisle on the train. After arriving, I grabbed a quick lunch from Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe and sat in the sun. The back lanes of the town were lovely, with pretty cottages and flowers.

I climbed out of Settle on the Pennine Bridleway path, between fields, horses and donkeys with views down the sunny valley.

The route goes through some valleys with some interesting rock formations, caves and dry-stone walled fields. Some cows were blocking one gate, so I had to squeeze over a wall and hop through a patch of nettles.

Once you are over the other side you get a great view down towards Malham with old farm buildings lining a walled lane.

I met Aileen at Malham YHA. We went to Beck Hall to sit by the stream and have a drink and dinner. The service was a little weird - we arrived at 5:45 and asked for a table for dinner. They didn't give us one as they didn't start serving until 6:00pm and wouldn't take our order until 6:15pm as if they had a bunch of tables booked. Only one other table was there. We wondered if there would be a sudden rush, but none materialised. It was a nice place to go for a drink. Sitting by the stream in the sunshine was very relaxing. Malham itself was pretty, with a couple of pubs, a few shops and a blacksmith.

Malham to Horton in Ribblesdale

The next day we walked up and over Malham Cove, a filming location for Harry Potter. It was raining, and the limestone pavement was slippy, so progress was slow. We climbed up and over the hills, past Malham Tarn and over Malham Moor.

The view over to Pen-y-ghent was wonderful in the mist, with blues, greens and purples, the valley carving out an expanse between us.

We decided that although it was raining, Pen-y-ghent was worth the climb. It was steep, with a short scramble towards the top. The mist came and went, and was fully down as we crossed the peak.

We stayed at Holme Farm Campsite and ate at The Golden Lion. The Golden Lion was good for a drink, but the food was at the level of "hot carbs". You should adjust expectations accordingly. The pub was busy with lots of people who had completed the Three Peaks Challenge, all looking for food. Holme Farm Campsite is a simple field, with paths cut in the grass. The amenities block looked to be recently redeveloped, a unisex set of toilets and showers, and in the same building as a...less recently developed set of toilets and showers. Only the new part felt particularly nice to use! That said, the site was well presented in a great location. I'd go again if I was walking nearby. The owner's office is a yurt-like shed, lined with rugs and carpets. He sent us off on our way the next day with some mutterings and sayings about the weather. Thunder in May, rain in...something? 🤷‍♂️

Horton in Ribblesdale to Hawes

On the Sunday, we started with a long climb out of Horton in Ribblesdale. The Golden Lion does packed lunches, but I didn't fancy the food there, so made do with a few bags of mixed nuts. There are few other shops there. Most of the first half of the day was spent ascending with views back over Pen-y-ghent. There were some nice high sections with an old bridge and nature reserve in a gorge at Linn Gill.

The descent into Hawes is steeper. When we arrived we called in at the Wensleydale Creamery for an afternoon coffee and snack. I picked up a couple of blocks of cheese for the family, then we made our way to the YHA Hawes Hostel. We avoided the rain, despite the threatening clouds, and the afternoon light was fantastic on the hills.

That evening we played scrabble, ate a school-dinner level meal at the hostel and went to sleep, camping in the grounds.

Hawes to Garsdale

Hawes is an attractive town, very much leaning into the Wallace and Grommit Wensleydale theme. Knitting covered the railings, postbox and benches outside the pub. There was signs for sheepdog trials as we made our way out the town, with picturesque views across the fields back.

There were many fields of sheep.

I said goodbye to Aileen as she headed north to Tan Hill, I took a left and headed east to Garsdale via Cotterdale.

The track to Cotterdale was a little less well trod, with a more undergrowth to step through than up on the higher route. The views were great down the valley as I zig-zagged through the fields. It got a little boggy underfoot in places. Other people seemed few and far between.

The trains on the Settle line aren't that regular, so I had to plan appropriately. The 12:20 train was too early, and I didn't want to rush. The next one was a little before 3pm. I found a nice wall to sit on and ate lunch in the sun for a while, the River Ure to my left, with the turning to Garsdale ahead. It was very peaceful.

Garsdale Station is in a beautiful location. It's incredible that a train line runs here. I took the train back to Carlisle, happy with the four days of walking. I'd recommend this route for people who want a quick couple of days away. As Horton in Ribblesdale also has a station on the line it'd be possible to just do a weekend worth of walking. You can find the route I used on Komoot.

Month notes: July 2023

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 23:59:59 GMT

Like every month for the past nine months, time has flown by. I've spent this month working hard, and hanging with Hazza, Jack and friends.

Hazza and I have made it out for a couple of meals, to Saboteur and Luxford Burgers, plus spent a few lovely lunches with food from Alby's and the African wrap places up next to the University.

Jack has been great fun this month. He is very interactive and social, yelling "da da da" and "ma ma ma", but we don't think he quite knows what they mean yet. He's been weaning well, enjoying almost all the food we've been giving him. I think family meal time is very important, and I'm glad we are establishing a routine. It's a joy to spend time with him, even when he wakes up way too early. I wrote a tiny note on Jack eating a strawberry, one of my favourite things to watch.

My running hasn't gone particularly well this month - Jack had a cold, which I then caught, plus I haven't been able to make time alongside work and family time. I did attend ParkRun with Gordon, but I've only whipped round the block a few times after that.

We held the EdinburghJS summer social at JPs. It was nice to not have to organise talks for a change, and it was great to see everyone. The meetup is on a summer break over the festival period, and will be returning in September. I'm running scottishtechnology.club Discord server for announcements and chat in the meantime.

At the end of the month we took Jack on his first trip to Edinburgh Zoo with his cousins. It was a fun day out, and I'm excited to go back there with him over the coming years. He was somewhat interested in the animals this time!

I'm still making progress with The Rise and Fall of American Growth, by Robert Gordon which has been an interesting history of the changes in American society. I have also browsed Anchored by Deb Dana, The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown, and Time to Think by Nancy Klein.

As July was Tour de France month, I watched the Netflix documentary Tour de France Unchained. I really recommend this, even if you are not into cycling. It's a show about ambition, endurance, suffering and teamwork. A great watch!

I'm off hiking for a few days - see you in August!

Month notes: June 2023

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:59:59 GMT

We arrived back from our two month trip to New Zealand at the very end of May, so the first part of June was filled with jet lag and getting back to work. This was helped by Harriet's 40th birthday present for me: an espresso machine. I love coffee. It's part of my daily morning ritual. I've had an Aeropress and a Chemex for years, so this is a nice upgrade. One thing I love about this gift is that because I'll use it every day, I will think of Harriet's kindness every day, which is a gift itself.

Edinburgh has had beautiful weather this month. That means light mornings for walking just after breakfast and strolls with Hazza and Jack in the Meadows. Alby's, a new sandwich shop opened up in Newington. We have tried it out a couple of times for chicken and halloumi sandwiches with a side of chips. If you are looking for a filling lunch to take to the Meadows then this is a good shout.

Running has been fun this month. I have been heading out towards Blackford more often, appreciating the sun shine. I managed to join Edinbar Runners for their monthly jaunt around the Meadows, and caught up with a few EH3 folks on their training run for the Seven Hills race. It was good to head to Edinbar runners, I finally met a colleague of mine from my contract with Shelter during the early pandemic lockdowns. We had regular standups on Slack video calls, but had never met!

EdinburghJS went well this month. We had Patrick and Pat speaking about cellular automata and green computing. We have 50+ attendees fairly regularly now, and positive audience feedback for the quality of the talks. We're on a summer break now, with a social event in July and August fully off. We'll be back in September for our next series of talks.

I haven't had much time for reading this month. I had an Open University exam for my part-time course in History and Politics, so spent time revising for that. I made progress with:

and finished:

You're not listening, Kate Murphy.

The rest of the month we've been spending weaning Jack. It's been tremendous fun. He's done from occasionally trying bites of mushed food to feeding himself and grabbing food out of our hands. He's still not got great spoon-control, but he's making a superb effort. We've tried him on all sorts of flavours and textures, both fresh and some Ella's "Taste Explorer" pouches. It has started to feel like I'm having a meal with him when we both settle down to our breakfast. Such a joy!

Until next month 👋

p.s. New Zealand and Australia photos are still in-progress. Hopefully I'll back-date my journal in the next week or two!

Month notes: May 2023

Wed, 31 May 2023 23:59:59 GMT

May was the second month of our two month trip to New Zealand. I'll post a few photos here (ones that I have already edited during the trip), and then backfill my journal with more details as I process the other 6,000 photos. I'll edit this file to add links as I go.

We started May in Lake Hawea in the center of South Island, New Zealand. In April we travelled to Sydney and then on to New Zealand. We spent a week driving to Cromwell, a week there with Harriet's family, and then a few days in Te Anau. So by May we were pretty tired, Jack wasn't sleeping too well, and we needed a rest from our holiday . We decided to extend our stay in the Lake Hawea area, and ended up back at an AirBnb in Wanaka.

After Wanaka we drove up past Lake Hawea, over to the West Coast. The drive was long, but very beautiful.

One of my favourite parts of the trip was calling in at Ship Creek as we arrived on the West Coast. It was golden hour, with the light pouring over the crashing waves. The West Coast has drama. The waves are whipped up over the Tasman Sea and burst onto the coast. There is a constant roar. I love it here.

We stayed in Franz Josef, visiting the glaciers, Gillespies Beach and Lake Matheson.

The next stop was Punakaki, with a vist to Pancake Rocks just before sunset. We walked the Pororari River Track, and enjoyed the beautiful (albeit rainy) bush.

After the West Coast we decided to limit the number of further moves, as we wanted to get Jack more settled with his sleep. We decided on Mapua near Nelson, partially as it is a nice place to visit, and partially to chase the sunshine. We visited the Abel Tasman National Park and Kaiteriteri several times.

We spent the last night on South Island in Picton before catching the ferry back to Wellington.

We had a great time in Wellington visiting my brother and his family. It was nice to spend time with Douglas, Kate and Juniper, particularly to see Juniper adopt the role of "big cousin" to Jack. It was really important to me that Jack got to meet his extended family. The pandemic travel restrictions highlighted that you can't take these things for granted. I was glad to have met Juniper as a new baby, and wanted to make sure the family had the same opportunity with Jack.

With thanks to Gordon, Amy and Aileen for a 40th birthday brunch voucher, which I used both for brunch and to get a sample flight of espresso and a bag of beans at The Hanger.

It was difficult to say our goodbyes and leave New Zealand. I'm sure we will be back, but I grow to love it more each time.

The last part of the trip was in Melbourne. As Hazza had previously lived there for several years there was a lot of catching up to do with old friends. Luckily, I also have an old friend in Melbourne to balance the socialising out - it was great to spend an evening with Ru talking about life down under and how raising children has been.

We ate out a lot - brunches, lunches, dinners, snacks, coffee and croissants. Melbourne is an awesome city for foodies, and it was a lovely week.

We flew back to the UK at the end of the month. 14 hours flight, 7 hours layover, and then a further 7 hours flight gave me enough time to finish James Belich's "Making Peoples", a history of the Maori and Paheka, the only book I managed on the entire trip.

Now we are back we are ready to throw ourselves into an Edinburgh summer. I am organising an EdinburghJS meetup on 22nd June, and will be at Pete's founder meetup on Saturday 10th. Both Hazza and I are keen to catch up with folks, and to enjoy the rest of her maternity leave. If you want to hang out then give me a shout. I'd love to see you.

Until next month 👋

Month notes: April 2023

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 23:59:59 GMT

April has been a fun month! Quicker than we expected, we are off on our next adventure.

Harriet and I both wanted to travel together, but with the pandemic, and Harriet's job having limited scope for extended time away, we had put off a big trip. Jack arrived in November of last year, so Harriet's maternity leave seemed like a good opportunity to get to New Zealand. It'd be fun for us, and great for Jack to meet both of our family who live out here. It's also a chance for us to spend time just the three of us as a family without the distractions of work and home. I think both of us feel very lucky to be able to take this trip.

I'll be writing longer journal entries copied from my paper notes and photos when I get home in June. If I have time, I might put up some drafts with phone-processed JPGs before then. I'm regularly putting photos up on Instagram and on my micro.blog.

I also celebrated my 40th birthday this month. It was lovely to spend it with Harriet and Jack, doing some things that I love. I can't imagine a better way to celebrate my life so far than with the people who will make up my future.

Anyway, in lieu of a proper update, here are some photos:

We spent two days in Sydney, getting over the jetlag and visiting a few tourist spots. One of the highlights was seeing the colony of flying fox bats in Centennial Park. We then spent a couple more days in Wellington where we briefly crossed paths with Harriet's parents.

We took the Interislander to Picton and drove down the east coast to Kaikoura. The beaches there were stunning, and it was great to see the wildlife at the seal colonies.

We drove over to Lake Tekapo, stopping a night in Christchurch. The last time I was there it was snowing, and there was no view at all. This time we had clear skies and a beautiful view of the lake and the mountains. I tried some star photography, and the next day we did a short hike - Jack's first!

We then arrived in Cromwell/Bannockburn where we stayed in an Airbnb at the Calvert Vineyard with Harriet's family. We visited her brother James at work at Felton Road winery.

I celebrated my 40th hiking near Wanaka.

After a week in Bannockburn we drove down to Te Anau. I love the drive from Queenstown to Te Anau, such amazing views. We hiked on the Kepler track, Rakatu wetlands and visited the bird sanctuary.

On our last day in Te Anau we drove up to Milford Sound for a cruise. We spotted dolphins and took in the spectacular scenery.

We've ended up back near Wanaka for a few days, staying in an Airbnb in Lake Hāwea. We've yet to decide where to go next - it looks like we are in for a lot of rain!

Until next month 👋

Cromwell

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

We arrived in Cromwell and stayed at an Airbnb near the Felton Road Winery. Harriet's brother works there, so we booked on a tour and tasting. It was good to see the process - particularly as everyone was busy for the harvest.

We went for lunch at Mount Difficulty Winery, up a very steep hill, but with great views up the valley towards Cromwell. The food was great, and we tried a flight of their wines.

I celebrated my 40th birthday with a lovely day with Jack and Harriet. I'm not someone who enjoys too much fuss, so this was a perfect way to spend the day. We started with a short hike at the Butterfields Wetlands near Albertown. It was just a 3km walk, but it was glorious in the sunshine, and gave us a chance to try Jack out in the carrier again.

After the walk at Albertown we drove back to Wanaka and ate tacos on the shore. Jack enjoyed the sunshine in his shades and little sun hat. I don't think I could have been happier.

After lunch we drove west around Glen Dhu Bay and hiked at Diamond Lake. It was another short walk in the afternoon sun, with a climb up to a lookout. We took Jack in the sling so he could nap. We saw fantails and bellbirds along the way.

I did manage to fit in a run around the Bannockburn Gold Sluicings that were near to our Airbnb. The route was a winding trail through hills that had been carved away by gold miners. I paused to read the various history panels that were scattered throughout the park. The views were dramatic.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

We spent a few more days with family and friends exploring the area. We ate at the Bannockburn Hotel (great tapas-style meal), and had lunch at Provisions of Arrowtown (tourist town, but nice to visit). At the end of the week we started our three week road trip, heading south to Te Anau.

Welly, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Tekapo

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

We arrived in Wellington after a few days layover in Sydney, still jetlagged, but happy to be on the road. We stayed at my brothers house in Hataitai, although he was away the week we arrived. He very kindly lent us all we needed for the next month with Jack on the road.

Wellington is a great city. I've stayed here with Douglas several times before, and spent a day or so with Harriet too. We walked at Lyall Bay, took in some city sights and ate out at Pickle and Pie and The Picnic Cafe at the Botanics for lunch.

I went with Harriet and her mum to visit Katherine Mansfield House. I confess that I've not read much of her work, but the house and her life story were pretty interesting.

After just a couple of days in Wellington we woke up with the sun in order to catch the Interislander Ferry. I pottered around, we rushed, and were literally the last car let on. The ferry between Wellington and Picton is a beautiful journey. It seems like a quick hop across the Cook Strait and then the ferry winds through the Tory channel and past the hills and bays to Picton.

We headed straight from Picton to Blenheim where we took a wander. The center is just off the highway, nice covered walkways, shops and places to eat. The town center looks well cared for, with some interesting sculptures along the street. We stopped at Herb & Olive Cafe for lunch.

South of Blenheim you hit the east coast. The beaches here are beautiful. We stopped in for refreshments at The Store and beach at Kekerengu. We headed down to the beach and walked on the dark grey sand amoung all the driftwood.

The road winds down the coast alongside a railway, maybe one day we will take the journey. It was very scenic! We stopped again at Ohau Lookout north of Kaikoura. There is a large seal colony there, which was fun to watch. We were driving late in the day, so the sun was going down and clouds created layers of blue and grey along the mountains.

We stayed at the Kaikoura Peaks eMotel (Airbnb listing). There are only a few rooms, very simple, but nicely done. It was perfect for a quick stay. We got takeaway fish and chips from Coopers Catch in town, before trying to settle Jack to sleep.

The next morning we drove along the coast to the Kaikoura Seal colony. Although the weather was overcast there was a lovely walk up the hill. The route gives you good views over the colony and bay.

After the morning walk we drove south. The sun came out, and we stopped at Number Eight Cafe in Cheviot for lunch (recommended!). We arrived in Christchurch late in the day. We stayed in an Airbnb near the tramway in a small mall. We grabbed a takeaway from Sakimoto Japanese Bistro which was in the mall. The bento boxes were excellent.

The next morning I took a run through the center of Christchurch along the river, managing to drop my phone and backtracking for a km or two to find it. The center of Christchurch is still recovering after the earthquake. I still haven't got a handle on the vibe of the city. There are vacant lots and still some abandoned buildings. We headed out for brunch at Unknown Chapter Coffee Roasters, which was near a cluster of "shipping container" shops and cafes.

The rest of the day was spent driving to Lake Tekapo. As we are travelling with a baby the journey always seems to take much longer than expected. Feeding breaks, nappy changes, pauses to alleviate some crying: a four hour drive takes all day. We stopped in Ashburton at Kelly's Cafe and Bar, and arrived at Lake Tekapo in golden hour. The scenery was stunning, with a beautiful calmness down at the lake. The last time I was in Tekapo it was snowing, and I hadn't even been able to see the lake!

We walked into town for dinner, the restaurants were busy, but by coincidence there was a street food event happening. We got burgers from a chinese burger van, and walked home in the dark. Our Airbnb was the Garden Tower by the Lake, located right next to The Church of the Good Shepherd. After settling Jack I went out and took star photos at the lake side. Tekapo is part of a dark sky area. The Church is a popular night photo destination, and I caught some interesting shots as tourists illuminated the building with the light from their mobile phones.

The next morning was fresh and sunny. We ate breakfast and watched the mist and clouds lift from the hills. There was a bit of an autumn chill in the air. Down at the lakeside we walked around the Church together, as Harriet had looked after Jack the night before.

Mid-morning after grabbing coffee and cake at Reflections Cafe we headed round to hike Mt John. This was Jack's first hike in the hiking backpack. We hiked out and back to the Mt John Observatory (see this on Strava). There is a cafe at the top, but it was shut as it was off-season. The views over the town and towards the mountains were stunning. The lake was so blue in the sunshine. Jack coped well with the hike, although he was still a bit small for sleeping comfortably. We paused in the shade at the top.

Once we were down the mountain we grabbed sandwiches from Foursquare and then drove south. The mountains and lakes were glourious in the afternoon sun. We pulled in at Lake Pukaki viewpoint to admire the mountains. We reached Cromwell in the late afternoon, ready to spend a week with Harriet's family.

Sydney

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This trip was the thing that we'd promised ourselves that we'd do when Jack was born. Two months in New Zealand and Australia for Jack to meet his extended family.

We flew via Doha on Qatar Airways. We managed to time the 7 and 14 hour flights with Jack's bedtime thanks to a strategic 20 hour layover. We sprung for a nice hotel room at the airport hotel, who were kind enough to let us spent the entire layover day in the room relaxing. I'd recommend the extra money here. The hotel is very easy to get to, it's just off the main airport concourse, and it's great to have a bed and a shower. Jack handled the flights really well. We had one of those baby bassinets on the front wall, with a little exta leg room. Almost no crying from any of us!

We landed in Sydney early evening and got a taxi to our Airbnb. We had been concerned about airport transfers with Jack not having a child seat, but we found Bub's Taxi, who provide child-seats in their taxis, prams and travel cots for hire. They operate in both Sydney and Melbourne, so booked them at both ends of our trip.

We booked an Airbnb in a converted garage in a back lane in Paddington. It was nice, but super hot. A bit of a shock for Jack who had spent his entire life in wintry Scotland so far. We headed out to Pizza Moncur before an early bed.

The first morning I picked up the necessary coffees from Flat White Coffee and we had a lazy morning resting with Jack.

We spent the rest of the day doing the usual tourist sights near the City Center: Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Botanic Gardens. The Harbour View has to be one of the top man-made views in the whole world.

That evening we ate out at Kukthai in Woolahra. The street has several places to eat, plus fancy boutiques.

The second day in Sydney we spent walking around the Paddington area. I love the architecture of the old Sydney terraces, the plants and flowers on the street, the ornamental ironwork on the buildings, and the personal front yards. Each of these houses communicates a personality, from neatly potted plants, to a polished bicycle, or an old beat up sofa.

We had lunch at Juniper Cafe at the Five Ways in Paddington. It's a nice set of streets with plenty of places to eat. It's worth including on a walking day.

That afternoon we walked over to Centennial Park to see the Flying Fox Colony. I'd passed by on my morning run, and investigated the screeching of what I had thought were birds. What an exciting discovery that they were bats. If you want to visit, head for the woods by the Charles Dickens statue.

That night we ordered takeaway and relaxed at the Airbnb. We were still not through our jetlag, and had an early start for the flight to Wellington.

Month notes: March 2023

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 23:59:59 GMT

March has been really fun. Spring has arrived in Edinburgh, sunny days and blue skies. The crocuses have come out in the Meadows.

The highlight of this month was a trip to Center Parcs with Harriet's friends from University. I had never been to Center Parcs before. I have a memory from school age of understanding that it was a large tropical dome in the countryside, but I had no other information on what was there. Turns out this is mostly accurate. It's a big swimming pool in a glass house with chalets in a forest. We went to Whinfell Forest Center Parcs, near Penrith. I sneaked in a morning run every day, and we took Jack for his first swim. Although not my usual choice for holiday destination, it was really good for a family holiday. The other kids we were with had a great time too.

This month has been very busy with work, trying to wrap up before our holiday. I spent most of the month refactoring a large React, web app, and a little more of the month updating some PHP code I wrote several years ago.

We held another EdinburghJS event, with talks on text and machine learning, and WebGL. It was well attended and very interesting. I'm pleased that we are still growing the event.

I did make it back to EH3 Milers running club, which I'm hoping to keep up with this summer.

I read three books this month:

Red Plenty, Francis Spufford. Fiction based on the economic incentives of the Soviet Union.
Red Crosses, Sasha Filipenko. Fiction set in the Soviet Union.
Red Notice, Bill Browder. An account of Bill Browder investing in Russia, exposing corruption and the killing of his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky,

I'm off to Australia and New Zealand for a couple of months. I'll be posting on instagram if you want to follow along there.

Month notes: February 2023

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 23:59:59 GMT

It has been a busy month. I've been dealing with rounding off a few work projects, and taken a couple of trips.

Early in the month I headed down to Kirkcudbright for the weekend. My parents are back from their trip to New Zealand, so it was nice to have them spend some time with Jack. He has changed so much in the last month, reaching, looking and scanning the room, and making lots of babbling noises. Every day is a treat.

Gordon was in the area and marathon training, so I joined him for 5km of his half marathon route.

I took a walk to Barhill woods with the family and we saw some red squirrels. The local community has built a hide and pond there. There were lots of birds too.

I hosted another EdinburghJS meetup, this time at CodeClan. It was a great evening, and nice to be in a sociable venue. Thanks to Diego and Allan for their talks, and Natalia for helping out with the admin. Next month we are back at CodeClan for talks on WebGL and text/Machine Learning. Please do RSVP on Meetup. Developers of all skill levels are welcome.

We took a fun trip to Glasgow - Harriet and Jack spent the evening with Amy, whilst I headed to see Hundred Reasons + Hell is for Heroes with Gordon and Aileen. I haven't been at the Barrowland for a long time - it was nice to be back! The gig was excellent, and it was nice to run into some familiar faces. I'm looking forwards to the next HR/HiFH gig in another five years.

This month I read The Rise and Decline of Nations, Mancur Olson, and finished Terry Pratchett's Thud.

I have also been working my way through An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. The book is about food, cooking, using leftovers and joy. We've made a real effort not to waste food this month, so I've switched to occasional last-nights-broccoli toast for lunch. A wee bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a dash of lemon. Perfect. I have not finished the book yet, but I'd already happily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the joy of cooking.

Harriet's parents came to visit late in the month, which allowed us to pop round the corner to the Steel Coulson Southside. A lovely little pub. Worth a visit if you are looking for something low-key and traditional.

The final bit of news for the month is that Harriet and I are planning a trip to Aus/NZ in April/May. We'll be in Sydney for a couple of days mid-April, Wellington, travelling through South Island, then Melbourne for a week before heading back to see in June and enjoy summer in Edinburgh.

See you next month for another update!

Month notes: January 2023

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 23:59:59 GMT

January was a difficult month. Sadly, early in the month Harriet's Grampa passed away. He was fortunate to be surrounded by his loving family and Harriet made it down in time to say goodbye. I wrote at the end of last year on "generations", when Jack met his Great-Grampa. I'm so glad that Jack and Ron got to meet. I can't help but feel that Ron was hanging on for Jack's arrival. We have precious memories, and Jack can carry that connection with him. It's strange that life can work in this way.

As for Jack, this month has been great. He's really developing well. His feeding is now going smoothly, and he is chubbing up nicely. He's smiling and burbling, and noticing that he has hands. He seems very social, aware and curious about the world around him. Changes are happening fast, every week brings something new. I both want to enjoy every moment, but am also keen to see what the future holds for him.

Harriet and I have been able to establish more of a routine. We've been getting out for walks, Harriet has been able to attend some social events, and we even made it out for a glass of wine at Indaba Cafe together (Jack in the sling!).

Frustratingly, after managing to avoid it thus far, I caught Covid in January. I isolated away from Harriet and Jack for the best part of a week, and then stayed away from other people for a further few days until I tested negative. I felt bad for a couple of those days, and tired for most of the rest of the month. It's difficult to know whether or not to attribute that to the virus, or having Jack. Covid made my fail my "no zero weeks" of running resolution, for both the week of the virus and the couple weeks I took off after. February I'll be back on track.

The EdinburghJS meetup grew again this month, with around ~40 people attending. I gave a talk on "the things that aren't code", for what junior developers should focus on aside from language skills, and how senior developers can support them. Chris Godber gave a talk on WebXR. We'll be back on 23rd Jan at CodeClan for "Testing services with Pact".

I watched: All Quiet on the Western Front, Jungle, and The Imitation Game. I also started The Last of Us and House of the Dragon.

I started my journey through Tanner Greer's Rise and Fall reading list with The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy. I also read Ideology: a very short introduction by Michael Freeden for the Open University course I'm taking.

I started Terry Pratchett's Thud, but haven't got far yet. I'm aiming to read more fiction this year.

New dish for the month was Ras el Hanout chicken from Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour.

Month notes: December 2022

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 23:59:59 GMT

December started with snow in Edinburgh. The temperature plummeted, and our heating bill rose. This month, like November, was mainly getting used to having Jack in our lives. We figured out better rhythms, and enjoyed lunchtime walks together.

It's been good to introduce Jack to our friends over the last few weeks. We've had a few people to stay over, including both sets of grandparents. It was nice to have some relief, allowing Harriet and I to have both a few hours to ourselves, and even dinner out together.

EdinburghJS

We held the EdinburghJS Christmas Social at Joseph Pearce's. We had a good turnout across the evening, and it was a pleasant way to wrap up the year. We'll be back on January 19th with a talk on WebXR development.

Christmas

We spent Christmas in Hexham with Harriet's family. It was a relaxing week, and Jack got to meet his Great-Grandpa. Hexham is a nice town, we enjoyed some walks, a couple of runs and a short e-bike ride. We picked up gifts for Harriet's family from Cognito Books, a small charming book shop, which is worth a visit if you are in the town. Having grandparent support also allowed us to have a quick pint out at the Beaumont Hotel.

We drove back to Edinburgh for new year, stopping in at Barter Books in Alnwick for a rest, browse and a big sausage sandwich. If you are into second-hand bookshops, you probably can't get much better than this!

Reading

A few books this month:

What We Owe the Future, Will MacAskill. An argument that we should place more value on the many billions of potential future lives. Longtermism, avoiding collapse, preserving resources for a potential re-build, and "locking in" cultural and institutional values.
Friends, Robin Dunbar. As I read Dunbar's book on religion I tried his book on friendship. An interesting read, giving a tour of research into how we make, keep and break friendships across our lives. Neurochemistry, rituals, gender and more.
Building a Second Brain, Tiago Forte. On sale with the Kindle Daily Deal. An expansion of the various blog posts that I'd read over the years. I think that note-taking and organisation is a key skill for creative work, and this is a straightforward introduction. I'd like to have read more about problems and pitfalls of the processes described. I think the book could have gone deeper.
How the World Became Rich, Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin. This was on a lot of "best of" reading lists that I'd seen. A worthwhile tour of the current state of thinking on the origins of our "great enrichment". This book ties together some of my other reading over the past year from McCloskey, Mokyr, Henrich, Aceglomu and Diamond. If you are interested in the topic, this is a good introduction. Geography, institutions, culture, demography, colonialism and industrialisation.

CoPilot

I've been using Github Co-pilot for work this month - an AI that helps auto-complete what I am working on. It's been good for helping generate test-cases for my work.

I'm typing this post in my code editor - and CoPilot is attempting to auto-complete my month notes. It decided this month that I had been to North Berwick and the Zoo, and prompted by a friend on Twitter, auto-completed "In December my favourite animal was..." to:

In December my favourite animal was the Snowy Owl. I've seen a few of these in the wild, and they are beautiful birds. I've also been enjoying the Snowy Egret in the garden. I've seen a few of these in the wild too, and they are also beautiful birds. I'm not sure if they are the same species, but they are both beautiful.

🤷‍♂️

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you! See you in 2023!

Month notes: November 2022

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 23:59:59 GMT

There was one event this month: the arrival of Jack.

It's been a whirlwind of a month, which is why my month notes are a week late. We've been figuring out how to be parents, getting to know Jack, and enjoying the everyday moments. I wrote a quick post on the first two weeks, trying to capture some of my relections.

A month into his life and he is changing already: unfurling from his newborn phase, becoming more alert, and making noises.

Both Harriet and I have appreciated the kindness and generosity of family, friends and neighbours. From dropping round some food in the first week, to many gifts of clothes and toys (my running club even got Jack a wee branded babygrow!).

We've made an effort to get out and about, around the local coffee shops, and down to the beach at Portobello. We're also focused on quality time at home, letting Jack adjust to us and his surroundings.

I'm back at work now, but I will try to limit my hours for the rest of the year. I have a few projects that will take me through to the end of winter, and likely into spring next year.

We have an EdinburghJS Christmas Social coming up on the 15th December, so will hopefully see some of you there.

Reading

Despite being a new dad, I've managed to read a few books this month, snatching a few minutes in the early hours. This month I read a few more of Francis Fukuyama's books:

I'd recommend his Political Order first, but I think that Our Posthuman Future still has questions that we don't yet have the answers to.

I also read:

How Religion Evolved, Robin Dunbar.

Next Month

Now winter seems to be setting in: dark afternoons and evenings, mist on the meadows and low winter sun. I'm looking forward to Christmas and the new year.

Hello Jack

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the world Jack.

Harriet and I are delighted. Jack is now home safe and sound. This week has been a whirlwind, adapting to our new arrival. We've made it out for some walks and coffee, and are looking forward to introducing him to our friends and family.

Month notes: October 2022

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 23:59:59 GMT

Our baby hasn't arrived yet, and we are past due. Harriet and I are keenly awaiting the big day, whenever that will be. Thinking about this is how I'm spending my days at the moment.

Harriet and I have been able to spend more time together in October now that she's on maternity leave. As a Doctor, it's rare that she gets extended time off, and we're keen to take advantage of it. We have been taking lunchtime walks, eating out a little (tried Sister Bao in Newington for the first time, Ondine for dinner, The Palmerston for lunch, and returned to The Southern and Southpour for pub fare), attended a lovely wedding near Crieff, and walked to see autumn leaves in the Pentlands.

We re-joined the Scottish National Galleries, and went to see the "A Taste for Impressionism" expo. It was great, with a selection of paintings from Van Gogh, Monet, Millet, Degas and Matisse. It's on until 13th November, so there is still time to sneak in a visit.

I hosted another EdinburghJS Meetup. We have had two months in a row with 35-40 attendees. I'm pleased that we have been able to grow and have people keep on coming back. We have one more Meetup this year in November, and then a social in December. Esteban Munch Jones my co-host will be ensuring that it all runs smoothly if I'm still out of action on paternity leave.

Reading

This month I dabbled in a few books on climate change, but spent my time reading more of Francis Fukuyama. I think it is good to cluster books together, either several on a topic, or several by an author. I've been trying to read sets by a single author as it can help you really understand what they are focussed on; and also understand how their thinking or writing has evolved over time.

The Origins of Political Order, Francis Fukuyama.
Political Order and Political Decay, Francis Fukuyama.

The books main themes are splitting out the package of the rule of law, democratic accountability and the "modern" state. It is usually thought these develop together, but Fukuyama illustrates the histories of each of these ideas and where they have arisen. The order in which they arise and the driving forces behind them help explain how the world is constituted today.

Month notes: September 2022

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 23:59:59 GMT

Not long to go until our baby arrives. We've prepped the house, had double glazing installed, and bought a car that is more suitable for carrying a child around. The Baby Box from the Government arrived. We are celebrating a year in the flat, and reflecting on all that has changed and is about to change.

Edinburgh was a stange place for much of the middle of the month. With the death of The Queen the streets were busy - the Scottish version of "the queue" looped through The Meadows near our house.

I took off on a cycling trip doing the C2C from Whitehaven to Tynemouth over the course of four days. I added some photos and details to my journal.

EdinburghJS resumed after the summer break with a talk by Rory Gianni on the Principles of D3. We had a great turnout, and I'm looking forward to growing the meetup with Esteban and Allan into the new year.

Jac was kind to invite us over to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with her and some friends. We ate sweet food, round bread, and listened to a valiant effort of some shofar blowing.

Reading

This month I read a fair amount of Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism and:

The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. This continues from the authors previous work Why Nations Fail and discusses how we need both a strong state and civil society to develop economically, prevent tyranny and extractive institutions. Recommended.
Liberalism and Its Discontents, Francis Fukuyama. I thought I might read through Fukuyama's books, as I read The End of History at least a decade and a half ago, but want to revisit it to understand how the arguments have held up. This book was a general tour of liberal thought in our current political climate: neoliberals vs the woke.

That's all for this month. I'll be spending the next few weeks in a state of nervous excitement, waiting for the baby to arrive. 👋

C2C Whitehaven to Tynemouth

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Riding the C2C has been on my bucket list for a while, and it seemed like the perfect wee adventure before our baby arrives in October. Harriet was away for a weekend with friends, so I took the chance to spend a few days cycling across the north of England.

The C2C runs from the Irish Sea on the west coast at Whitehaven to the North Sea on the east coast at Tynemouth. The route is ~220km, allowing you to ride it over a weekend if you are fit, or a long weekend if you want to take your time and enjoy the views.

Day 1 Whitehaven to Lorton

On Thursday I took the train from Edinburgh to Whitehaven, connecting in Carlisle. As the train approached Whitehaven there were views over the Solway Firth back towards Scotland. The start of the route is at the Harbour, a short stroll from shops where you can pick up breakfast or lunch before setting off. As is tradition, I dipped my back wheel into the Irish Sea.

Most of the route out of Whitehaven is on cycle paths on an old railway line. The cycling is easy and quick, and reasonably soon you get views into the Lake District. The roads are quiet, and I was unbothered by traffic.

I camped at Whinfell Hall Farm Campsite in Lorton. The campsite was basic, think "barn converted into a toilet block" with the cobwebs and dust that entails, however it was pleasant and perfectly suited to the route. The sunset lit up the hills in a beautiful purple, which I watched from Lorton bridge on my way to dinner at the Wheatsheaf Inn, just ten minutes walk from the campsite. I was glad of my headtorch on the walk home!

Day 2 Lorton to Little Salkeld

The second day started fresh, with the autumn morning light poking through the trees. I set off and was immediately confronted with a climb up the Whinlatter Pass. After a short section on the main road the route turns off onto forest tracks. The tracks are easy to ride, but I appreciated having a gravel/touring bike over a road bike.

I called in at the Whinlatter Visitors Center for coffee and a scone, then headed down toward Keswick. This section of the route I found surprisingly rough, and had I wanted to make better time I would have cut down the main road towards Braithwaite. Some sections of the trail felt a little overgrown, and perhaps not suitable for road bikes.

Keswick was quick pitstop. The center was very busy, and after picking up supplies from Greggs I wanted to get back out to the countryside. I took the route along the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Trail, which helped make up for lost time on the earlier forest trails. After Mungrisdale the route heads along the main road past Troutbeck. I might consider taking an alternative route along the Lake and Dales Loop slightly further north.

I stayed at Bank House Farm Accomodation, some static caravans and a couple of camping plots with a small toilet block. Aileen joined me for the evening camp, on her way to walk in the Lakes over the long weekend. We ate at the Fox Inn at Ousby, ten minutes drive from the campsite. The other pubs within walking distance were fully booked for the Friday evening.

Day 3 Little Salkeld to Consett

Waking up at Bank House Farm was beautiful. The camping pitches overlook the River Eden. Mist rolled over the hills, with a calm morning light flowing through. Flocks of birds circled across the valley. It felt very peaceful, a great start to the day before the bright sun came out.

The bulk of the 74km of the third day takes you over the North Pennines Area of Natural Beauty. The first challenge is getting up and over the Hartside Pass. The route is quiet, and only rejoins the main road shortly before the top. I chatted to a few other cyclists on the way up - they were staying at pub accomodation at Allenheads, so didn't have the camping gear that I was lugging with me.

Once over the Hartside Pass the route undulates through several villages. I had mistakently thought that the Hartside was the main event of the day, but the climb out of Garrigill was a real test of my legs and gearing. I had to pause and walk a couple of times.

I had (second?) lunch at The Hive at Nenthead, which is worth the stop for a cake and shot of caffine. Allenheads was also good for a quick pause, with public toilets and some industrial heritage displays. The main attraction is the Armstrong Hydraulic Engine, made in the mid-1800s, working until the mid-1900s. It's a small display just off the main road. Worth popping in to take a look.

At Rookhope the route takes a turn over a gravel pass avoiding the main road running to the south. There was a sign saying the route was closed, but I decided to push on anyway. I ended up walking my bike up the hill, as the gravel made it difficult to get traction in places. At the top the path was fine, with great views over the hills. I hopped over to the adjacent road to avoid the single-track section, rejoining when the path turns into the Waskerly Railway route.

I stayed at Starlight Camping and Caravanning, a farm field with small toilet block at the edge of Consett. I had quick noodles for dinner, and was in bed by 9pm. Perfect.

Day 4 Consett to Tynemouth

The last day started on the bike paths around Consett and Shotley Bridge, over to the Derwent River and along the Three Rivers Cycle path. The route is downhill for the first half of the day. Once I hit the River Tyne I crossed to the north bank and cycled along the Hadrian's Cycleway route. At this point the cycleway turns to exclusively city-cycling until the end of the day. You pass under the many bridges of Newcastle, and then a series of industrial estates until North Shields.

Once you hit North Shields then the last kilometer or so takes you past a series of restaurants, bars and importantly, fish and chip places (I returned to Seaview Fish and Grill for a great post-ride lunch!). The walkway takes you down to the lighthouse and priory. I went to the beach and dipped my front wheel (and accidentally both my feet) into the North Sea, completing the journey.

I'd recommend the C2C to anyone who wants a straightforward weekend of cycling. The middle days across the Lake District and Pennines were fantastic. The last leg was a little dull, but the fish and chips made up for it. I've published my C2C route on Komoot if you want to plan your own trip.

Month notes: August 2022

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 23:59:59 GMT

It's festival month in Edinburgh, so the city has been busy and life has flown by. I've been focused on earning money in advance of some paternity leave in November.

I managed almost no running, and only one big cycle ride. I went out and tried some new paths over the Pentlands.

We went to Glasgow to see Torres at Mono Bar. It was a fun gig - if you've not heard her album "Thirstier" then check it out.

The last week and a half of August was spent mostly confined to the house as Harriet caught Covid. Although she had a few bad days, particularly combined with being pregnant, she's made it through ok. I managed to dodge the virus, but still kept away from being social.

This month I read:

Bourgeois Equality by Deirdre McCloskey, finishing the Bourgeois Trilogy. The general idea is that the "great enrichment" of the past couple of hundred years was driven by a change in rhetoric, a rising esteem of the bourgeois class leading to a space for trade-tested betterment.
The Pathless Path, by Paul Millerd. A personal story that illustrates preconceptions people have about work and settling into freedom. I had seen this recommended on Twitter, and identify a lot with the ideas being discussed here. Useful for those starting out in their careers, or for those who feel stuck.
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry. I watched a video with Louise Perry arguing about feminism, and on the back of that picked up her book. There is a fair amount to unpack: the main idea is that "liberation" was landed on male-centric defaults and benefit.
Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. Inclusive vs Extractive institutions as the mechanism that either leads to the "great enrichment" or the plundering of society. Examples that show culturally or geographically similar places having large economic divergences.

That's all for this month - September is more work, the return of EdinburghJS, and a weekend away cycling. 👋

Amsterdam-Haarlem

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We spent a week at the end of July in Amsterdam and Haarlem - two short city breaks packaged into one trip.

In Amsterdam we stayed just north of the Vondel Park, just off Jan Pieter Heijestraat. We chose a location based on AirBnB availability, but weren't disappointed. There was vibrant street life with lots of cafes and restaurants to explore. The vibe was relaxed and mostly residential. Our AirBnB had the classic steep stairs to get up to the flat door.

We enjoyed Cafe de Toog, The Golden Brown Bar for Thai food, Fenan Klein Africa for Ethiopian food and friendly service! There was more than enough on the main street to explore.

Once you are off the main tourist streets the walking is pleasant, where you can still admire old wonky houses, then head back to the park for a fresh mint tea and some snacks.

On the first two days we visited the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. I'd been to both before, so there was less pressure to beat the crowds. Both museums were busy and had to be booked in advance. We walked around the Honours Gallery at the Rijks, and then to the Medieval art gallery on the ground floor which seemed to be the quietest part. It was good re-visiting the Van Gogh museum after our recent trip to Arles and seeing the locations he painted in real life.

The Jewish Museum was our visit on the third day. It is worth spending some time here for the social history, and to get an appreciation for the effects of the war on the Jewish community in the Netherlands. There were screens showing video interviews with Dutch Jews talking about their different experiences and opinions. I was struck by the feelings of a lack of acknowledgement that the Jewish people felt in the immediate aftermath of the war. The particular horrors inflicted were subsumed into the general distress and upheaval. For some this drove them closer to religion, for others away to a shelter of a quiet life.

Top tip: if you are going to be in Amsterdam for a few days, and can plan in advance, then you might want to check out the Netherlands Museumkaart. It gives you access to many museums for the equivalent of ~3 or 4 entry prices for an entire year. If you sign up in person you get a temporary pass which is good for 5 entries. You need to get the full membership card posted to you, so planning in advance is key. We'll likely do this the next time we visit, as it means you can visit the same museum several times in shorter bursts, which is often a nicer way to see things. Note: you still need to book a "slot" in advance for some museums, but tickets are generally available.

I really enjoyed Amsterdam for a relaxing city break. Once you are out of the center it seems to be a nice pace of life. It's a global city: we ate New Zealand-style brunch, Brunch at Locals, brunch in a quiet square, marvelled at the cycle lanes, and lazed in the park. The city seemed really family friendly, with many many children being driven around in cargo bikes, bike seats on single bikes, or just hopping onto a bike rack. Transport is very easy and efficient with the trams and metro. If only Edinburgh could learn some lessons!

After Amsterdam we moved on to Haarlem, just a 20 minute train journey from Amsterdam. If you are travelling by train the "NS" app is an easy way to plan your journey. We met up with Gordon and Amy and spent a few more days here. Haarlem is a beautiful place - canals, little back streets, a nice range of shops and dining, plus some history. I went running every morning.

Our AirBnB had an interesting style. I think the owner was a painter, so the walls had lots of art, including some (what looked like) historic family portraits. Is Dutch interior design is under-rated? Modern, cosy, functional. Taking the best bits of minimalism and adding some comfort? Walking around Haarlem it was sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a design-shop window and a private front-room window!

We spent a day at the beach at Zandfoort, 15-20 minutes on the bus from the center of Haarlem. Zandfoot has a touristy center, and the beach front was somewhat dilapidated, but it was a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Had we not had both pregnancy and injury in our group we'd maybe have rented some bikes to cycle to the coast. Next time!

The next day was rainy, so we checked out Teylers museum in the center of Haarlem. It was fun, some rooms of fossils, rooms of scientific instruments, and rooms with art. The audio guide is worth picking up, as it provides a lot more context to the displays. I have been reading about the Bourgeois with scientific and economic development, with some focus on the Dutch, so it was good to see the evidence and artifacts of this progress in person.

Outside of the museum we caught a bit of a RedBull event, with folks trying to pole-vault over the canal. Is this a Dutch tradition? Who knows. It was fun to watch a few minutes in-between rain-showers.

We spent our last day back in Amsterdam, chilling in Vondel Park. It's a nice place to spend some time, with a couple of nice cafe-bars in the center. Thanks Netherlands - we hope to return soon!

Month notes: July 2022

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 23:59:59 GMT

The most important update of the month is that Harriet and I are expecting a baby! We are due at the end of October (or early November, depending on who you believe). We are both very excited about this new chapter in our life. I'd held back from announcing this earlier, but due to the bump it became harder to keep it under wraps. Some aspects of our family we want to keep private, and with Harriet's job as a paedeatric doctor we are both sensitive to the precariousness of life. I am also sensitive to friends and aquaintances who have strugged with having children. That said, in the spirit of "it takes a village to raise a child" we are happy to share the news.

We took two trips this month: one quick journey down to Hexham to visit Harriet's friends. We walked along the river at Corbridge, and visited the National Trust property at Gibside. Sadly three out of five of the group had to cancel due to Covid. Although the hot phase of the Covid emergency seems to be over, I do worry that the "learn to live with the virus" attitude dismisses the real problems that people will face around travel, events and socialising. Learn to live with should not mean accept all the consequences of! There is still more we can do to improve things!

The second trip was to Amsterdam and Haarlem for a week of relaxation. I posted notes and photos in my journal.

Running and Cycling

I managed one long cycle trip exploring to the east of Edinburgh, along the coast, then a right over some tracks and trails to get onto the Pencaitland railway path. You can see the 50km route on Strava. It's becoming easier to explore, as I'm more confident about where to hit the quiet routes and paths to get back into the city.

I attended the first Holyrood Parkrun. There were several hundred people there, and a great atmosphere. I also went back to EdinBar Runners (aka PubRun). It's been a while since I regularly attended the running meetups, as I took a break during marathon training so that I could go at my own pace. Hopefully I can resume the habit soon.

Reading

A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft, as part of my read the greats project
The Gospels by Sarah Ruden. I've not read too much of the Bible, and this version of the Gospels had positive reviews. It was an interesting read, particularly with the translation notes.
A Culture of Growth by Joel Mokyr. Mokyr is referenced a lot by Deirdre McCloskey in the Bourgeois trilogy, so I wanted to understand more. The idea here is that a technical elite drove progress through the idea that the world was knowable and changable.

I have started working through the last of book of the Bourgeois trilogy: Bourgeois Equality by Deirdre McCloskey and The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd.

EdinburghJS

We took a break with EdinburghJS for July, and had a social event in early August. The meetup will return with technical talks towards the end of September. Keep an eye on the Twitter account for updates.

Month notes: June 2022

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 23:59:59 GMT

A very short update for this month. I spent the first part of the month on holiday in Blauzac/Uzes in the south of France. It was a lovely trip, both Hazza and I managed to relax and forget about work.

Reading

Dominion by Tom Holland. The central idea is that we (the west) owe a lot of what we consider our rights to Christian thinking. The book was a fun read, and I recommend it. It was interesting to think of how the properties of Christianity (the weak become strong and the sacrifice of Christ) sowed the seeds for a personal relationship with God, and the challenge to authority that allows the evolution of a secular legal space.
Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through by Duncan Weldon. A tour of UK economic history. "Readable" seems to be a common description on Goodreads Reviews and I agree.
How to be a Dad by Oscar Duke. A short guide to getting started.

EdinburghJS

I gave a talk at EdinburghJS on Mise-en-Place for Software developers. Thanks to Elisol and Pete for their talks too! The meetup was fun. We're now getting enough regular attendees to make it feel like a community of people. We're pausing the talks for this month, but will be running a summer social in early August. Regular service will resume in September.

Next Month

It's a busy time - I am fully booked with work for the next couple of months, so will be focussing on that. I hope to start attending running groups again, as I've let the running go post-marathon. Harriet and I will be taking another holiday at the end of the month: a trip to Newcastle followed by a hop over to the Netherlands for a few days.

See you at the end of July!

Blauzac

Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We're just back from a week-long break in Blauzac, a small village near Uzes in the Gard, south of France.

We visited Les Baux, around an hour to the south east of Uzes. Les Baux-de-Provence is described as one of the most beautiful villages in France. It certainly is very picturesque. It's main function is as a tourist destination: a ruined castle and narrow cobbled streets high on a stony outcrop. I usually don't go in for destinations that are "tourist villages" as their only function, but this was tolerable. We ate a vegan "raw food" platter at Les Baux Jus, making a change from the standard fare. After lunch we checked out Carrières de Lumières, a projection show inside an old limestone mine. They were showing Venetian art, which suited the cathedral-like scale of the venue.

Our second destination of the week was Arles. We followed the Van Gogh walking trail through the city centre. It's an easy walk that takes in several city sights, and it's good to get a feel for the areas in which Van Gogh lived and worked. The city centre is a lovely space to spend some time. We ate at Cuisine De Comptoir just off the Place du Forum, the location of the Night Cafe.

We ended up at the Foundation Vincent Van Gogh and took at look at their Nicole Eisenman and the Modernes expo. The foundation had two Van Gogh paintings on display, alongside a Munch, some Picasso and a Hiroshige. If you are visiting it might be worth checking in advance which Van Goghs are on display there, as most of his work is held in other collections. Head to the roof terrace of the gallery for some nice views over the Arles rooftops.

We spent a further day relaxing at the Pont Du Gard. The aqueduct is from Roman times, and is an impressive bit of engineering. We brought a picnic, rested on the beach and swam in the river.

The rest of the trip was spent relaxing, visiting Uzes and Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. Uzes has several good restaurants. We enjoyed Ten (nice courtyard for dinner), SiSi (standard fare pizza, friendly staff), Terroirs (fresh lunch, busy, with a shop for buying local treats) and Volver (excellent dinner, tiny menu of two choices per course).

There are some walking trails near Blauzac that go past lovely olive groves and vinyards. Well worth exploring!

Merci France! 🇫🇷

Month notes: May 2022

Tue, 31 May 2022 23:59:59 GMT

This month was mainly filled with Marathon training, in preparation for the Edinburgh Marathon at the end of the month. I ran, cycled a little, and tried stretching. I ended up <a href="/journal/edinburgh-marathon-2022">running it in 4:49</a>. It wasn't the time that I had hoped for, but it was still a good experience.

At the start of the month it was the local council elections. It was the first election in roughly 15 years where the Liberal Democrats weren't my first choice. I'd grown a little frustrated at some of their campaigning against the active travel measures the SNP/Labour council has been putting in place. It seems like rather than proposing improvements and additions they were organising opposition. We got the results I had hoped for in our local area with Labour, Green, SNP and Lib Dem taking a seat each, and the Conservative Councillor being ousted.

In general, my principle is to vote for people who are pro-development, YIMBY, optimistic and who take climate change and city-building seriously.

EdinburghJS is still a focus of mine - this month we had Adrianna and Diego speaking with Esteban on hosting duty. We have just announced a meetup on <a href="https://www.meetup.com/EdinburghJS/events/286290920/">June 16th</a>, so if you are interested in JavaScript then please do come along.

In May I read:

The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff
Justice by Michael Sandel
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Messy by Tim Harford
...and after a year finished On Politics by Alan Ryan

Some of this has been in support of my part time studying with the Open University. I finished the last assessment and now need to decide if I am going to continue my studies next semester. I think I'll probably opt for the Political Institutions course, but will need to see how hectic work and life become in the next few months.

I'm away on holiday next week, so expect some photos in the coming month! See you at the end of June!

Edinbugh Marathon 2022

Sun, 29 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Three years after registering, I finally got to run the Edinburgh Marathon (thanks Covid!). I made it round in 4:49:01.

I had hoped to be running a little faster, but my thighs were cramping up after ~16km. I have a feeling I peaked roughly two weeks ago! Still, despite not hitting my target, I was glad to get round. It was a fun day - thanks to Gordon for being a great training buddy and motivator (and well done on the 3:31!), thanks to Hazza, Amy, Allan and Norma for the mid-run cheers, running club Gordon for the mid-race motivation, and to Chris and Graeme from EH3 Milers and Edinbar Runners for a wee welcome at the start and for organising drinks at the end.

Next up on the <a href="/running">running schedule</a> is the Bellahouston 10km in a couple of weeks, but first, to try and fix my legs!

Month notes: April 2022

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 23:59:59 GMT

April went by in the blink of an eye. I managed to pack a lot in - friends visiting from near and far, several events, running, a tonne of work and some birthday fun. The blossom is out on the trees, the sun in shining, and Edinburgh is coming alive.

I co-organised another EdinburghJS meetup for the local JavaScript community. Michael Hayes of AddJam spoke about his React Native project setup and Allan Lloyds of Product Forge spoke about a history of JS in Rails apps.

The meetup is slowly gaining strength with regular attendees. I think it will take a while to get back to pre-pandemic numbers, but we're taking the steps to get there! In May we have two more technical talks coming up, the same in June, followed by a social event in July. Keep an eye on the EdinburghJS Twitter for announcements.

I'm putting into practice a lot of my JavaScript knowledge on my current contracts: building a few web apps for a new startup, and readying another startup for production (testing, de-risking, improving the code for fixing and feature development). There is a lot of work to do, but I think I've managed to find a busy-balance.

I attended my first gig in a long time - The War on Drugs at the Corn Exchange. It was great seeing live music again! I hadn't realised that the Scottish masking laws had changed that day - there were more people on stage wearing masks than in the audience! I had packed an FFP3, as I think it's still sensible to be cautious in crowded places.

It was my birthday at the end of the week, so I took the Friday off. I went to the Audubon's Birds of America exhibition at the National Museum (worth a look!), had lunch in the sunshine, then went to the Cycling Track Nations Cup in Glasgow. Thanks to friends and family for the kind gifts of books on birds, Matisse and trail running!

My birthday weekend coincided with a get-together as Aaron was back in town for a US-UK trade conference. It was nice to hang out with folks again, and explore a little more of Glasgow's south side. I was a little sleepy, as Gordon and I had run a half marathon during the day. I got the last train home, ready to work on my penultimate Open University assignment due in at the start of the next week.

I finished reading:

The Weirdest People in the World, Joseph Henrich - a theory of western "WEIRD" psychology, modern development, and influence from the marriage and family policies of the Church. Trust, individualism, norms, markets and kinship. I highlighted some notes in a Twitter thread here
Life on the Edge, Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili - a look into the world of "quantum biology". Interesting look at some of the more recent theories and experiments on how our biological world has quantum underpinnings.

The marathon training is entering the final phase - just one long run left in May before the big day! I managed 28km over ~3 hours this weekend. I'm pleased with progress. A few weeks ago I felt like I was on the edge of injury after running 30km, but this time I felt I kept my form throughout.

My Garmin app informs me that I am currently "peaking" - so I hope I can sustain the balance for another few weeks!

Month notes: March 2022

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 23:59:59 GMT

I've only got a quick update this month. Life seems to be getting faster, and spring is springing.

I attended a trail running course one weekend with Gordon. It was good fun, and a nice addition to my marathon training. Check my journal for more notes and links.

I also made it back to EH3 Milers for a few sessions - much nicer in the lighter weather.

This month I started several books, but didn't finish any. I'm trying to find the time to juggle work responsibilities with getting EdinburghJS up and running, my Open University course, plus marathon training.

I did however find some time to get out and about exploring a few places to eat:

Hunky Dory Eats, a sandwich place in a police box opposite the Earl of Marchmont.
Earl's Burger bar in Stockbridge.
Ikigai noodle bar in Newington, really good take-away. A tiny place with about three tables inside, opposite the Greenmantle.

Until next month!

Trail Running Scotland Skills

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This weekend I joined a friend and six others on Trail Running Scotland's "Trail Skills" course in the Pentlands, based out of Bonaly Country Park.

Over two days we learnt about navigation, equipment, warm-ups, conditioning, and on-trail skills. I want to level up my trail running, it's something I enjoy doing, but I am often cautious when descending or on difficult terrain.

On Saturday we practiced warm up skills, then in the afternoon practiced navigation around the Park. The runs were fairly short, and were used to illustrate the various points we were being taught. The skills aren't overly-complicated - but worth exploring in-person with experts. Seeing form practiced in-person is much better than on videos.

On Sunday we did further warm ups, learnt how to descend steep hills and then practiced footing and scanning ahead. In the afternoon we planned a 8km route through the Pentlands and ran it together as a team.

Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend. The weather was great and it was fun to be out with people sharing the same interests. It's also good to carve out the time thinking about practice, rather than simply running and hoping to get better.

The exercise-load throughout the weekend wasn't too heavy. It was an introductary skills programme, not a fitness class. It was pitched as "can you run a ParkRun", and this seemed accurate.

If you are looking for a fun weekend then I'd recommend checking out their courses in the Pentlands and Aviemore.

Month notes: February 2022

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 23:59:59 GMT

February was busy. I packed a lot of work into the short month. My client work is now in the "active development" phase. I'm putting together several web applications based on NextJs for a local startup, and consulting for a second client on de-risking their process and preparing their codebase for launch. Both are going well, and I'm really excited to be launching these.

I didn't have much time for running club or socialising. I did make it through to Glasgow to celebrate Gordon's birthday - and it was nice seeing people that I had not seen since the start of the pandemic.

I managed two half marathons in the month in preparation for the 12 week training plan for the Edinburgh Marathon starting in March.

EdinburghJS

I co-organised EdinburghJS - a meetup for JavaScript enthusiasts in Scotland. In January the in-person event was cancelled due to Covid, but we were able to get a small audience alongside the livestream in February. I gave a talk on prototyping with NextJs and Airtable.

I'm keen to provide resources for developers that they might not be able to get online: a focus on networking, mentoring and sharing of opportunities. You can get technical tutorials anywhere online, but there are limited opportunities to meet local developers. That's what I want to focus on.

We have some more talks coming up on March 17th, so keep an eye on the Twitter feed for details of the talks.

Reading

Thanks to taking a course with the Open University, I was granted access to Edinburgh University Library, so I grabbed a few books that I'd been meaning to purchase for a while. I picked up The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander which was a great meditation on the patterns that make up our homes, neighbourhoods and cities. I also dug in to Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom, which I used for the module I'm currenty studying.

I picked up Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth in a Kindle sale. I think the concept is neat, but I would have preferred more detail.

In advance of the Interintellect Orwell vs Huxley salon I read Orwell: A Man of Our Time by Richard Bradford which was a good overview of Orwell's life, but the references to current politics feel a little dated even just a few years on.

Have a lovely spring!

Month notes: January 2022

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 23:59:59 GMT

I started the month with early morning walks, and with late winter sunrise, I managed to get some nice photos in Holyrood park. I'm still trying the Magnesium/Vitamin D/sunlight combo, and I think it has an effect.

I am finally going to get to run the postponed Edinburgh Marathon this year, so have started training. It was fun running with friends again, both with EH3 Milers, Edinbar Runners and ad-hoc so thanks to both Pete and Gordon for getting the running year off to a good start.

As well as the running I've also been on a couple of cycle rides with EH3 Miler folks. If you fancy joining for a weekend cycle in the next few months then please do give me a shout.

I co-organised the first EdinburghJS meetup in two years. The meetups, like many others, have been paused because of the pandemic. I think it is essential for the Edinburgh technology scene to have a JavaScript meetup: to share technical information, to find mentors, to become mentors, to discover interesting side projects and job opportunities.

Sadly the first meetup had to be live-streamed rather than in-person, but we're back in Febuary with an audience, on the evening of the 17th at the Bayes Center.

I want to build the meetup as an inclusive space, not just for seasoned developers, but for beginners, dabblers and those working in adjacent technology spaces. The organising team is reaching out to group members over the next few months encouraging people to do "lightening talks" on work or side-projects. We hope this will be a good low-risk way of introducing new people to talk about their work. We will offer mentoring and support for first time speakers, and have been able to set aside a pot of money to help support those who would otherwise be unable to attend due to disability or poverty.

If you want to get involved, drop me a line on Twitter.

This month's book reading consisted of:

The Anarchy, William Dalrymple looking at the East India Company and the British in India. I'm reading more about Empire, the cultural legacy, history and economics. I read Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera last year, and have Neil Ferguson's Empire and Akala's Empire and Class queued up on Kindle. (Twitter thread)
Bourgeois Virtues, Deirdre McClosky looking at the morals and ethics of capitalism / innovism and the effect of the honouring of the bourgois on the great enrichment of the past few hundred years. (Twitter thread)
Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf in preparation for the Febuary Interintellect "Great Books" salon (January was Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage)
The Glasgow Effect, Ellie Harrison is from the artist who received £15k to not leave Glasgow city boundaries for a year, writing about how she doesn't like neoliberalism. Not recomended (Twitter thread).

I'm coming to the end of a couple of work projects in Febuary, so will be open to new contracts in April. I likely have availability for 2-3 days per week organsing development work and commercialisation on software products, alongside React and NodeJs coding.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: December 2021

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 23:59:59 GMT

December was a quiet month. Omicron took over, restrictions re-started. Harriet and I managed to get a trip to the Lake District and then spent Christmas together.

We went to Eskdale in the Lakes, which I wrote about in my journal. Highlights were Hartfell and Hardknott Roman Fort, plus taking a quick dunk in the Esk at Tongue Pot.

We had a very low-key Christmas. Harriet was working night-shift, so we had an early Christmas lunch before she went back to bed.

After Christmas we took a quick break down to Hexham to visit Harriet's family. We tried out her parent's ebikes which was fun. I am convinced that ebikes will play a big part in our zero-emissions transport future.

In early January I we also managed a small Christmas dinner with friends, postponed due to Covid concerns. It was lovely to host people at our new house, and great to catch up.

Liberal Democrats

After 15 years of membership, I resigned from the Liberal Democrats. I'm still happy to support the party nationally, but I have been growing frustrated with some of the actions the local party was taking on transport and active travel. I don't want to support a party that is campaigning against cycle lanes. I would be happy if the campaign was to improve and expand provision, but working to remove schemes already implemented is wrong. Given the demands of climate change, air pollution and improving the urban environment any sufficiently ambitious cycling plan will have a non-zero number of provisions that need improvement, seem initially poorly connected, or frustrate local residents.

I fear that being eager to be seen as local champions the Liberal Democrats can sometimes fall victim to NIMBYism. We need to both take into account local opinions and provide leadership. So that's that for now.

Reading

I read Austen's Pride and Prejudice for the Interintellect "Great Books" series. I enjoyed re-watching the BBC series too.

Suzanne O'Sullivan's It's All In Your Head was an interesting reflection of a doctor on psychosomatic disorders. One of the ideas that I'm keen on exploring is the cultural-nature of illness and illness behaviours.

In advance of the Interintellect super-salon with Deirdre McCloskey, I read her collection of essays on Why Liberalism Works. It was useful, but it would probably have helped if I'd read some of Piketty's Capital beforehand.

Looking ahead

So that's the end of the year, another set of month notes, this time accompanied with videos for each month. I'm not sure that many people watch or read, but I feel that getting my thoughts out probably has some long term value, so I'll continue in 2022.

January has some exciting work projects coming up, and I hope to run, read and take photos some more. Stay tuned!

Happy new year to you all!

Eskdale

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT

We took a short break down to the Lake District to celebrate Harriet's birthday, spending a couple of days walking in Eskdale. We drove down on Monday evening, staying at Penny Hill Farm Cottage Airbnb. The Cottage was small and simple, with a cosy atmosphere. It's well located in the middle of the valley, right on several walking tracks.

On the Tuesday we walked a loop over Harter Fell, then down Hardknott Pass to the Roman Fort. The day was over-cast, but not too cold or breezy. The walk up Harter Fell was good, with nice views back over the reds and greens of the valley, and along the River Esk.

The Hardwick Sheep were out, watching over our progress as we hiked. We managed to miss a turn, so went up a path closer to Green Crag, and then cut back between paths over to Harter Fell. The paths were good, with some bogs in places.

The mist descended as we reached the top, and the wind was frosting the grass. We added a few layers for the final few minutes, and didn't pause for long at the top. According to other reviews, had the day been clear, we could have expected great views over the lakes. Sadly, it was not to be. But, it is December, so mist is to be expected.

The descent was great. We looped back to the valley via the Hardknott Pass, on which sits an old Roman Fort. The fort has a great aspect over the valley below. We arrived near sunset, when the hills in the distance had an orange and yellow misty ethereal glow. We inspected the ruins of the fort in the gloaming, imagining what it must have been like to have been posted there almost 2000 years ago.

On our second day of the trip, Harriet's birthday, we took a hike up the Esk Valley to Tongue Pot, a great wild swimming location. It's about 6km round-trip to the end of the road, and was an easy, but sometimes boggy hike.

Late December isn't my favourite time of year to get in cold running water, but Harriet seems to be immune to the hesitancy I feel. And since it was her birthday, and she'd just been given a new Wild Atlantic changing robe, I figured I should go along with it. I dipped briefly, whilst Harriet got a few good strokes in. We changed, then ate cheese with oatcakes followed by peppermint tea.

I'd recommend Eskdale for those who want a quick and peaceful get-away. Should we ever be in the Lakes over summer, I'm sure we'll head back to Tongue Pot for a slightly warmer swim!

Month notes: November 2021

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 23:59:59 GMT

November has passed fairly uneventfully. The Autumn colours arrived, and the morning light in the Meadows was often glorious.

I have a few more pieces of client work coming in to Telaco, so I'm getting busier. I have some leads for interesting projects in the new year. December is usually quieter for work, but it looks like I'll have a filled schedule in January. I'm mostly focused on quick prototyping of apps using NextJs, and am building my TypeScript experience.

We marked the passing of a month in the new flat. Thanks to Pete for the pizza-cutter flatwarming gift! I've started to get my new office in order with some new bookshelves and lights. It's becoming a cosy and productive place to work and read. I even got a second office chair so I can share the space well with Harriet.

We took a weekend wander out at Dalkeith Country park, with lunch at the Restoration Yard. Another weekend, we drove down to Manchester/West Didsbury to have an early Christmas dinner with friends. It was great to hang out, especially after the lack of social events last Christmas. I took the opportunity to run through West Didsbury and along the Mersey for a while.

Both Harriet and I got our Covid boosters, which was very welcome. I felt much more confident being social, so returned to both EH3 Milers and Edinbar Runners. Omicron is a little concerning, so we're going to take it easy in December to ensure that we can take our planned holidays.

We ended the month with friends visiting - the first guests to stay in our new guest bedroom. Edinburgh delivered a wet, snowy and cold walk up Arthur's Seat - but I guess that's just part of the experience!

In November my reading pile included:

Exponential, Azeem Azhar
Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke, paired with Rights of Man, Thomas Paine, with additional notes by Christopher Hitchens
Empireland, Sathnam Sanghera, as part of an attempt to read around the history of the British Empire, to understand our history and development
How Democracies Die, Steven Levitsky
The Scout Mindset, Julia Galef

Wishing you all a good December, and a very Merry Christmas.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: October 2021

Sun, 31 Oct 2021 23:59:59 GMT

The big news of the month was that Harriet and I moved into our new flat. We're really pleased with the move, and despite a fair amount of stress we've settled in nicely. Art is on the walls, books are stacked waiting for bookcases, beds built and boxes (mostly) emptied.

We now have a guest bedroom, so would be delighted to welcome friends to Edinburgh.

I also now have (the dream!) an excellent bike-storage solution in our entrance hall. I got the "Pro Bike Tool" hanger which rotates the bike out when you want to take it off the wall. I also purchased a Karcher portable pressure washer to make it less likely that I spread mud everywhere. I feel like I have made it in life.

It's been great to welcome some friends over for dinner in the new flat. I think it's important to make an effort to create good memories in a home, and what better way than with great company and food.

We spent most of the month checking out our new local coffee shops, plant shops, and places to get snacks. We have also been on a couple of runs around Arthur's Seat and Duddingston in the autumn weather.

It's often beautiful seeing the Pentlands from Arthur's Seat in the low autumn light. It's great to have such a beautiful park in the middle of our city.

My parents visited Edinburgh to drop off a lot of the stuff that I'd stored at their house during the move. We spent a nice afternoon in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. I'm always amazed at how much my mum knows about plants.

At the end of the month Harriet and I went down to Peebles for a day to walk along the River Tweed path. I added a post to my journal about the trip with some photos.

This month I read a few books: Reflections on the Revolution in France by Burke, for the Interintellect Great Books series; Science Fictions by Stuart Ritchie; What Money Can't Buy by Michael Sandel; and Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. They were all fairly quick reads, and all worth picking up.

I also started work on re-doing the EdinburghJs website for the local JavaScript community. I'm working with a few other people to relaunch the meetup which has been on hold since the beginning of the pandemic. We're aiming to re-start some small real-life meetups in January, alongside live-streaming for those who are not yet comfortable with in-person events. The new website also has a jobs feed, to help spread information about local and Scottish opportunities.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

River Tweed Path

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Peebles is a town in the Scottish borders, around 45 minutes drive south from central Edinburgh. The River Tweed runs through the center of the town, with the River Tweed Path going along the banks past historic castles, and beautiful valley vistas. I previously cycle-camped in Peebles over the summer.

The walking loop we did was around 12km in total, looping across the various bridges en-route, and coming back over The Sware hill to Peebles. I have posted the route on Komoot.

Here are some photos:

Month notes: September 2021

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 23:59:59 GMT

September went by in the blink of an eye, and was a fun month.

We were staying in an AirBnb in Tollcross, waiting for the move-in date for our new flat at the beginning of October.

We spent some time heading out for coffee, visiting some favourite pubs and sandwich places now that we were a little closer to town.

I was glad to make it back to both EH3 Milers and PubRun (now re-branded EdinBar Runners). I'm still not consistent with my attendance, but I'm getting better! EH3 Milers have altered the format, so it's now just one distance at a relaxed pace (rather than three distances with runners doing their own pace). This makes it a little more social, so if you want to make running pals in Edinburgh then come along!

We had friends visit, and I was also able to take some early morning walks around the Meadows (mixing some vitamin supplements with early sunlight and good opportunities for photographs).

I went home for a few days to visit my parents and to pack some stuff that I had stored at their house during the move (and also, in the 20 years since I left home). We took a nice walk around the Kirkcudbrightshire coast, and I took some photos in the garden. It was nice to be home and have a change of scene.

I managed a fair amount of reading in September. I read Frankenstein for the II "Reading the Greats" Salon, some books on gender, misogeny and trans issues, I particularly enjoyed Down Girl by Kate Manne, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, Vaxxers on the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine by Prof Sarah Gilbert and Dr Catherine Green , The Secret of our Success by Joseph Henrich on cultural evolution, and Sharespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro.

At last in early October, we finally moved into our flat in Sciennes. It feels a lot more like a house than a flat, as we now have an upstairs. Our stuff is slowly coming out of boxes and we're making it feel like home. We've already had the obligatory trip to the local plant shop, and Harriet is in her element. I'm grateful for the cards, flowers, gifts and help moving from our families. I'm looking forward to the next month of home-making!

This move now means that we have a guest bedroom, so if friends want to visit, please do - you have a place to stay!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: August 2021

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 23:59:59 GMT

August was even more hectic than predicted. In late July we had planned to move out of Harriet's an into a rental property for six months whilst we found a permenant place to live, then...we found a place we wanted to buy.

🎉 We bought a house together in Sciennes, Edinburgh. 🎉

August went by in a blur. We completed on Harriet's flat, moved to house-sit for a friend, and then moved again into an AirBnB.

Most of my other activites were put on hold: just work, running and reading as the minimum. It felt like the rest of my time was chasing emails, packing boxes and cleaning.

I still tried to practice photography, but the weekly photo challenges were put on hold until we move into the new place in October. For the past few weeks I've been getting up early most days and going for a walk in the morning sun. It's been a good opportunity to take some photos at Golden Hour.

I started a new contact which should provide work for the next two months implementing a set of React UI components and data-loading for a startup. I'll be looking for similar work towards the end of October.

At the beginning of September I also did my first timed race in over a year: Run the Blades 10km in Glasgow. I ran in 46:23, 19th of 244 racing. I was pleased with my form. I'm looking forward to resuming racing over the next year. I need to get a few more on the calendar!

Next month's update will be brought to you mid-house move - have a lovely September!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: July 2021

Sat, 31 Jul 2021 23:59:59 GMT

I've not been that active online this month. We're moving flats in August, both trying to buy a place and find a rental in the meantime. It's hectic, and life administration seems to have taken over.

It looks like August will be another busy month, with packing boxes off to storage, and physically moving. Harriet is also changing jobs, and I'm looking for more contract work. A little bit of life adventure seems to be happening, things are up in the air and we're not entirely sure where the pieces will land.

The main event of the month was a holiday to Skye. I've written about the trip in my journal, so take a look there for photos and some info about what we did.

I've kept the reading projects going, reading Descartes Mediations for the II Book Club in August. I also read Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind on the history and uses of psychadelics. Interesting material! I note that a new psychadelic society has just been formed at Edinburgh University.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The Isle of Skye

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT

The Erskine Bridge closed ten minutes before we were due to cross. Google Maps added two hours to our journey.

Frustration isn't the best start way to start a trip, but we took it in our stride. We've hardly been out of Edinburgh in a year, so any chance to escape the city is welcome.

We drove from Glasgow, where we had spent a day visiting friends, so we headed back through the city, then north via Callander and Glencoe.

The drive up to Skye is excellent which ever way you go, with beautiful views when you hit the highlands. The sky was blue, the light so very bright.

On Skye we stayed with Arcana Cabins in their "Shepherd's Hut" at Lower Breakish. Lower Breakish is at the south of the island, just a 20 minute drive from the bridge.

The shepherd's hut was small, but perfectly formed. It had a bed-nook at the far end, basic cooking facilities, and a small table and chairs. There was a deck outside with a view over the bay, and a toilet and shower block just off to the side. The first night we settled in then ate at Red Skye Restaurant, a short walk up the road.

On the first full day we drove up to the Quiraing at the north of the Island, a walk with spectacular views. Or, it would have been had there been any visibility. The bulk of the hike was in thick mist, with midges in the sheltered areas. Sheep lurked in the gloom around us.

We stumbled on two ladies who didn't have GPS, and who were grateful to see some other people. It was hot and clammy, and easy to get disoriented in the fog. We walked with them for a few km towards the end. One was an artist who was spending a few weeks on a retreat.

As we came down to the car-park the mist lifted and we were treated to a great view, with dappled light over the dramatic hillside. The clouds cleared on our drive south. It seems like a couple of kilometers can make all the difference on Skye.

We ate at the Hebredian Inn at Broadford that evening. We had a highland platter, followed by venison and beef. I had been worried about indoor dining again, but the tables were well spaced, and we were sat by an open window.

That evening we walked on the shore and enjoyed the sunset and moonrise over our field.

On the second day we relaxed in the morning, picking up lunch from Deli Gasta. They do great sandwiches and pastries. I'd recommend asking for the sandwich bread to be toasted. The sandwiches were packed full, so well worth calling in for.

We then drove to Portree and wandered around the town. The harbour is pleasant for a stroll. There are boat trips available here. We're saving that experience for next time.

We then went to the Old Man of Storr track, but again the mist descended. The ascent revealed almost nothing but disappointed walkers descending. We ran into the people who we had walked with the day before who advised us to push on.

When we got to the top the clouds started to part, and we had some excellent views back over the range. The sun came through, and we were treated to a glorious late afternoon descent.

That evening we had fish and chips from Siaway at Broadford harbour. They were excellent, and thoroughly recommended. Probably in my top 5 fish and chips of all time.

On our last full day on Skye we started with a posh lunch at the Three Chimneys restaurant. It was expensive, but a beautiful location and tasty meal. The drive out is on a single track road at the north of the island. There is virtually nothing around it. I'd recommend it just for the setting! Our meal included: pigeon pie, halibut, beef shin, brisket, barra snails, salad and mash. We had afternoon coffee in the sun and relaxed.

Late afternoon we drove to Coral Beach, just around the coast. The water was clear, with turquoise and blue. We went for a quick swim, and enjoyed the sunshine. The carpark is narrow, and was very busy. If you are not a confident driver then it might be best to go early!

Dinner that evening was burgers from the Claymore - standard pub fare. I was a bit cautious about how busy it was, so we got the food to take away. We ate outside in the sunshine, and were fortunately not bothered by any midges.

On the last morning I went for a run through Lower Breakish on a coastal track and road. There is a 5km loop back when you reach Harrapool. You can view my tracks on Strava.

We drove back home via Plockton on the mainland. I'd recommend stopping there for lunch. It's a charming village, with a couple of places to eat at the Harbour. It's also nice to get onto some smaller back roads for a while.

We've left several things to do on Skye - to ensure we have a good excuse to go back. It's well worth it!

Month notes: June 2021

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 23:59:59 GMT

June was mainly about enjoying the summer weather in Edinburgh. Harriet and I started the month with a swim out at Gullane Beach. We're lucky to have such a nice coastline near Edinburgh. It's nice to be more social after a year of lockdowns: wandering in the city center, fish and chips in the park, and even some beer and (rare for me!) football at the pub.

I have been pleased that PubRun folks have started meeting up again. Although the group is not officially "open" (due to Covid restrictions) small groups are meeting up for runs, cycles and beers. It feels fairly safe meeting up outdoors, and I'm glad of the warm weather that has made it possible!

I managed an two day cycling trip to Peebles and back, which I wrote about in my journal. Check out the full post for more photos, a video, and route map on Komoot.

This month I powered through a lot of reading in preparation for the II "Reading the Greats" salon on Machiavelli's The Prince:

The Medici by Mary Hollingsworth was an interesting tour of the history of one of the foremost families of the Renaissance. In the long-run it seems Machiavelli's advice on focusing on preserving your dynasty and state was needed. Things seemed to fall apart from the family once they secured their hereditary Dukedom. Complacancy provides Fortuna ample opportunity to take away your inheritance.

The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior by Paul Strathern wove together the stories of Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia and Leonardo Da Vinci. Although slightly tenuous with the overlaps between the three in some places it was an interesting background to Machiavelli's writing. I've picked up Strathern's "The Florentines" and will probably also try a book of the Borgia family.

Other books I read were Bill Gates's How to Avoid Climate Disaster and a look at the relationship between Britain and Europe This Sovereign Isle by Robert Tombs.

For work I continued working on a PHP/JS/React project for one client and did some investigations into No-Code/Low-Code tools and workflow for another. I'll be taking on more work in August, so please do get in touch if you are interested in me helping you out.

In July I'm looking forward to a Scottish holiday with Harriet (the third or fourth time we've tried to organise a break!), more reading, running and personal projects.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Cycle camping Peebles from Edinburgh

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I've been wanting to get back into cycle-camping for a while now. It was something that our family did a lot of when I was growing up and I've missed it! Last week I took a quick overnight trip down to Peebles on the bike to test out my gear, and get at least one journey under my belt.

I started the trip heading out of Edinburgh through Eskbank, south of Bonnyrigg using National Cycle Route 1. I got out into the countryside, through Carrington, then Temple and up to the Moorfoot hills and on the B7007 and B709.

From there it was mostly downhill to Innerleithen, through a long valley. There were lots of sheep and birds, and very little traffic. In Innerleithen, I headed west along the old railway line, through orchards, fields, alongside the River Tweed.

I camped at Crossburn Camping and Caravan park, to the north of Peebles. As it was a Monday night the place was empty, save for one other bikepacker. The facilities were decent, although the promised "camp kitchen" was non-existent, but a shade on the expensive side.

I got fish and chips from Mario's on the High Street, and wandered around the town. The place was decked out in red and white bunting for a local festival (virtual, due to Covid!).

The next day I cycled south of the Tweed, along the valley, past Innerleithen to Caddonfoot and Clovenfords. I stopped at the Clovenfords Hotel for coffee. I turned north on the B710 that follows west of the A7 and Gala Water. I turned west on the B709, looping back through Heriot and then north over the hill on the B7007 again. The descent into Edinburgh was decent, but it was frustrating to be back in traffic after two days of mostly country riding!

I'm looking forward to getting out cycle camping some more. Please do give me suggestions for routes. If you want to follow this trip to Peebles yourself, I have posted the route on Komoot.

Month notes: May 2021

Mon, 31 May 2021 23:59:59 GMT

May just disappeared. Where did the time go?

We had Scottish elections at the start of the month. I voted Bruce Wilson for Edinburgh Central. I have occasional frustrations with the Liberal Democrats, but there aren't any other options that align with the general thrust of my political beliefs. I think this will continue until the Scottish constitutional questions can be settled one way or another.

I finally completed on the sale of my flat in Tollcross. It was almost a year since I decided to put it on the market. I had offers late last year, but they fell through due to problems with financing. My understanding is that the banks weren't keen on people who had been on pandemic furlough for too long.

It felt strange to be packing up and moving my stuff. I spent a few weeks trying to store or sell larger pieces of furniture. I'll be down in Morningside for the forseeable future, but at some point we hope to sell up here and move to a larger place. I'll miss the Tollcross flat, with many happy memories over the years.

My parents came to visit to pick up some of my stuff. I'd not seen them in months, so it was a very happy occasion. We set up a gazebo in the garden for lunch, as lockdown had still not lifted at that point.

I have continued to take photos for the 52 Frames Photo challenge including a portrait, "red", and "wide angle".

I spent the month reading around Dante's Divine Comedy for the June Interintellect "Reading the Greats" book club. I also read Thinking in Systems by Dana Meadows, a straightforward introduction, and Full Catastrophe Living which is the guide to the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction programme pioneered in Massachusetts.

I have been out cycling, extending my routes through the Pentlands a little. My running has been a little patchier, which is one of my focuses for improvement in June.

Towards the end of the month lockdown was lifted a little more, as Edinburgh moved down a "level". I managed some drinks in beer gardens, brunch with friends, and the first dinner out with Harriet that we've had in a year. I'm very grateful for both the vaccination programme and the conscientious patience of my fellow citizens that has helped us get to this point.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: April 2021

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 23:59:59 GMT

I kicked off the month with an Interintellect Book Club Salon on Beowulf. As I write this update in early May we've just had the Canterbury Tales salon too. I'm enjoying reading "the classics" to get a better insight into history and literature. If you are interested, then please do take a look at Tommy Collison's Literary Forge blog for frequent posts on some of the topics we are discussing in the book club.

From reading around the works we are discussing, I recommend Marion Turner's Chaucer biography. It's an interesting way of presenting the history of England and Chaucer through the places and changes related to his life.

I finished Hobbes's Leviathan in April. I'm glad I made the effort with it, as it helped me understand the concerns of someone who lived through the English Civil War, and some of the tensions with the Church. I plan to flesh out my knowledge by reading more political philosophy as part of my current reading project.

"Working Backwards" by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr was a good look at the culture and processes at Amazon. No matter what you think of them, it's clear they have driven dramatic growth and set standards for logistics and consumption. I particularly liked the "PR/FAQ" approach to product development, where you start with a Press Release and questions. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in business.

I managed a few bike routes this month. First is a loop around Torduff Reservoir from Morningside, Bonaly, and then back via the Water of Leith. It's a great ride and can be done in about an hour and a half without too much effort. At Clubbiedean Reservoir there is a small coffee shop that is open at the weekend. I have posted the route on Komoot.

Later in the month I rode out to Gullane, east along the coast from Edinburgh. The route was mostly on cycle tracks, but there were some narrow and busy roads towards the end. The weather was great, and the beach was lovely. I picked up coffee and a cake from Goosegreen Bakery in the center of town. I have posted the Morningside to Gullane route on Komoot

It was my birthday at the end of the month. Harriet got me the Peak Design "Everyday Sling" camera bag that I have been lusting after. Hopefully that will make it easier to keep a good camera with me at all times. I have kept up with the 52 Frames weekly photo challenge, including "fabric", "trapped" and "freeze-frame".

Scotland re-opened a little on the 26th of April, with hospitality open in general, and pubs for outdoor drinking.

The weather has been good enough to sit outside, so I was pleased to catch up with several friends who have recently moved back to Scotland. This socialising included getting in for a quick swim at Portobello beach before grabbing pizza from the new Civirinos down at the front, followed by a few evening beers at the Black Ivy.

I really appreciate being able to see people again. I'm looking forward to the vaccine getting on top of the virus, and socialising being more flexible later in the summer. There are still a lot of people to catch up with!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: March 2021

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 23:59:59 GMT

I'm a little late with this month note for March. I want to do a video monthvlog for each month this year and the size of the writing and recording task tipped over a threshold into the procrastination zone. But, a week late and here it is.

March went quickly and quietly. Spring has sprung and brighter days are here. I've had my first jab, so looking forward to being able to visit my parents soon. Despite some wobbles it looks like the UK is still on track to do a good job of getting everyone their first dose in the next few months.

I started March by attending the Interintellect "Reading the Greats" salon on Plato's Last Days of Socrates. It was great to discuss the dialogues with a group. I'm really starting to appreciate how remote ad-hoc self-directed life-long learning is going to blossom in the digital age. I added a reading page to this site to track some progress on the "great books" list. I'll hopefully add some notes and resources for each book as I read them.

I'm also starting to wrap up studying on the Open University "Arts and Humanities" module that I've been studying for a few months. I haven't decided what to progress to next, but it's likely I'll continue to work my way towards a degree in history and politics.

It looks like I've managed to sell my flat, just over seven years after I moved to Edinburgh and bought it. We're hopefully concluding in the next few weeks. I'll be glad not to have the worry of the sale hanging over me, and look forward to whatever comes next with living arrangements.

I managed a big ride through the Pentlands to South Queensferry, which was the first time I'd been out on the slightly rougher terrain on my new bike. It all went well, and I'm looking forward to a summer with more cycling.

Running was a bit hit and miss in March. I was a tired in the last couple of weeks, and I need to do at least three runs a week to maintain the habit. I fell off the wagon, but got back on at the start of April.

I managed to keep up my 52 Frames weekly photography challenges, posting on Color Relationships, Window Light, and Slow Shutter speeds. I also recorded some videos for the challenge.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Cycling the Pentlands to South Queensferry

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Last weekend I took my new bike out for a spin around the Pentlands, and then over to South Queensferry, roughly following the southern and western edges of the Edinburgh City Boundary. As it's lockdown we're not allowed to travel much beyond the city limits, so inpired by Markus Stitz of Bikepacking Scotland and Mark Beaumont, I decided to explore the route.

I started by zipping quickly down the A701 before turning into the Pentlands at Flotterstone (although, in retrospect, perhaps I should have cut in earlier to avoid the busy road).

The road up past Glencourse and Loganlea Reservoirs is a great ride. At the top of Loganlea the road turns into a singletrack trail.

Across the Pentlands towards Bravelaw I veered left, on a trail south. There were great views over the hills. I exited the Pentlands at Kirknewton airfield.

After the Pentlands I headed North, past Ratho and through Newbridge. If I'd had more time, I'd have gone slightly more west, via Broxburn. It's something to explore next time!

After that it was all bike track until the bridges at South Queensferry. I paused to get essential takeaway coffee and cake, and then headed home on the N75 bike route.

You can check out my Komoot tour with a map of the route.

Month notes: February 2021

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 23:59:59 GMT

The days are getting longer here in Edinburgh. February was a snowy and cold month, but in the last week it seems like spring has finally sprung. My parents got their first dose of vaccine at the end of January and Harriet got her second dose last week, so things are looking a lot more positive.

It's fantastic that the UK has made good progress with vaccination. It feels like there is (a fragile) light at the end of the tunnel. Still, further and faster please!

Reading

In the first week of February I attended the Interintellect "Reading the Greats" Salon where we discussed Antigone. I had read a couple of translations of the play, and have since followed up with some further reading on Greek myths. I recommend Natalie Haynes "Pandora's Jar" as a good exploration of women in Greek myths. I'd also recommend the Open Yale 'Introduction to Political Philosophy' course and associated book.

It has been good to have this series of Salons to prompt and guide me in reading these works, not to mention the benefit of being able to discuss the ideas with a group of interesting people. March sees us discussing The Last Days of Socrates and the philosophy of Plato. The Salon series is also coinciding nicely with my Open University course on the Arts and the Humanities, where we are reviewing a Plato dialogue, and will be moving onto Antigone in a few weeks.

I attended a Salon on "Perfectionism: Facing the Inner Critic" by Anwar AlKandari. I wrote a tweet thread summary, and Lukas Rosenstock has written a blog post on the event.

My Duolingo Chinese streak continues past the 320 mark, so I'm hopeful that I'm going to make it to a year. I haven't taken any more iTalki lessons this year, as language-learning is lower priority than the various pieces of reading I've committed to. Hopefully I'll maintain a familiarity with Duolingo until I can devote a little more time to it later in the year.

Photography

I have continued with the 52 Frames weekly photo challenges. I took photos on: a single focal point, golden hour, cinematic "roll credits" and details. I filmed videos for most of these which you can find on my YouTube channel.

Running and Cycling

I ran every day in January, so decided to take a few rest and recovery days at the beginning of February. Those rest days accidentally turned into two rest weeks. In the last two weeks of the month I turned it around, got back on the wagon and ran or cycled every day. I'm still ahead of plan for my 1250km annual target.

Highlights included breaking a little out of our local area and heading to Portobello a couple of times for a cycle and a run at the beach. I also made it back up into the Pentlands for a run over Allemuir Hill. Lockdown means no travelling outside Edinburgh, and that's likely to be the case for the next couple of months. I am so looking forward to freedom again!

Work

I'm still working freelance for Shelter and Mosaic Tasks in March, but might be looking to pick up a couple of days of work per week from April onwards. If you need help setting up either websites, or web-based applications (internal or external) then please do get in touch - twitter is best to reach me!

Monthvlog

In an attempt to get better at making videos, I'm now recording and posting an accompanying Monthvlog for each of my Monthnotes. Here is the video for this month:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: January 2021

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 23:59:59 GMT

It's a bit like Groundhog Day here in Edinburgh. I am can be a person of routine, but even for me it's getting a bit repetitive. After the "Cancelled Christmas" debacle, we've been under a "stay at home" order in Scotland for all of January. That said, I really feel lucky to be able to work from home, and that my friends and family are safe.

There is light on the horizon: the vaccine roll out is continuing and <strike>I'm hopeful that my parents will get it in the next couple of weeks</strike> edit: my parents got their first dose of the vaccine! I feel like a weight is lifting.

Running and Cycling

In January I exercised every day: 30 runs and 1 bike ride. I typically ran 4-6km per day, and I finished the month off with a half marathon. I'm glad to have done it, but I didn't notice much impact on my general fitness. I'll take a couple of rest days then look at increasing either my pace or the length of my runs in February.

Reading

I read The Iliad for the Interintellect "Reading the Greats" series. It was a fun discussion, and I'm looking forward to the next Salon in Feb. It's on Antigone, so I've been reading in preparation for that too.

I read Lifespan by David Sinclair, which is worth a look. The book covers some potential causes of aging and treatments to slow it. As well as a selection of drugs, calorie restriction was given heavy emphasis. The general idea behind a lot of potential treatments is to stress the body in controlled ways to trigger "cleanup" of aging cells. I.e. try and workout your cell life cycle systems. On that note I also read The Wim Hoff Method which uses breathing to achieve similar ends. I don't recommend this book: almost all of what it says could be covered in a single page. It's a pep talk in a book. Read the Outside Magazine profile instead. Take cold showers, practice different breathing techniques.

Photography

One of my new years resolutions was to get better at taking photos. Last year I posted some of my travel photos on a new alt-Instagram. This year I have started doing the 52 Frames challenges. 52 Frames is a weekly photo prompt and feedback community. You can find my profile on 52 frames and I also recorded a vlog with the first few weeks worth of challenges.

Month vlog

I've enjoyed writing these monthly updates for a few years now - so thought I'd try something new. This year I'll try and post monthly vlogs to capture and share a little more of life, and hopefully make some connections. It's a bit awkward, but the only way to learn and improve is to start - so here it is:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Next month

In February I'm looking forward to lighter days, more running and reading, an ii Salon on the "Process and Institutions of Becoming: Past, Present and Future", and Antigone.

☀️

Month notes: December 2020

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 23:59:59 GMT

This Christmas was the first I've spent apart from my family. It was a strange one, but we made the best of it.

I'm celebrating the arrival of the vaccine. It's a relief to know that we're starting to make progress, and I'm glad to see people that I know receive their vaccinations. Although the next few months will be tough, I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I did a fair amount of running in December. I finally hit my annual running goal of 1000km towards the end of the month.

We also did some walking in the Pentlands in the snowy weather. It was very beautiful, and I'm grateful to have access to nature on my doorstep.

I composed a long thread of skills I would like to learn, read Against Empathy by Paul Bloom, Good Economics for Hard Times, by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee and The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel A. van der Kolk. I also went back and took some more notes on Lisa Feldman Barrett's How Emotions are Made,

I'm looking forward to next year, running and reading. Things will be quiet here for the next few months as we get through a lockdown with strict stay-at-home orders. Wishing you the best of health for 2021!

Month notes: November 2020

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 23:59:59 GMT

I managed to see a couple of friends in real-life in November! I'm very much looking forward to next summer when I'll be able to spend time in the company of others without worrying (as much?) about venues and distancing.

In my downtime I've had fun getting out on my new Kona Sutra, cycling south of Edinburgh.

My favourite rides so far have been out to Gladhouse Reservoir, and Heriot and Soutra. I have mostly followed the National Cycle Network paths to get out to the countryside. It can be frustrating at times navigating the bigger and busier roads that don't have decent provision for bikes. I took some highlight videos of my favourite trips to give you a flavour of what they are like:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I have continued to post on my Instagram alt profile to showcase some of my photography. I think it's a useful tool to help focus my mind on which of my photos are good enough to publish, and to motivate me to learn and take better ones in the future.

I've continued with the Italki Chinese lessons. I'm doing one or two 30 minute sessions a week in order to practice conversation with a native speaker. I'm not yet any good, but I've had some success at stringing together new sentences.

I read Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazareesingh. It's on the longlist for the Baillie Gifford Prize. I didn't know much about the Haitian Revolution, and could have done with a little more context when starting the book. Louverture is an interesting man, and this book is fairly detailed. It helped me understand both the place that Haiti occupied, but also the relationship between France and its colonies, and the United Kingdom.

I also read Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. This book helped me understand a little more detail about the context of the Roman Civil War, Casear, Anthony, and Octavian.

Month notes: October 2020

Sat, 31 Oct 2020 23:59:59 GMT

Autumn has arrived in Edinburgh, the leaves have turned and we've been treated to a series of crisp and fresh then damp and misty days. We're back into semi-lockdown in Scotland, with most bars and restaurants closed. We cancelled our trip to the Lake District, out of transport concerns, and as of the end of the month, we're not allowed to travel outside of the city, so my long-awaited trip to Skye has been cancelled too. Still, there is a lot to do in Edinburgh, and I'm grateful that my friends and family are all in good health.

I managed to get out into the Pentlands for a few runs this month. I took a video at Threipmuir Reservoir:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I finally took the plunge and bought a new bike. I went for the Kona Sutra. It seems robust enough to handle the roads and trails in the winter near Edinburgh, and also be suitable for longer distance touring. Hopefully I'll get good use out of it over the next few months.

Work

My contract with Shelter as a freelance developer was due to come to an end, but they renewed at the last minute. I am now working for another of my long-term clients on an assessment platform for most of the week, whilst maintaining a couple of days with Shelter.

Reading and Learning

I read Breath by James Nestor, and Atomic Habits by James Clear. Breath is an interesting book, perhaps more prompting several leads to investigate than presenting hard scientific evidence. Atomic Habits was a good introduction to habit formation to those who haven't read about the topic before. If you've read other books on the topic then you probably aren't going to learn too much that's new.

I attended the Interintellect Salon on Liberating Liberty: How to Think About Freedom in Our Lives. The Interintellect has been a great place to connect with people looking for interesting conversations. I recommend you take a look.

I also had my first Italki Chinese Lesson. Italki is a service that connects you with native language speakers for tutoring or informal conversations. I took a short Chinese language course last year at the Confucius Institute, and have been practising on Duolingo during lockdown. I've not got any aim in particular, so a couple of 30 minute sessions a week is a way to keep it fun and practical.

Finally, I launched a new alt-Instagram for my photography practice. I love taking photos, so this is a place to re-post older images, practice editing, and motivate me to go out and take more. Please do follow along. I'm keen to connect with others doing similar projects.

Month notes: September 2020

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 23:59:59 GMT

This month was a good month for running. I've been exploring the Pentlands recently, running 14, 16 and 21km over the first few weekends (I took a short video of the Pentlands run on my Osmo Pocket). PubRun was back briefly too, but had to be cancelled again due to Covid restrictions tightening. Hopefully we'll all be back running together soon.

Most of the Pentland routes I have been exploring go up to Torduff Reservoir, looping back via the Water of Leith pathway, hopping onto the Union Canal footpath to get back to Morningside (Here's my Strava route for the Morningside-Torduff half). I hope to explore more of the Pentland routes in October.

We brought back the classic "we should get in the sea" refrain in September, so I got in the sea at Portobello for an attempt at a wild swim. It reminded me that I need to work on my flinch when it comes to cold water.

I have a new home office, and with that a new view. I decided to include some birds in that view. I got the Meripac Window Feeder, which has worked well so far.

The last weekend of the month I took a two day trip to Dunbar for cycling and walking, with one overnight camp. I wrote a journal entry on the Dunbar trip and also put together a YouTube video of the cycling and walking. It's one of the first videos I have done with a post-recording voice-over. Enjoy!

This month I read Politics is for Power by Eitan Hersh (tweet thread on Politics is for Power), and Fairness and Freedom: history of two open societies by David Hackett Fischer (tweet thread on Fairness and Freedom).

Next month I start an Open University course on the Arts and Humanities, so will be reading more around that. I'm excited by this course, as it covers a series of historical figures. It'll be good to have guided discussions and tutorials around material that I'd find myself reading anyway!

Cycling near Dunbar, East Lothian

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Last weekend we took a quick trip out to Dunbar to cycle in East Lothian. We stayed for one night at Dunbar Camping and Caravaning Site, just on the outskirts of the town.

On the first day, we cycled west to East Linton along the National Cycle Route 76. We then turned back towards the coast, and ended up at John Muir Country Park. We walked through "golden hour" along the coast, and took in the beautiful views.

On Sunday we wandered down to Whitesands Beach, just ten minutes walk from the campsite. It was a beautiful and crisp morning. The bay was lovely (although the view back inland does have a large concrete factory!).

In the afternoon we got back on the National Cycle Route and headed south to Pease Bay, past Torness Nuclear Power station. The last part of the cycle route was lovely. We stopped at the Leisure Park and had pizza and chips.

Despite some of local landmarks like the concrete factory and nuclear power plant, it was a very enjoyable couple of days. East Lothian and the Borders have lovely beaches, which you can see when you take the East Coast train line into Edinburgh.

I certainly want to go back and cycle the NCN76 further south, and will hopefully get a chance in the near future.

Month notes: August 2020

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 23:59:59 GMT

I kicked off the month with a day trip over to the west coast, catching up with friends who were visiting family in Troon. It was great to be out of Edinburgh again.

I've started trying to be a little more social, although we're still not clear of the virus here in Edinburgh. Although pubs and restaurants are open for indoors, I've been sticking to places where I can eat and drink al fresco.

I've had luck with outdoor seating at Black Ivy, Civerinos Slice, Doctors, Blackbird, Bennets of Morningside, and one of my favourites, The Ventoux.

Kirkcudbright

Towards the end of the month I took a day-trip to Kirkcudbright to see my parents. It was the first time I'd seen them since lockdown. I was a little nervous, and so remained cautious with the physical distancing. Luckily, the weather held, so we ate outdoors, and I came away with a great box of fruit and veg from the garden.

Flat for Sale

Another big move is underway. I decided to sell my Edinburgh flat. I've moved from Tollcross down to Morningside for the time being. My one/two bedroom flat is now available via Neilsons/ESPC.

Reading

With the flat-move taking up a lot of my time this month, I haven't had much time for reading. I did manage to read Birdstories by Geoff Norman on the history of New Zealand birds. It was a great book to fill in some of the backstory to birds I have seen on my previous walking trips.

Month notes: July 2020

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 23:59:59 GMT

July was another month that has flown by, filled with code, a little reading, and a hiking weekend. I think with the pandemic the weeks seem to fly by, as there are fewer trips, events and gatherings.

Side project: learning with teams

I have made progress with my side project. I've been working with Johnny Mitchell of Caspian Psychology to produce a new learning experience for webinars and mobile. We are trialling the software in the risk and safety management space.

The idea behind the product is to provide a lightweight way of producing engaging educational content, and running mini-games as part of webinars, or regular training sessions. For a sneak peak at what we are working on Johnny demoed on the Red Risks YouTube channel: Gamification for Risk and Safety Management

If you have regular video standups or webinars and want to produce or facilitate quick learning sprints for your team then please do get in touch. This sort of tool is needed more than ever as we move to remote or regular work-from-home teams.

We can figure out how we work together as we develop the product - very much pre-MVP stage, but keen to see where we can take it!

Summer in Edinburgh

Summer is vaguely arriving here in Edinburgh. It's nice to be out and about a bit more, seeing friends, even if it is physically distanced!

Interintellect

I joined the Interintellect salon on Damascus Moments: the turning points that shape our lives. It was a great discussion, with lots of interesting stories and views.

I have enjoyed attending these salons, and look forward to joining. If you are interested you can find more information on the Interintellect website.

Weekend in Callander

The last weekend of the month I took a trip to Callandar for a few days hiking. You can read more about walking up Ben A'an, Ben Ledi and Bracklinn Falls on my Callander journal entry.

Reading

I read El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America by Carrie Gibson. It was good reading American history from a perspective outside that of the British colonies. Like all good books, this opened up several new areas to explore.

Weekend Hiking near Callander

Sun, 26 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The last weekend in July, with lockdown eased, I finally decided to take a few days off. We drove the short journey to Callander in central Scotland, where we stayed for a few days. We climbed Ben A'an, walked around Bracklinn Falls, and hiked around the Ben Ledi loop.

I was a bit apprehensive as we left Edinburgh, as there were grey skies, and we were rained on during the drive. We got to Callander and the sun came out for our walk up Ben A'an. It's a quick walk, suitable for kids, but with impressive views. At the top you can see down the length of Loch Katrine.

The light was playing on opposite hills, and across the water. We walked down the back of the hill towards the Loch. The route was a little difficult to find in places, and a wee bit boggy. If you plan to do the loop, rather than the out-and-back, then stick to the line of the fence you come to. I have published the track on Komoot.

We drove back to Callander, checked in to our AirBnb and then walked along to the Old Rectory Inn for dinner and a drink in the sun.

Bracklinn Falls

We started the second day with an 8km morning run out of Callander to Dunmore Hillfort and back. We wanted the afternoon to be a relaxing walk, so we visited Bracklinn Falls. We walked the loop past the falls, and over the Craggs before descending back into town.

The Falls were fairly busy, but afterwards we hardly saw anyone on the route.

That evening we got a fish supper from Mhor Fish in town (recommended!) and sat in the church square to eat.

Ben Ledi

The last day of our trip was a walk up Ben Ledi, just a short drive north of Callander. The day started with a little rain and mist, shrouding the peak.

At the top the clouds parted for a few minutes to give us views down the valley.

We walked the loop, rather than just out-and-back. The far side was a little more boggy, but with beautiful small streams, and a lovely path through the heather. By the end of the day the sun was out, and it made the descent into a great walk.

Month notes: June 2020

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 23:59:59 GMT

Hayfever ruled for most of June, so I was less slightly productive than I wanted, although I found more time for sitting indoors reading.

Work is progressing with my clients, and online learning side-project. If you have a group of people who regularly do online video calls, and are interested in cognitive biases then give me a shout on Twitter for early access.

Edinburgh is opening up a little. I took a wander into town for the first time in months, and explored some of the back courts and paths. I have so much left to explore in the city! I finally meet up with some other people for socially distanced beers in the park. I am nervous about the quick re-opening, but was very grateful for the social company.

Next month I hope to get out and about a bit more - although I probably won't be meeting anybody indoors for a while yet. Until then, it's running, reading, photography and messing about on Twitter.

Reading and Listening

1619 Podcast from the New York Times
Tools for Conviviality, Ivan Illich. Twitter thread relating Ivan Illich to post-Corona city transformation
History has Begun, Brunco Maçães. Twitter thread on the book and related news
Dreams of Leaving and Remaining, James Meek
Finite and Infinite Games, James P. Carse
The Choice, Edith Egar

Month notes: May 2020

Sun, 31 May 2020 23:59:59 GMT

The days seem to be flying by at the moment. I would have thought that lockdown and the routine would have stretched my perception of time, but it seems to have gone in the other way. The weeks seem to disappear. Perhaps it's because there are fewer definining social events or trips that it's difficult to get a retrospective handle on how spaced out things are.

Like last month, I've been working hard on my role with Shelter, migrating their website technology stack. It's a good team to work with, and Shelter deliver on a worthy mission. I've also been continuing work with Mosaic Tasks on their personality insights tools.

I have a new project in the works, in partnership with one of my current clients. We're focusing on building a platform to help with quick online learning. We've demoed an MVP of the product to a few people, receiving positive feedback and invitations for further work. I will hopefully have some public announcements to make over the next month, so keep an eye out <a href="http://twitter.com/jamiemchale" rel="me">on Twitter</a> for news.

I joined in an <a href="https://www.interintellect.com/">Interintellect</a> salon on Digital Tribes and online identity. It was interesting to hear from a range of backgrounds on how people interact online. For background read "<a href="https://medium.com/@the_i_i/were-a-niche-we-just-didn-t-know-9561f662e127">We’re a Niche, We Just Didn’t Know</a>" on Medium.

The lockdown restrictions in Scotland eased somewhat on the last weekend of the month. We're now able to travel ~5 miles from our homes for exercise. Fortunately, this means that we can now drive the few minutes to access the Pentlands, just south of Edinburgh. We took a walk across the hills on a very beautiful sunny day. It's much appreicated after spending the last two months on the same couple of running and walking routes.

I also took a short video of the hike:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Reading

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights by Juno Mac and Molly Smith - a discussion of the way different legal and political "remedies" harm sex workers
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd - an exploration of the Cairngorms

And some links:

Conjuring Scenius by Packy McCormick - scenes, community, ideas, mixing and practice
Where Does Ron DeSantis Go to Get His Apology? by Rich Lowry - one of the key things that I noticed is that they had infrastructure in-place that they quickly adapted to the new needs for the pandemic. They had built competency to assess incoming information and quickly take decisions.
The government’s “Stay Alert” slogan is working too hard by Stephen Bush. "It’s a good reminder of Tony Blair’s rule that good communications come from good policy – not the other way round."

Month notes: April 2020

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 23:59:59 GMT

April has been a strange month.

I have felt more productive than in a long time. Work is full on, and my focus is good. It's strange to have this feeling whilst the world turns upside down. I think sometimes things can get so big they move beyond anxiety, and you just get on with what needs done. I am getting up about an hour and a half earlier than usual. My work day seems fuller because of that.

I have resumed running this month, after a blip towards the end of March where I didn't go out much. I have found some new routes over the Braid Hills, a few minutes from my house. There are often beautiful views over Edinburgh, the Castle, Arthur's Seat and Blackford Hill. It's nice to keep in touch with other Edinburgh runners from the EH3 Milers and PubRun, even though we can't meet in person.

Lockdown has been interesting in how we are changing our habits. We are planning meals more often to limit our exposure in supermarkets, and therefore probably eating slightly better than we otherwise would.

I've had a couple of home haircuts now, which have passed without major incident.

The blossoms came out on the trees, and the weather has been one of the best April's we've had in a long time. No rush hour means peaceful morning sunlight.

I've been mostly reading the news, blogs and social media this month. There is a lot to think about: how the economy will change, how we will take care of people, how businesses can rebound, and how we reconfigure our cities. Are our public institutions up to the task? Will the response weaken trust in Government, or strengthen feeling for competence in our politicians? I'm keen to explore these issues over the next month or two.

Month notes: March 2020

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 23:59:59 GMT

As with most other people in the world, March was a very different month to almost all the others that I have ever had.

I have spent most of the month reading and learning more about the spread of the virus; what practical steps I can do myself to help limit the spread; and the various routes we might use as a country and world to get through it.

I have written private journal entries to try and record my thoughts. At some point I will transcribe them here for posterity.

Good luck to all my friends in dealing with the next few months. Stay safe.

Month notes: February 2020

Sat, 29 Feb 2020 23:59:59 GMT

February was a busy month. I've increased the days at one of my regular contracts, so work life is pretty full. I've still managed to find time for exercise and reading.

It's been great attending both EH3 Milers and PubRun every week. Both fun and sociable, with the benefit that I get the motivation to run more often.

I spent a weekend near Ilkley with Harriet and her friends. It was a lovely trip, including a quick 8km run up onto one of the nearby hills. We had a good pub lunch at the Cow and Calf.

The last weekend of the month I spent in Kirkcudbright, with a lovely short cycle in the spring sunshine.

Reading

Two books this month, both recommended.

Extreme Economies: Survival, Failure, Future – Lessons from the World’s Limits by Richard Davies – a good read examining challenges that we will face in the future, aging, technology, inequality and natural disasters.
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing. A tour of art examining loneliness in the city.

Month notes: January 2020

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 23:59:59 GMT

I kicked off January watching the fireworks over Edinburgh Castle, then retiring to a pub to listen to acoustic covers of Bruce Springsteen songs. Perfect!

The month has been fairly quiet, getting my head down to working with a couple of clients on web development, which will be my focus for the next couple of months. I added a /now page to give up-to-date details of what I am working on. Add one to your site too, and get listed at nownownow.com

My New Year Resolutions are the same as every year: running and reading.

I have joined two local running clubs, both to help with training for the Edinburgh Marathon, and also to be a little more social with one of my favorite hobbies.

If you want to join you should check out EH3 Milers, meeting Wednesday night at Six Degrees North, and PubRun, meeting Sunday night at the Golf Tavern. Both have been great, and really welcoming.

I also managed to get back on my bike, with a day-trip to Falkirk and back. I rode to The Keplies, 100ft high water-horse sculptures, across to the Falkirk Wheel canal boat life, and then back along the Union Canal. I hope to explore more of the area near Edinburgh in the coming months.

Reading

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
Why Are We Yelling?: The Art of Productive Disagreement by Buster Benson. I'm a big fan of Buster's work, writing and experiments. Check out his website at Buster.wiki
The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White
The Last by Hanna Jameson
Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation by Kylo MacLear

Month notes: December 2019

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 23:59:59 GMT

December was a good month, mainly spent walking in New Zealand. I spent some time on the West Coast, with walking on the Paparoa Track. I then walked five days on the Old Ghost Road.

I spent Christmas in Wellington with the family; and then New Year back in Edinburgh.

In the new year I'll be getting back to some contract development work, and starting training for the Edinburgh Marathon.

Happy 2020 to all my friends!

Reading

Links

I didn't do a lot of online reading as I was travelling. I did like exploring this thread of twitter threads on 1 like = 1 opinion.

The Old Ghost Road

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I have wanted to hike the Old Ghost Road for a while, after driving past the trailhead several times on previous New Zealand road trips.

The trail runs from Lyell, between Inangahua and Murchison, over to Seddonville, south of Karamea on the West Coast. It's a mixed-use hiking and biking trail, taking in Beech forests, an alpine section with ridgeline walks, and a long river-side walk down to the end.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The first day was an ascent to Lyell Saddle, mostly in the rain. The route follows an old road, constructed in the late 1800s, but never completed. Along the route you can see historic remenants of inhabitants of the area, who came for a local gold rush.

The second day was also very rainy and misty. It was a short 12km from Lyell Saddle to Ghost Lake. I spent a lot of the day relaxing in the huts, reading and writing. The huts were well provisioned with woodburners, and cutlery (so you don't have to carry your own).

On the third day the weather cleared, and I walked back up the track to "Heaven's Door" to get a view out over the valley. It was stunning. Small flecks of snow floating on the wind. Peace and quiet.

As I left Ghost Lake the sun came out, providing spectacular views over and along the ridge. The descent from Ghost Lake Hut was particularly beautiful, with dappled sunlight shining through twisted trees, glinting on small creeks.

At the end of Skyline Ridge the train drops down a series of steps to the Stern Valley, where the third hut is located. Although it was a short walk, it was one of the most pleasant and beautiful day walks that I have done.

The fourth day was longer, walking from Stern Valley up through The Boneyard, over Solemn Saddle to Specimen Point Hut. The day started rainy and misty, with atmospheric views back up the trail, but turned out sunny as I crossed the saddle. Specimen Point Hut has a great aspect over the river below, which made for good views in the morning after heavy rain during the night.

The last day hugs the hillside along the river, with several suspension bridges to navigate. The last part of the walk had beautiful sections of ferns and Rimu trees.

I'd highly recommend the Old Ghost Road. If you are doing a hike or bike trip down the West Coast I'd suggest combining it with the Heaphy towards the north (come down from Golden Bay to Karamea), and the Paparoa to the South (head down the West Coast, and perhaps on to Wanaka and Queenstown).

Paparoa Track

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I was excited to walk on the Paparoa Track, New Zealand's newest Great Walk, which formally opened on 1st December.

The track is in the Paparoa National Park, in the West Coast region of South Island. It's an area I love for the beautiful mountains, forests, downs and coastline leading to Fiordland and the mountains down south.

Unfortunately the track wasn't fully walkable in December. A landslip a few weeks prior to the launch closed the middle section, so the track could only be walked at either end. We spent one day walking at the Punakaiki end, and an overnight walk to Moonlight Tops Hut at the other.

The first day of walking starts near Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. The track winds up a gorge alongside a river, before ascending the Paparoa Range.

We walked 5km out on the track, passing through an area damaged by a cyclone in 2014. The track runs near and partially on the Inland Pack Track, which I walked on last year. There were lots of Dragon Flies buzzing around, inquisitive Fantails near the end, and we even spotted a large eel in the river.

After the day walk we drove around to Blackball, and stayed at an Airbnb on the edge of town. The drive up to Smoke-ho carpark at the trailhead was on a winding gravel road, which was fun to drive in a small rental car!

The first part of the track goes up past historic hotel sites from the 1800s through a forest. We often saw Weka picking away in the undergrowth at the side of the track.

We ate lunch at Ces Clark Hut, just above the treeline, at around the halfway point. The track then opens out and follows the ridgeline along to Moonlight Tops.

Moonlight Tops Hut was a beautiful hut, looking out over the cliffs and range that forms the second day of the track. The Hut is fairly new, and even comes with a small solar-powered USB charging point.

Thanks to the partial track closure and DOC refunding tickets, the hut was mostly empty. We had a peaceful evening watching the sun go down and a red moon rise.

I took a video of the walk up to Moonlight Tops Hut, which I've posted on YouTube:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The second day was the return walk back to Smoke-ho (so sad that we couldn't complete the middle section!). The morning light was amazing, with beautiful clouds and rolling mist. A few drops of rain gave a different atmosphere to the forest walk, which was made even more delightful by spotting a family of Rifelmen birds flitting amoungst the trees.

Overall I thought that the Paparoa Track is a great addition to the Great Walks network, and I will certainly attempt the full walk if I manage to return to the West Coast in the future.

Month notes: November 2019

Sat, 30 Nov 2019 23:59:59 GMT

November was the first month of my third New Zealand adventure (with a mini-Melbourne break halfway through).

I spent time in Wellington, Golden Bay, Wanaka, Melbourne, Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty.

Wellington

I spent the first week or so in Wellington visiting my brother and my new niece. In-between family-time I managed a few good runs.

The Southern Walkway extends from Oriental Bay near the city, to the coast at the south. Clocking in at around 10km it traverses Mount Victoria, and a further set of hills.

It was a great day run, and well worth running or hiking if you are visiting the city. I took a short YouTube video of the trip.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I also took a video of my usual running route between Oriental Bay and Evans Bay:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I visited Zealandia again. It's a refuge for native plant and animal species located near the city. You can see a few more photos on my Zealandia 2019 journal entry.

Golden Bay

I spent a few days in Golden Bay with my extended family. The coast drive over to Nelson and beyond to Golden Bay was great, with misty weather at the end of the road.

I used my Osmo Pocket to take a timelapse of the Marlborough Sounds part of the Cook Strait ferry from Picton to Wellington:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Read the full journal entry on my Golden Bay trip

Wanaka

Harriet managed to come out to this side of the world for a fortnight, which was very welcome! We spent the first week visiting her brother in Wanaka.

I recommend Ode Wanaka for food. We had a really fantastic night there, with a great locally-sourced organic set menu. There are options for meat-eaters and vegans. It was well worth it.

Second recommendation is Kika. They don't take bookings, and do a "just feed me" menu. Perfect for sharing or groups.

We hiked for a few hours on the Timaru River Track. It's accessible from a gravel road on the east shore of Lake Hawae. We walked the high trail for a few hours out and back.

We also visited Bendigo Ghost Town, in between Wanaka and Cromwell. It was strange to see the old abandoned buildings, imagining the life that people once had there. The views from the walk down the valley were spectacular.

We stopped in at several vineyards for tastings. And no tourist trip to Wanaka would be complete without a photo at that Wanaka tree.

Melbourne

After Wanaka we took a city-break to Melbourne. We found a nice Airbnb with a balcony in Fitzroy.

I managed to get out on a couple of quick runs around the main parks in the area. Here is a quick video:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

One of the highlights of the trip was the Yarra Valley Wine tour by Vinetrekker. Good food and drink, and very hot conditions.

I've never learned much about wine before, so it was good to start developing my palate. After a day full of wine I needed something fresh, so we tried Little Hop for tacos, which I thoroughly recommend.

I managed to catch up with Ruairidh, a good friend from University, who moved out to Melbourne several years ago. I joined his family run at Altona Beach Parkrun:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I was glad to have spent a little more time in Melbourne. I've only spent two days there on a previous trip, as a stopover on the way home, but I was too exhausted to really appreicate the city. I strongly recommend the NGV Gallery.

Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty and Lake Waikaremoana

The last week of November I took a trip to the East of North Island. The first stop was a quick night in Ektahuna. There didn't seem to be a lot going on there (the Airbnb was peaceful!), but it was a useful stop on the drive north.

The next port of call was Wairoa. A nice town near the coast between Napier and Gisborne. I recommend lunch at the East End Cafe and Bar.

Next on the agenda was Lake Waikaremoana, where we did the Great Walk. I filmed the hike on my DJI Osmo Pocket, which you see on my Lake Waikaremoana journal entry.

What a packed month! It's flown by though. December includes: Bay of Plenty, East Cape, an overnighter on the Paparoa Track, and five days walking the Old Ghost Road. It'll finish up with Christmas in Wellington, before returning to Edinburgh to bring in the new year.

Lake Waikaremoana Track

Sat, 30 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT

At the end of November I walked the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk in New Zealand. It's a fantastic walk, located in Te Urewera, near Hawkes Bay on North Island.

I filmed parts of the walk on my DJI Osmo Pocket, and compiled the clips into a short film:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The first day we started out at Onepoto Shelter, diving up the road from Wairoa near the coast. The first part of the walk ascends the Panekire Range, the mountains that dominate the south of the lake. The views halfway up were excellent, extending over the various inlets, and with further views to the upcoming bluffs.

The first night we stayed in Panekire Hut, perched on top of the range, with views north. The hut was fairly basic, one of the older ones on the trail, but still good!

The second day started beautiful and fresh, with golden sunlight, twisty trees and a nice breeze. The walk drops you down off the range to Waiopaoa Hut at the edge of the lake. The hut makes for a good lunch spot, and we managed to get a quick swim in before setting off for Marauiti Hut.

There were more birds here than on the first day. I saw some Kereru and Fantails.

Around mid-afternoon thunder started to roll around above, and shortly after the heavens opened. We had just enough time to put on jackets and bag-covers, but sadly not enough time for over-trousers before we were drenched.

A small patch of hail pelted the track ahead of us, collecting in pools, puddles and ditches at the side of the track. The ground was covered in a layer of white. We still had an hour or so to push on to the hut, by which time we were thoroughly wet.

The hut sits on a small inlet at the side of the lake. The water was off in the hut, so we had to pump direct from the lake. Like the first night, this hut was also basic and a little dated.

The third day started with damp boots on a damp track. The mist quickly cleared, and we were treated to a sunny day for the remainder of our walk through the forest. The variation in the types of trees, paired with views over the lake kept things interesting.

We were picked up by the Water Taxi near Whanganui Hut, which sped us across the lake to Onepoto to pick up the car. The views back up to the Panekire Range where we stayed on the first night were lovely.

Overall a great trip and highly recommended.

Golden Bay

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I'm in New Zealand for a couple of months visiting my brand new niece. My parents and aunties are visiting too, so we took a family trip out to Golden Bay on South Island New Zealand. It was a great few days. We haven't travelled together as an extended family before, so it was nice to be able to spend the time.

We took the Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton. It's a great journey, with very picturesque views once you get across the Cook Strait. We even caught a few second glimpse of a pod of dolphins.

We spent the first night at an Airbnb in Ruby Bay, and visited Mapua and the marina there the next morning. The weather was great, and the town and area was lovely to visit.

Once we were over Takaka Hill the sun seemed to disappear. Golden Bay was shrouded in mist! I've visited a couple of times before in the sunshine, so this made for a different experience. We walked out near Farewell Spit, where I took a couple of dramatic misty photos.

I took a timelapse from the Interislander ferry through the Marlborough Sounds on the way from Picton to Wellington:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The boat journey home was lovely, with the sun going down over South Island, shining through the mist. Land of the long white cloud!

Zealandia, 2019

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I went to Zealandia in 2018 and really enjoyed my visit, so this year I decided to go back again.

Zealandia is a bird and plant sanctuary, located in a valley not far from the center of Wellington. It has predator fences, so is isolated from the local ecosystem.

The exhibit is well worth a look, and the walks along the valley are pleasant, no matter which birds you see.

Month notes: October 2019

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 23:59:59 GMT

October was another month full of work and preparation for my two months away. I wrapped up my client work, and locked in a plan for January.

At the end of the month I spent a weekend away that included: a walk on the South Downs with Gordon; a day in Brighton with Harriet; and Mia and Janelle's wedding.

Happy Wedding to Mia and Janelle!

Off to New Zealand for two months, so updates may be sparse!

Reading

Month notes: September 2019

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 23:59:59 GMT

September was a quiet month, gearing up for my New Zealand trip by working as much as possible. Client work needs finished, and I need to ensure that I have ample buffer for the Spring.

I did manage to make it through several books, thanks to finding time to relax in the evenings after work, and save money by not eating out.

Reading

The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hackett Fischer
The Anxious Triumph: A Global History of Capitalism, 1860-1914 by Donald Sassoon
Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson
The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind

Month notes: August 2019

Sat, 31 Aug 2019 23:59:59 GMT

August has flown by! I think it's because I had something on for the first three weekends of the month, so didn't have any down-time to let my mind wander!

The first weekend I had a McHale family gathering in Stirling. The second, off to Belfast for a lovely wedding reception.

One of my resolutions over the last couple of years is to make more of an effort to see friends and family. I made this resolution after reading "The Tail End" blog post on the number of times you do something that remain in your life.

A decade (and a half?) ago almost all of my friends were living in the same city, and it was easy to see people. Times change, and with work, families and people being distributed over the country and the world it's easier to fall out of touch. Making the effort to see people over the past few years has been really rewarding, and I'm always grateful for when friends invite me to visit and celebrate their life events (Happy Wedding Caoimhe and Allan!). More of this over the coming years I hope!

Belfast was a fun city to visit (albeit briefly). I managed a 16km run with <a href="https://twitter.com/gordonbrady">Gordon</a> to keep the legs warmed up ready for the Coll Half.

Here is a quick video of the Belfast run:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The Coll Half Marathon was the following weekend. It was lovely to visit the island. I blogged about the trip with some photos.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Reading

All That Remains: A Life in Death by Sue Black.
Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young. Scott has some interesting videos on his challenges page.
The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity by Kwame Anthony Appiah. I listened to Kwame talk about "Pictures of the World" on the Conversations with Tyler Podcast, so picked up this book. It a tour of different ways people define their identity on attributes, creed and culture. Interesting for the times we live in.
The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age by Astra Taylor. A re-read, in light of her podcast episode on The Ezra Klein Show, "Astra Taylor will change how you think about democracy. A recommended listen.

Next month

A cycling trip, client work and running. Starting to think ahead to the end of the year and my two month trip to New Zealand. I'll also be adding more content to Solo Mental Health, a site on which I gather resources for freelancers who want to build healthy habits.

Coll Half Marathon

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Last weekend I took a trip to the Isle of Coll, off the Scottish West Coast to run their half marathon with Gordon.

We caught the train (and bus rail-replacement service) up to Oban, and stayed in the hostel there for the night. The CalMac ferry leaves at 6am on Friday, so it was an early start.

The clouds and wind were there for our arrival, and we got soaked putting up our tents at An Criadh, the local community center. But the weather soon blew away, leaving us blue skies and sunshine for exploring some of the beaches.

We ate at the Coll Hotel for lunch, and then the Island Cafe for dinner, exhausting all the options that Coll has to offer.

The race day was windy, with a hint of rain starting out. The course starts down on the ferry dock, and loops south around the only road on the island. The wind was full in our faces for the first part of the race. It was really tough going.

Across the other side of the island, the return leg was much more pleasant. The route goes through a bird reserve, on a track through sand dunes.

The last part of the race was back into the wind, and the rain came down heavily in the last two minutes of my run. It was wet and difficult, but I was glad to have finished.

I made it around in 1:53:07.

That night there was a BBQ and Ceilidh at the community center, with lots of funds raised for the local community. We had a few beers to celebrate, and then back to the tents.

Breakfast was served up by locals the next morning, as we waited for the ferry home.

I managed to get a wee video of the travel and the run on my GoPro. Enjoy!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Month notes: July 2019

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 23:59:59 GMT

At the start of the month I took a trip to Harrogate and Hexham for a wee countryside cycle and walk.

I enjoyed the hot weather we've had in Edinburgh, getting out cycling along the Union Canal, and from the City Center to Cramond:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

And up Blackford Hill for a walk:

Reading

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein.
An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management by Will Larson
The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin Gurri

Next month

Hanging around at the Edinburgh Fringe, a trip to Belfast, the Coll Half Marathon, and hopefully seeing a lot of my friends.

Harrogate and Hexham

Sun, 07 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Last weekend I took a short trip to Harrogate and Hexham. Managed a nice short bike ride nearby Hexham, including a brief stop at the Pele Micro-pub in Corbridge:

And a good afternoon stroll at Bolton Abbey along to Barden Bridge:

Followed up by a lovely wee BBQ:

On the way back to Edinburgh we took a short pit-stop in Berwick-upon-Tweed to enjoy the summer sun:

Month notes: June 2019

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 23:59:59 GMT

This month was a quiet month, getting my head down and earning money for a trip to New Zealand in November/December this year. I made it through to Glasgow a couple of times. It's always nice to visit the city.

I found a lot of time for running and reading though!

Reading

I finished my second Chinese course at the Confucius Institute of Edinburgh, and will try and maintain progress using Duolingo and Anki over the summer.

Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men by Caroline Criado Pérez. Recommended, tour of how default-thinking and analysis produces bias against women in sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious ways.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Fun Home: A family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (included in the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by the NYT, which I am going to pick some more from)
Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities by Eric Kaufmann. Part of my attempt to understand the forced behind Brexit, Trump, etc.
Digital Minimalism: On living better with less technology by Cal Newport. I recommend Deep Work by the same author as a good starting point. Also, check out Cal Newport's Blog

Month notes: May 2019

Fri, 31 May 2019 23:59:59 GMT

May was a good month for running, I participated in both the London Hackney Half and the Kirkcudbright 10km. Both runs went well, but I haven't felt I've pushed myself hard enough yet this year. I have the Coll Half-Marathon coming up in August, which I'm sure will be a good motivator to continue training.

I've started planning out the rest of the year, booking a trip back to New Zealand again for November and December. I plan to spend some more time in South Island, and have booked The Old Ghost Road trail. Over the next week or two I'll hopefully be able to get hut tickets for some of the Great Walks.

Reading and Learning

I started the month by reading American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis. It was a good book, giving a broad sweep of his life, rather than a detailed history of events. I think it's fascinating to read of the differences in opinion of the Founders, on what they believed the aims of the revolution were. Jefferson seems almost like a naive idealist compared to others like Adams when it comes to different types of freedom:

Both Adams and Madison, in their different ways, were informing Jefferson that the outstanding accomplishment of the revolutionary generation had been the realistic recognition of the need for limits as well as liberation, that the American republic had endured because its creators made sensible compromises with political power, that the genius of the American Revolution resided in its capacity to harness, indeed to consolidate, the energies released by the movement for independence.

I've ordered more books from the author, so am looking forward to reading them.

I followed up by reading How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell. I stumbled across the essay that inspired the book, and was captivated. The book deals with the active choice to resist the attention economy that is being developed around us. The book touches on nature, workers rights, leisure time, art and more. Jenny Odell also appeared on an Ezra Klein Show Podcast.

Lastly, I read Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch, to gain an insight into growing up questioning your racial and national identity in modern Britain. A useful and timely read for the current political situation.

Anki and Long Term Memory

I have been experimenting with using flashcards and spaced-repetition to help learn and memorize material I have read. Some useful links:

Augmenting Long-term Memory, Michael Nielsen
Spaced Repetition for Efficient Learning, Gwern Branwen
Anki App
Anki Tips: What I Learned Making 10,000 Flashcards, Robb Seaton

I think that the key take-aways so far have been:

Make the review a daily habit, i.e. load Anki instead of Twitter / Instagram.
Write your own cards, as structuring the question helps you learn
Have a reason for remembering the information you are recording. For what purpose are you doing this?

Interesting links

Why books don’t work, Andy Matuschak. This whole site is interesting.
The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet, Yancey Strickler

Kirkcudbright 10km 2019

Sun, 26 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT

After running the Hackney Half Marathon last weekend, I decided to do the Kirkcudbright Academy 10km, at the Kirkcudbright Academy Half Marathon

I ran in 46:15, which I was pleased with. A few minutes away from my personal best. Not bad, since my legs were still very tight from the Half.

I was pleased to find out that the Kirkcudbright Galleries were hosting an exhibiton on Japanese art, featuring a selection of prints by Hiroshige. The exhibition is on until June 9th, and is free to visit.

Hackney Half Marathon 2019

Sun, 19 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I ran the Hackney Half Marathon in 1:49:25.

Glad to have beaten the 1:50 mark. I'm around 6 minutes off my personal best, so will continue to train over the summer. Many thanks to Gordon for the training motivation.

The gift t-shirt is a Nike dri-fit, which is the brand that I like wearing. The medal was pretty good too:

Next race is the Kirkcudbright 10km at the Kirkcudbright Half Marathon, followed by the Coll Half Marathon.

After the race it was good to check out Van Gogh and Britain Exhibition at Tate Britain. Van Gogh is one of my favourite artists, and although I felt the theme was somewhat contrived, it was great to see some pieces I had not seen before.

Month notes: April 2019

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 23:59:59 GMT

April has been a fairly quiet month. I've spent a lot of time working on code for a client, celebrated my birthday, started Chinese Beginners 2 at the Confucius Institute, and taken a trip to Inverness for a friends wedding.

I took a walk up into the Pentlands over Allemuir Hill for the first time. A great and quick getaway from central Edinburgh:

As part of my New Year's Resolution to swim outside I went to the first Foxlake Open Water Swim out near Dunbar. I'll hopefully be attending a few more of their Tuesday evening sessions. Learning to swim in a buoyant wetsuit was an interesting experience!

I'm looking forward to May: wrapping up and launching the next phase of a project for a client, running the Hackney Half Marathon (and maybe the Kirkcudbright 10km), and seeing good friends.

Reading and Learning

I read two short books around building focused businesses: Company of One by Paul Jarvis and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. Both of these I put into the category of short books with a few thinking points - a kick to be more mindful of what you are doing.

I also read The Chinese Machiavelli: 3000 Years of Chinese Statecraft by Ching Ping Bloodworth. It's a broad brush tour through Chinese history and strategy, more of a 'taste' than delving into any detail, but an entertaining read.

Lastly I fired through National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy by Roger Eatwell and Matthrew Goodwin, in an attempt to get a better understanding of the forces that are shaping our current political environment. I've queued up "Whiteshift" by Eric Kauffmann for next month, and would be keen to hear recommendations for further reading on this topic.

And a selection of articles that I have read and clipped in the past month (in no particular order):

The Peter Principle Tested by Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution. Promotion until you are doing a job you are no longer good at: the idea here is that you need to design better incentives than simply promoting people to management.
Understanding Rent Control - from a blog on Seattle City Council. I'm interested in this issue at the Green Party in Edinburgh are proposing rent measures for our city.
Red Dead Redemption 2: six months later. Contains Spoilers. An excellent read on game design, storytelling and reality. Articulates some of the feelings that I have had whilst playing over the last month or two.
Condorcet's Brexit by Pierre Lemieux. Maths and voting. Related: Structural causes of the radicalisation of Brexit by Will Bott.
Either/Or - Sports, sex, and the case of Caster Semenya by Ariel Levy in the New Yorker.
Defending Democracies Against Information Attacks by Bruce Schneier
The Racial Bias Built into Photography by Sarah Lewis in the New York Times. See also Wet Plate Photography Makes Tattoos Disappear.
Could inflammation be the cause of myriad chronic conditions? by Jonathan Shaw in Harvard Magazine
Building China: Why Does Chinese Architecture Favor Enclosure Over Openness? by Lauren Teixeira at RadiiChina
Great developers are raised, not hired by Eduards Sizovs
Guilt by Adjacency by Meghan Daum. We need better ways of thinking around this topic as we become hyper-connected.
How Poor Public Transport Explains the UK's productivity puzzle by Tom Forth. Looking at transport time in Birmingham, revising the idea of the 'size' of a city.

Month notes: March 2019

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 23:59:59 GMT

March has been a busy month, mainly knuckling down to work on some software projects.

I brought on a new consultancy client. I'm providing in-person and phone consultancy, focused on building a process to manage and assess work provided by contract developers. I'm helping my client check current work, start using some simple management tools, and improve understanding of technical terms.

If you'd like me to help you understand your development team, take control of processes, or build a website or app then please do fill out this contact form with your details, and I'll be in touch.

Trips

I took a trip to Aviemore for a few days, walking around Ryvoan Bothie.

I also took my first trip out to North Berwick: climbing Berwick Law, and taking a quick splash into the sea. A good fish and chips near the harbour made for a perfect daytrip from Edinburgh.

Reading and Learning

I read Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee.

Interesting articles I read and clipped:

How I got my attention back, Craig Mod in Wired, 2017.
Tiny Private Mind-Motions on Kottke
Online activists are silencing us, scientists say, Kate Kelland. An interesting look at public clashes and harassment, enabled by social media.
If You Can’t Afford the Rent, It’s My Problem, Too, Tyler Cowen in Bloomberg
The Race to Put Thousands of Miles of English Walking Paths Back on the Map, Noor Al-Samarri in Atlas Obscura

And on Brexit:

Structural causes of the radicalisation of Brexit, Will Bott
Demand for Britishness is high but the supply is drying up, Fintan O'Toole in the Irish Times

Aviemore

Sat, 09 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I took a wee mid-week walking break in Aviemore. After getting the morning train up from Edinburgh, we took a late-afternoon walk in a grey and rainy Craigellachie Nature reserve.

The second day was just as rainy, but I guess that's part of the Cairngorm experience. We caught the bus out to Glenmore Forest Park and walked up and around Ryvoan Bothy and the Green Lochan (see WalkHighlands for a map of the route).

The colours were amazing, the contrast with the greens of the trees, reds and yellows and the green of the loch.

The light changed spectacularly at the end of the day. The late afternoon sun casting a beautiful light over Loch Morlich as we waited for the bus.

We had food at the Winking Owl and The Old Bridge Inn (for a particularly nice burger).

Aviemore is a great quick getaway from Edinburgh, recommended for those who want a simple and relaxing outdoors break.

Month notes: February 2019

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 23:59:59 GMT

February has been a busy month with work. I've been getting back into a long running project, refactoring some code, and laying the groundwork for features that we will develop later in the year. Currently I'm working on a combination of React and PHP, with some Node.js deployment and testing utilities.

I attended "<a href="https://www.jamiemchale.com/2019/fsf-working-in-the-open/">Working in the Open</a>" at Firestarter Festival, and the <a href="https://www.jamiemchale.com/2019/civtech-demo-day/">CivTech Demo Day</a>. There is a good community of people in Edinburgh at the intersection of public sector, technology and design, and I'm glad to be able to participate in these networks.

The big event of this month was attending <a href="https://www.jamiemchale.com/2019/product-forge-digital-health/">Product Forge Digital Health</a>. I mentored a couple of teams on technical issues, and helped by taking mentor, team and event photos. I published these in a blog post last week.

Trips

I took a trip to Kirkcudbright for a day or two. It was a wee bit overcast, but I still managed a nice windy walk along the coast.

I have a general resolution to go wild swimming at some point this year. Part of the resolution includes "getting in the water" on a regular basis to combat "the flinch". I popped up to Threipmuir Reservoir in the Pentlands for this months dip. I am looking forward to actually going open-water swimming in the coming months.

Reading and Learning

I mainly started books this month rather than finishing them. I read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go">Never Let Me Go</a> by Kazuo Ishiguro, which was a good read.

Some interesting articles I read this month include (in no particular order):

<a href="https://dieworkwear.com/post/182126040434/how-we-lost-our-ability-to-mend"> How we lost our ability to mend </a>
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-02-12/twitter-s-takeover-of-politics-is-just-getting-started"> The Twitter Takeover of Politics Is Just Getting Started </a> , Tyler Cowen in Bloomberg
<a href="https://craigmod.com/essays/newsletters/"> Oh God, It's Raining Newsletters </a> , Craig Mod
<a href="https://medium.com/brainstartup/the-road-ahead-a-new-year-of-possibilities-for-brain-tech-startups-b3e9b2d76e40"> The Road Ahead: A New Year of Possibilities for Brain Tech Startups </a>
<a href="https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/31/sex-censorship-killed-internet-fosta-sesta/"> How sex censorship killed the internet we love </a> , Violet Blue in Engadget
<a href="https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service"> Status as a Service (StaaS) </a> , Eugene Wei

I'm continuing with the Introduction to Chinese classes at the Confucius Institute. A few basic phrases under the belt now. I'm searching for simple Chinese-language news sources and Twitter accounts if you have any suggestions?[^1]

Coming up

In March I'll be doing more client development and consulting work, taking a trip to the Cairngorms and (hopefully) spending time with friends in Glasgow. I'll also be increasing my running distance in preparation for the <a href="https://uk.virginsport.com/event/hackney-2019/hackney-half">Hackney Half Marathon</a> in May.

[^1]: If you know any, please do <a href="https://twitter.com/jamiemchale">tweet me</a> suggestions for Chinese lanague news sites

Product Forge Digital Health Hackathon

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I attended <a href="http://www.productforge.io">Product Forge Digital Health Hackathon</a> over the weekend. It is "Europe's largest health hackathon", with tracksfor teams including: Precision Medicine, Health Data, Wellness, Surgery and Urgent care.

I was mentoring for part of the event, and also helped taking team and presentation photos.

My top takeaways for those interested in Product Forge and product hackathons in general:

Participating in Product Forge helps big organisations become more accessible to the skilled public who may have insights or innovations to contribute from different fields. Both public and private companies had stands, provided mentorship and information sessions during the hack. Hackathons and other 'practical' events should be strongly considered as a great way to get and guide public and customer engagement.
Being a 'product' hack rather than a pure technical hack leads to the development of more rounded ideas due to the diversity of backgrounds of participants. It also increases the chances of producing a prototype that can have a real worl application.
A product hackathon is great for networking. I saw many repeat visitors both at the hack and in the audience for the presentations. There is a community here, and communities help their members.
If you are running or attending a product-type hackathon you should loosen up your expectations. The process is adaptable to the participants and circumstances, so go with the flow. Don't expect too much structure. The structure that is there is to help guide the looseness, not supress it!

Here are a selection of the photos that I took during the event:

Blogged: How to prepare for a holiday as a freelancer, on Rookie Oven

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I blogged over at Rookie Oven on "How to Prepare for a Holiday as a Freelancer", with a few practical tips and considerations.

<a href="https://rookieoven.com/2019/02/12/how-to-prepare-take-holiday-freelancer">Read the full post over at Rookie Oven</a> or listen to an audio version on Soundcloud:

Attending CivTech Demo Day 3.0

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

I recently attended the CivTech Demo Day in Edinburgh. CivTech is a pilot run by the Scottish Government's Digital Directorate that aims to improve the interaction between public and private sectors. By issuing challenges rather than solution specifications, public sector organisations can work hand in hand with private sector entrepreneurs to develop products that benefit the public, whilst also creating a foundation for selling on to other customers.

One of the key ideas behind this initiative, which was mentioned in the presentations was the book "<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entrepreneurial-State-Debunking-Private-Economics/dp/0857282522">The Entreprenuerial State</a>" by Mariana Muzzucato. The book argues that the public sector is often under-valued in its contribution to innovation. I read "<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0241188814/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0">The Value Of Everything</a>" last year, a follow up that goes on to argue that we are not sufficiently accounting for value in the modern economy. I also recently listened to Mariana Muzzcato debate with Russ Roberts on the <a href="https://pca.st/rv7T">EconTalk podcast</a>, which you might enjoy.

The demo presentations were good this year, improving year on year. There seemed to be more audience questions about data privacy. It seems that with the implementation of GDPR the privacy issue has become more salient. People asked questions about chatbots using Facebook and other platforms as interfaces. Is that suitable for apps that are dealing with wellbeing and mental health? Data is now being viewed as a trust-issue for customers and not simply as a resource to be tapped for profit. This is a good mindset change, and I'm glad the issue was raised.

There was a mixer after demo day - one of the positive spillover effects of this is that some applicants who weren't successful with the challenge pitches were also present. Figuring out products, meeting people, and seeing the results of the programme should be helpful in building the entrepreneurial community in Scotland.

For further information on CivTech check out:

<a href="https://civtech.atlassian.net/wiki">CivTech website</a>, with details on all the challenges
<a href="https://twitter.com/civtechscotland">@CivTechScotland on Twitter</a>
<a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/17413826.tech-to-aid-young-people-with-mental-health-issues-among-civtech-prototypes/"> Herald Scotland: Tech to aid young people with mental health issues among CivTech prototypes </a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/alexanderholtuk">Alexander Holt on Twitter</a>, leading the CivTech Team
<a href="https://twitter.com/ktmcnl">Katy McNeil on Twitter</a>, building intrapreneurship in the public sector with CivTech

Fire Starter Festival: Working in the Open

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Today I attended Working in the Open as part of the Fire Starter Festival.

The Festival is for "Celebrating creativity and innovation in public service". I attended as I am interested in seeing how our public services could be improved, but also to lend and borrow ideas to and from the tech community.

The session was a general discussion of the reasons why someone might want to work in the open, the obstacles to doing so, and the tools that people can use. Slides and resources are available from the session here.

The intersection between organisational knowledge and self-reflection is a key area of interest. I think writing is a great tool for thought, particularly with hyper-linked resources. Open working can help both personally and organisationally to learn, drawing together networks of interested people and ideas.

There are challenges with open working around tone of voice, professional image, and workplace rules (particularly in the public sector).

Blogs, personal sites that contain 'live' documents, wikis, and good social media feeds are useful. Wether it's documenting what you are doing, signposting your work, or maintaining a reading list, you can act as an entry-point or nexus to an organisation or community.

Here are some links and examples that I have found interesting over the past few months illustrating this type of work:

Buster's Wiki - an example of someone curating their thoughts on various topics, possibly for self-reflection, but also to build a community to feed and challenge those beliefs
Katy McNeil - an excellent example of someone in public service who mixes professional information and insight with personal authenticity and stories (lovely photos of Scotland!).
Winnie Lim - The Power of Writing also Winnie's personal site is a great example of curating projects, ideas and self-reflection. Very powerful, very useful.
Dave Perell - curation of learning on how the world works, for example, Dave's reading list , highlighting strands of thought (other peoples!) on topics of interest
Visakan Veerasamy on Twitter - an awesome example of knowledge curation, learning and experimentation using Twitter threads. Jump in!

If you have any more interesting links, tweet me and I'll add them here.

With thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/LockhartL/">Leah Lockhart</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/niamhwebster/">Niamh Webster</a> for running the session.

Month notes: January 2019

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 23:59:59 GMT

Getting back to work with jet-lag after two months of walking in Australia and New Zealand was tough! January has flown by though!

I wanted to start tackling some goals and resolutions for the year immediately. First order was getting up a frosty Arthurs Seat after welcoming in the New Year:

This month I've focused on getting back into a work and exercise routine, reading more consistently, and taking better notes. I also started <a href="http://confuciusinstitute.ac.uk/education/language-classes/">Beginners Chinese at the Edinburgh Confucius Institute</a>.

I'm trying to green my life a bit more. I signed up to Bulb Energy to get renewable energy at my house. Over the next few months I'll try and switch out products I use for ones that are better for the environment (e.g. sustainably-sourced ingredients, biodiversity protection, reduced chemical contamination).

Trips

I spent a few days near Alnwick, including "getting in the sea" as part of the plan for wild swimming at some point this year. If you can get into the January North-East sea, then I figure summer lakes might be easier!

I saw Jimmy Eat World and Frank Turner in Glasgow, which was pretty excellent:

We followed up the gig with a day wandering around the West End, brunch in Tribeca, a walk up the Kelvin, sticking our heads into the QM Union, and seeing "Dippy" at the Kelvingrove Gallery.

Books

I started the year with <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39071691-the-bullet-journal-method">The Bullet Journal Method</a> by Ryder Carroll, picking up some tips on productivity journaling. I use my own method day-to-day, but this book was well presented, and gave me some ideas to adapt my system.

I read two books on Asia, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41213288-belt-and-road">Belt and Road: The Sinews of Chinese Power</a> by Bruno Maçães and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40828166-singapore-singapura">Singapore, Singapura: From Miracle to Complacency</a> by Nicholas Walton. The introduction to the Belt and Road was fairly straightforward - and essential knowledge for anyone thinking about world politics Singapura was a fun read - an introduction to the development of Singapore narrated through a walk across the city. I like the format, which is similar to Bruno Maçães's previous book, Dawn of Eurasia.

I'm trying to read more fiction this year, so read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29906980-lincoln-in-the-bardo">Lincoln in the Bardo</a> by George Saunders. A different style to what I'm used to, but a good read.

Last, but not least, I also got through <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30753841-salt-fat-acid-heat">Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking</a> by Samin Nosrat, also watching the first two episodes of her Netflix series. A great twist on a cookbook, explaining fundamentals of flavour before the recipies. I can't wait to put the ideas into practice. I have already bought some high quality salt for the kitchen!

Work

I'm currently providing freelance consulting and development for a few clients. The main job in January has been making changes to a product that I developed last year. It was tested in November and December whilst I was away, and we're now preparing to bring it to market. The next couple of months will be spent fleshing out the various systems needed for sales, delivery and support. Watch this space!

As always, I'm keen to hear from you if you need help with developing a technical product, and building a business around it. Get in touch with me via <a href="https://telaco.com/">telaco.com</a> to start a conversation.

Wellington for Christmas

Sat, 22 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I'm spending Christmas Wellington with my family. A week of rest before I head home. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Zealandia

Wellington has an eco-sanctury in the middle of the city. Zealandia is a project that aims to restore one of Wellington's valleys to a pre-human state over a 500 year period.

Several species of wildlife have been re-introduced into the area, which is protected from predators by bio-security fences. It's a lovely place to visit for an afternoon stroll. We saw Kaka, New Zealand robin, Kereru, Saddleback, Hihi, Tuatara and Tui. You can find out more about the project on the <a href="https://www.visitzealandia.com">Zealandia website</a>.

Terracotta Warriors at Te Papa

I went to see the Chinese <a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/exhibitions/toi-art/terracotta-warriors-guardians-immortality">Terracotta Warriors - "Guardians of Immortality"</a> at Te Papa Museum. It was well worth the visit. Well presented with other artifacts from surrounding eras.

Kaikoura Seal Colony, New Zealand

Sun, 16 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Walking the Heaphy Track (again!)

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Walking the Heaphy Track is one of my most treasuered memories. I <a href="/journal/heaphy-track">walked the Heaphy Track in 2017</a>, so was keen to return to dig deeper into what it offers: enjoying cool mornings, bright sunshine, vibrant tussock and wild west coast beaches.

This year I walked the track with my parents. They heard me talk about last year, so wanted to give it a go too. I am very glad to be able to spend time hiking with my family in a beautiful part of the world. I'd recommend the four day tramp to people of any age.

The Heaphy offers a great range of experiences. One of my favourite things about the hike is the transition from beech forest, up and over onto downs of red tussock, through palms, and out onto the wild west coastline with long beaches. There are a lot of different landscapes in a short time. The views aren't as classically spectacular as some of the other Great Walks, but the Heaphy Track feels more intimate with the environment. Lots of trees, ferns, mosses and other plants. The diversity of views and wildlife is what makes this special.

Brown Hut to Perry Saddle

The trailhead is at Brown Hut, a 45 minute drive from Collingwood. You can also fly to a field a few km away (and get a taxi-transfer, or just walk it). Collingwood is a great place to start your day, with a coffee and bite to eat from the Courthouse Cafe.

The first day is an ascent through the beech forest, finishing at either Perry Saddle Hut or Gouland Downs Hut. Perry Saddle is large and modern, Gouland Downs is small and old, but with character!

Gouland Downs

Once you get out of the beech forest you enter Gouland Downs, a plateau with rolling hills of red tussock. The view across the downs on the second morning is one of my favourite of the track. Last year it was fresh and sunny, this year a mix of sunshine and then mist. It was atmospheric, and nice to see in a different light.

Birds

I was very excited to see two Takehē! I saw two in Te Anau sanctuary before I left for the walk, and the same two with chicks the previous year, so was pleased to see they have released some in Kahurangi National Park to establish another wild mainland population. There are around 300 ish Takehē left in the world - it's an endangered species. Fingers crossed for their success.

I also saw Kereru, New Zealand Robin, Tomtit, Weka, Fantail, Paradise Duck and Oystercatcher.

I also found out the Maori name for Fantail was Piwakawaka, which I think is very suitable and great. It squeaks a lot.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The West Coast

The second main highlight of the walk is the transition from forest to coast. The Heaphy Hut is an excellent place to stay (despite the sandflies). We were treated to both mist and sunshine, and a beautiful sunset.

I look forward to returning to the Heaphy Track. I get the feeling this isn't my last time walking it!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Useful links

Running around Lake Matheson

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Tramping on the Kepler Track

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The Kepler Track is one of New Zeland's "Great Walks" - a circuit that loops around the ridges opposite Te Anau in Fiordland. After doing the Milford, the Kepler was the next hike, as both can be done based out of Te Anau. It features beautiful mountains, caves, Kea, and lush forests.

Te Anau to Luxmore Hut

The first day starts at the Kepler Track trail head, just outside Te Anau. The first few Km of the walk leads you along the shores of Lake Te Anau, then turning to ascend up the hill to Luxmore Hut. The view once I excited the treeline was spectacular back over the lake and town.

As it was a sunny day, I went and visited the Luxmore Caves (crawled into the third wee cavern to take a look), and then another couple of hours up to the summit of Mount Luxmore. Glad I did for the view! The sunset back at Luxmore Hut was beautiful, casting light through the mountains and onto the lakeshore opposite.

Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut

The next day was more overcast, leading to beautiful dappled light on the mountains as the sun broke through the clouds. The ridge walk was the main event of the day, with spectacular views. Luckily we were spared strong winds, so the walk was easy.

We then descended to Iris Burn Hut, through the trees. I took the side route to the waterfalls for a dip in the pool, spotting the endangered Whio Blue Duck and ducklings on the way back to the hut.

Iris Burn Hut to Te Anau via Moturau Hut

The last day I combined days three and four of the official route into one. I walked 30km from Iris Burn back to Te Anau, through the lush beech forests. It was a warm day, so took a dip in the lake at Moturau. An excellent end to the walk.

Milford Track, Fiordland, New Zealand

Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The Milford Track has been known as "The Finest Walk in the World" - and is one of New Zealand's "Great Walks". Located in the heart of Fiordland, it runs 54km from Lake Te Anau through to Milford Sound via the Mackinnon Pass.

One of the benefits of the Milford Track is that because everyone walks it in the same direction you get to know the other walkers hiking the track well. You can walk in peace and solitude (you can time it right!), but there are friendly faces along the way, at the beginning and end of each day.

Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

The first day was very relaxed: a coach from Te Anau to Te Anau Downs, followed by a boat ride to Glade Wharf (about twenty minutes plus an hour, both coach and boat bookable via the DoC alongside the hut bookings), followed by a 5km walk to Clinton Hut. The guided tours have even less distance to walk. We passed a wetland area with beautiful vibrant mosses.

A short distance further on the track from Clinton Hut there is a bank of earth that is home to a colony of Glow Worms. The ranger pointed out the location to us on their "nature talk". It was great to see the Glow Worms, and I even managed to get a few pictures.

It was a beautiful and clear night, so I managed to get some excellent star photos, lying down on the emergency helipad at the hut.

Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

The second day was a tramp along the Clinton River. What a beautiful hike! The river had such vibrant greens and blues, the clouds around the mountains in the morning. The walk opened up into a Glacial Valley with waterfalls streaming down the sides.

I saw a pair of nesting Kereru (New Zealand Pigeons), and some Toutouwai (New Zealand Robin).

Mintaro Hut is nestled at the bottom of the MacKinnon Pass, giving us an excellent preview of the next days hike.

Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

The third day is the most spectacular of the trail, the climb up and over MacKinnon Pass. The day started off misty, with the sun quickly burning off the clouds as we ascended. At the "Australia shaped rock" that the Hut Ranger pointed out, we exited the tree-line for the final zig-zags to the top.

At the top we were greeted by playful Kea, the alpine parrot, as we rested at the Quintin McKinnon Memorial. The views at the top were spectacular, over into the Arthur Valley and back down the Clinton Valley. There was a real difference between the lush green below and the yellows and oranges of the apline tussock against the backdrop of rocks and snow.

The MacKinnon Pass Shelter probably has the toilet with one of the best views in the world! We saw a small avalanche in the distance as we walked around to the Shelter. The main track was closed for this reason, so we descended using the Emergency Track.

A quick side-route diversion to see the Sutherland Falls, one of the highest drops in New Zealand, and we were on our way down to Dumpling Hut to be greeted by swarms of Sandflies.

Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

The last day we walked along the river banks, yet again admiring the blues and greens of the water. There were tremendous views both up and down the river at the suspension bridge just past Boat Shed, but sadly no glimpse of the famous New Zealand eels.

Pausing at Giant's Gate waterfall, and then the final stretch down to Sandfly point to get picked up by the boat.

On the way back, I was lucky enough to see a family of Fantails feeding, which I managed to get on video:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

What a great walk, and not a drop of rain until the final few moments. I really appreciated both the friendly Hut Rangers, and all the people I met on the track. It was great to share the walk with you!

Next up, after a days rest in Te Anau, is the Kepler Track.

Useful Links

<ul> <li> <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/milford-track/"> Department of Conservation - Milford Track </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.newzealand.com/in/feature/milford-track/"> New Zealand Tourism: Milford Track </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Track"> Milford Track on Wikipedia </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/forest-and-mountain-birds/"> DoC: Forest and mountain birds </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/bird-songs-and-calls/"> DoC: Bird song recordings </a> </li> <li> <a href="http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/?q=location-search&field_location_term_id=306&field_location_term_value=Milford%20Track%20&%20Sound"> New Zealand Birds Online: Milford Sound </a> </li> </ul>

Mount Cook, New Zealand

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

My first stop off in New Zealand was Mount Cook, for a short walk up the Tasman and Hooker Valleys. The scenery was great, and I got a glimpse of Mount Cook through the clouds!

Sydney & The Blue Mountains, Australia

Sat, 10 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The first destination of my Australia-New Zealand trip was in the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west of Sydney. This week is family week as we travel to my wee brothers wedding. We stayed in three places: Mount Tomah, Hampton and Wentworth Falls.

We had a quick lunch in Bondi, and took in some of the "Sculptures by the Sea" exhibiton that runs from Bondi to Tamara.

Mount Tomah

Our first Airbnb was a woodland retreat at <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/nnup9kgMjCJ2">Mount Tomah</a>, two hours up the main highway north of the Blue Mountains. It was just a few minutes away from the <a href="https://www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au/">Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens</a>, a peaceful place to spend a few days adjusting to the new timezone. There were beautiful red parrots in the garden, Bower and a Lyre Birds in the botanics.

We did some walking locally - including a stroll out to <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/KeGzJ6ayDmk">Pierce's Pass</a>. There were beautiful views over large cliffs, with a bush-covered valley below.

Hampton

Our second Airbnb was at <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/22734224">Wicketty Bank</a> on <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/Bp2FzoNRSBr">Wicketty War Road</a> in Hampton. This was to the west of the Blue Mountains park, with rolling hills and farmland. The Airbnb was excellent - a lovely house on the edge of a farm. It was great for reading, walking, and pottering about with my parents. I would highly recommend staying there!

There were walks down by the creek, with kangaroos hopping around, a wombat and an echidna:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The dawn chorus and sunrise were beautiful (sound on for the video!):

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

I took a GoPro video of my sunrise run down Wicketty War Road.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Kanangra-Boyd National Park

We drove south the the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/Npfj4nJfpeQ2">Jenolan Caves</a> through some windy roads with steep drops, and then after a quick visit, further south again to Kanangra-Boyd National Park (including 30km of dirt track). We walked to see the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/BozwqgkVYnC2">Kanangra Walls Lookout</a> and then down a track to the waterfall.

I managed to get a good photo of the waterfall and fallen trees using my new variable ND filter for my camera. Pleased to be using this trip to learn new photography skills.

Wentworth Falls

The last stop of the trip was in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/CZNraq7Nwds">Wentworth Falls</a>, towards the south of the Blue Mountains park on the route back to Sydney. We stayed at an Airbnb just a few minutes walk from the falls tracks. Despite rain on the first day we managed a nice walk. The second day was much improved, starting with a fresh morning run down the trails:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

We then drove over to Katoomba to see The Three Sisters formation, and visit scenic world. The experience there was quite touristy - good for people with accessibility issues or children - but not quite the same as the trail walking.

Later in the day we walked back through the trails and saw the waterfall at Wentworth Falls. The light was beautiful, and it was well worth the visit.

The last day we drove back to Sydney and wandered around by the Opera House and Botanics. My parents are off to my brother's in Wellington, and I'm off for a drive around Tasmania.

Prague, revisited

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I took a short break in Prague this week - Ryanair and AirBnb combined for a lovely cheap trip. We spent a day or two in Smíchov, a short walk from the center. I got the chance to test out my new Sony A7ii alongside my Sony RX100v.

Here are some photos I took around the city:

Blogged: How to Switch Off, on Rookie Oven

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I blogged over at Rookie Oven on "How to Switch Off" - a useful skill for freelancers and entrepreneurs.

It took me several years of freelancing to work out what diminishing returns felt like in practice. Now I have a set of habits and rituals around work that give me a much better work-rest balance, leading to a more productive and sustainable business and life.

You can read the full post over at Rookie Oven or listen to an audio version on Soundcloud:

Salamanca and Madrid

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT

July has been filled with weddings of good friends - and the end of July was Mark and Julia's in Salamanca. The city center is lovely to visit, with historic cathedrals, small streets and lots of opportunities for tapas and beer. I rounded off the weekend with a visit to Madrid to go to the Thyssen museum, which was excellent.

Here are some photos and two running videos from my trip:

A run around the Roman Bridge to the south of the center:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

A city center run at sunrise, through Plaza Major:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

If you have time in Madrid you should visit the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum. The audio tour is worth the small cost - it's pairing with the arrangement of galleries is great, and it leads you through the history and development of art from the 12th Century.

Leiden and Amsterdam

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I spent a long weekend visiting Leiden and Amsterdam for a wedding of some close friends. As usual, I had to take a run through the area!

Leiden is a lovely town. The route around the outside of the main canals is 6km, although it's probably better to run through the main streets of the town to see a little more of the sights. The video shows running along the main canal, from <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/iaKGWv6PkEJ2">Molen de Put</a>, a quick guest appearance by the Groom, past <a href="https://foursquare.com/v/de-bonte-koe/4c0d48ded64c0f47cf7a265d">De Bonte Koe</a> (a great wee pub), ending at <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/K2qQG5GJ7zo">Molen de Valk</a>. Although the main streets were a little busy for running, if you avoid market day then you'll be fine!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Leiden is only 40 mins train ride from Amsterdam, and 20 from the airport. I'd highly recommend spending a day here, you get the lovely houses and canals like Amsterdam, but at a smaller scale and slower pace.

It was so nice to see so many friends in the same place at the same time. A lovely city and set of venues to celebrate in. For a few years after University I was more focused on work and coding that I should have been. It's weekends like this that bring home the value of keeping in touch with your friends, and making an effort to get together.

As I was passing through Amsterdam for two days I took the chance to go to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum (repeat visit!). Both are great, and are within walking distance of the center.

Cambo Estate for Chris and Claire's Wedding

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I spent a lovely weekend at the Cambo Estate to celebrate the wedding of Claire and Chris. The estate has a small woodland walk, and sits adjacent to the Fife Coastal Path. I ran a few Km on the path, and took a dip in the sea on the Sunday morning. A great place to visit.

Wishing the happy couple the best for the future!

Why I print photos every month

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

For several years I was a work-aholic. Stress, anxiety and burnout are just part of life for many freelancers, business owners and startuppers.

It's easy when you are self-driven to put in extra hours. You tell yourself "If I just work this weekend…", "I'll work on this tonight…", "I can't leave until I've finished…".

I'd pre-emptively flake on friends making plans - "I don't know how work will be that weekend", "I think I'll have a lot on that week". The truth is, I didn't know how busy I'd be. I was just prioritizing work due to false beliefs about what would happen if I didn't work all the time.

When I did find some down-time, I'd end up lazing around, alone and stewing about what I needed to get done.

Too much work leads to diminishing returns, and avoiding opportunities to refresh and recharge makes it harder to find those opportunities when you need them.

It meant that month-to-month I'd end up unbalanced, and not doing the things I love doing: being creative, running, and spending time with friends and family.

I'm someone who likes tracking, data and routine. I've spent a lot of time with fitness trackers, habit trackers and quantifying many aspects of my life.

But why didn't time-tracking lead to lasting change? I could see I was over-working; I could see that my calendar didn't have enough fun or personal-time on it, but why didn't I change? Why didn't I say yes more social things?

It's easy to hand-wave away events and commit to more work, and months and then years go by. You schedule in work events and leave space that gets filled with more work, or nothing at all.

I think my motivation to assess what I was doing and where I was spending my time didn't have that emotional connection.

To fix this I started a new happiness habit - I've started getting my photos printed.

Having a tangible, physical record of what you have done is very motivating. The act of selecting the photos forces you to confront what you have done, who you have seen and how you have felt over the previous month.

The photos I print aren't always of big events, sometimes it's a snap from a nice run, or a friend I have had coffee with. The prints provide an emotional connection to the small events in your life, which each build up to who you are over the year.

The prints arriving in the post and looking through them provides a good prompt to plan events for the following month - what will I regret missing out on this month? What am I looking forward to doing? Who am I looking forward to seeing?

To build this habit, on the 1st of every month I quickly go through my phone and select the best photos from the previous month. The 1st is an arbitrary date, so I do it even if I'm in the middle of something fun. The trigger of "it's a new month" is always there, and it's an easy hook to build the habit on.

Label the envelopes and stick them in a shoebox - look back at what you've done every quarterI label the envelope, and stick them in a shoebox for review every few months.

I use <a href="http://dl.lalalab.com/Lala-Love">LaLaLab for printing</a> - it usually costs lest than a fiver for my photos. If you want to try the service sign up with my referral code PG59DL6T and get £5 in credit for your account (I get a credit too).

Please <a href="https://twitter.com/jamiemchale">do let me know</a> if you try this happiness habit - I'd love to hear from you!

With thanks to <a href="http://twitter.com/people4strategy">Ian Robertson</a> for reviewing a draft of this post.

Prague

Tue, 22 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I spent the last week in Prague, for a weekend stag-do, but with a few days either side to get to know the city. I went for two runs, with GoPro videos for both. On <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1579496866">the first run</a>, I ran through the old town, touching the bottom of Wenceslas Square, before heading back over Manesuv most and Petrin Hill.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

On the second run I ran up the left bank, across the Charles Bridge, back across Čechuv Most and up to the Metronome. After a short break to take a timelapse video, I ran through Letenska plan and into the Castle grounds from a north garden entrance. There was no queue here, unlike on the opposite entrances from the town. I ran through the Castle, exiting at the South Gardens, then over Petrin Hill back to the AirBnB.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The Stag was good fun, as we ran into a wine and food festival on the banks of the river. Local rosé and cheese toasties - great stuff! It was so nice down on the banks of the river in the sun.

Places I enjoyed on the trip were: Restaurant and Bar

Kozlovna in Smichov, serving up Czech food and beer;
Vinarna U Sudu which has lots of underground cellars in which to drink;
JAM Cafe to watch a live swing band;
MindMaze for an escape room adventure; and the
National Gallery, where I saw a Klimt exhibition.

Here are some photos I took around the city:

Harrogate, Brimham Rocks

Sat, 12 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I visited friends in Harrogate, and did my first ever Parkrun, 5km around The Stray in around 22.30.

A visit to Brimham Rocks, about 30 minutes drive from Harrogate.

A stroll around Swinsty Reservoir.

London Marathon 2018

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

On Saturday I ran the London Marathon 2018 - clocking in 4:58:18 in 23 degree heat (Runner #10425). The aim was to finish, and I made it. A fulfilling way to spend my 35th birthday - one more thing ticked off the bucket list!

It was a great experience. The crowds and other runners were amazing, and I really appreicated the support of my friends who turned up to keep my motivation going in the home stretch.

The first photo is Gordon walking down to Finsbury Park Station in the morning, the second, me collapsing after the finish.

Looking at the run, it seems clear that I need to work on my pacing and energy conservation. I ran my usual pace in the first half, and despite having short bursts of energy, didn't really get any of the pace back. I picked up a little towards the end, as I knew I was going to complete, and could judge what I could do without overheating.

I'm looking forward to entering some more races, and trying to bring my time down a notch.

Rakiura Track, New Zealand

Wed, 13 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Milford and Doubtful Sounds, New Zealand

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Routeburn Track, New Zealand

Sat, 09 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The Routeburn is one of the most popular Great Walks of New Zealand, run by the Department of Conservation. I did the walk over three days (although the third day was only an hour or so), staying at Routeburn Falls and Lake Howden Hut. The weather was beautiful on the first day, and then rainy on the second and third. It made for some dramatic walking with the waterfalls!

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Heaphy Track, New Zealand

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The Heaphy Track was one of the best walks I've done. A beautiful walk through varied landscapes, with perfect weather, great huts and a sense of remoteness. It takes you from the Golden Bay area on the north coast of South Island over to the West Coast.

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

Day one was a 17km walk from Brown Hut to Perry Saddle. The walk ascends through beech forest, with occasional view over the ranges. I was caught in a large rain shower just as I reached Aorere Shelter. The clouds cleared as I reached Perry Saddle for sunset. The hut was well built, spacious, and half empty.

On day two I walked 24km from Perry Saddle to James Mackay Hut. This was probably my favourite day from the whole trip. I got up with the sunrise, watching the mist clear from the valley. The sun opened up blue skies, and a freshness in the air. I left the hut early and walked out to Gouland Downs. It was really beautiful reaching 'Picnic table corner' where the view opens out to the downs. I stopped to take photos as a Weka pecked around my feet. You could see the Gouland Downs hut and the 'enchanted forest' in the distance.

I stopped in at Gouland Downs Hut for a snack and a sit down. The forest afterwards was a twisted track with hanging moss and caves, an interlude in the open and winding track through the tussock grass.

I stopped for lunch at Saxon Hut, which was very picturesque, with clouds billowing over the downs and Perry Saddle back up the track. Reaching James Mackay hut you can climb the nearby mountains for a view down to the mouth of the Heaphy River, the destination on the following day.

Day three was a 20km walk down from James Mackay Hut to Heaphy Hut on the coast. The walk was a little more overcast, through beech forest to Lewis Hut (where there were many, many sandflies), abruptly changing to palm forest with some giant trees to Heaphy Hut.

At Heaphy Hut there were lots of sandflies on the beach, but I still wrapped up and went out to watch the fantastic sunset as the dull clouds of the day cleared.

Day four was a 16km walk from the Heaphy Hut down the coast to the Kohaihai River mouth. It was a beautiful selection of beaches, rocks, palms, and mist rising off the native bush.

The Heaphy is one of the lesser visited of the Great Walks (6k people per year, compared to 40k for the Abel Tasman), but it's well worth a visit. You can find out more about the track, including hut bookings, on the <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/heaphytrack">DOC Heaphy Track Website</a>.

Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Here are some photos from the Tongariro Crossing - one of the Great Walks of New Zealand, and the only walk I did on the North Island. Despite being very misty, descending the crater the mist cleared and the views were spectacular and dramatic. I would certainly return given the opportunity.

The Red Center, Australia

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The first part of my Southern Hempisphere trip was to the "Red Center" of Australia. I took a few days to drive a route from Alice Springs around King's Canyon, Uluru (Ayres Rock), and the Olgas. It was a beautiful and memorable trip, although the driving was exhausting.

I flew from Sydney to Alice Springs, staying at the <a href="https://www.yha.com.au/hostels/nt/central-australia/alice-springs-backpackers-hostel/">Alice Springs YHA</a>, an old outdoor cinema with Art Deco stylings.

In Alice Springs I climbed Anzac Hill for both sunset and sunrise, which was worth it for the view over the city. I visited the Reptile Center, a small but worthwhile tourist stop. It was quite an intimate location, where you can get up close to a variety of snakes and other reptiles.

On the first full day I rented a van from Apollo Campers, and then started the very long drive to King's Canyon. There isn't anything between any of the locations, just desert, with a small number of stations for gas, food and a rest. I was surprised at the amount of bush there was, and the sections with lots of small purple flowers.

Day two was King's Canyon in the morning. As the morning was overcast I decided to do the full rim-walk around the edge of the canyon, plus some side routes. It was very windy at the top, I occasionally thought I'd get blown off the edge. Worth it for the dramatic views. The rocks were beautifully patterned, from wind erosion, and the old markings of tides and water from millions of years ago. I took a video of the walk:

Inside the canyon you drop down to the "Garden of Eden", an oasis in the middle of the red rocks. No one was around, so I spent 15 minutes sitting at the edge of the pool enjoying the silence. The clouds lifted as I exited the canyon, and I was treated to blue skies and orange rock, with the desert extending into the distance.

That afternoon I drove down to Uluru, getting there in time for a late afternoon walk around the base. The weather wasn't strikingly sunny, making the walk very pleasant, but the photos less so!

It was amazing to see such an iconic natural monument up close. It was far more pitted and scarred than I have previously imagined. There was a lot of wildlife and flowers around the base. It was strange seeing the important places for cultural ceremonies. I got the strong impression of the fragility of life on the edge, and of a distinct ecological niche for humans in this wild area.

The last day of the trip I spent the morning walking in Katja Tuja National Park, seeing the Olgas. These are an impressive collection of rock formations, rising out of the desert 45 minutes drive from Uluru and Ayres Rock Resort. There is a viewing platform towards the Katja Tuja end of the drive, and it has to be one of the best natural views on earth: in one direction Uluru sits in the distance, a vast sweep of desert, and then the Olgas rise up.

I walked through the Valley of the Winds first. It was fairly busy, with several walking groups there. The view from the Karingana Lookout was spectacular, a long gorge with a trail of trees leading off to more rock formations. There were lots of plants to look at, and flocks of small birds chirping away.

Most of the tour groups returned back down the path after the lookout, but I pressed on around the full route as the weather was overcast, so perfect for walking. It was a great feeling being so alone, I certainly got a sense of the grand scale of the place.

After walking through the Valley of the Winds I just about had enough time to walk up the Walpa Gorge, another impressive formation close to the entrance to the park. It started to rain a bit as I got to the end of the gorge. The crowds dispersed, and I had a nice sit down at the viewing platform at the end.

I drove back to Alice Springs that evening, and returned the camper the next day. My one disappointment for this trip was that I didn't see a single kangaroo! I guess I'll have to come back again!

Abel Tasman Coastal Track, New Zealand

Sun, 05 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The Abel Tasman Coastal Track is one of the Great Walks of New Zealand, run by the Department of Conservation. It runs from Marahu to Wainui Bay on the western end of the north coast of South Island. The walk typically takes 3-5 days, I walked the track to Totaranui over three days. I shot a video of my walk on my GoPro:

[Watch embedded video on YouTube]

The first day I walked from Marahu to Bark Bay Hut (24km), combining the recommended first two days into one. The track is well maintained, cutting along the hills and bays at the edge of the sea. I saw a small family of Weka feeding on a beach; they seem fairly friendly towards people.

I paused to have lunch at Anchorage Bay, a beautiful beach where the first recommended hut is located. Beautiful clear water, blue skies and glittering beaches.

The hut is set back behind a small inlet, with the campsite located on a short spur between the inlet and the wider bay.

Day two was 13.5km from Bark Bay to Awaroa Hut. The weather was fantastic. Although this day was shorter than the previous day there was still a fair amount of up-and-down to contend with. I wish I'd brought my walking poles to save my knees on the descents! The weather was pretty hot; I left massive sweat marks on the benches I sat on.

The hut was large, with communal shared-bunk rooms and a filtered water tap. It sits on the edge of Awaroa Bay, which is perfect for a dip to get out of the heat. We were treated to a beautiful sunset over the hills, reflected in the water of the bay.

On the third day I walked from Awaroa Hut to Totaranui. The first part of the walk across Awaroa Bay is determined by the tide times, as you have to wade through water to reach the opposite side. I'd recommend brining a light pair of flip-flops for this part (and to wear in the huts) as the water was too high for boots in places, and the shells are sharp when going barefoot! I spotted some Pied Shags drying themselves on the beaches en-route. I decided to call off the walk at Totaranui, as my knees were fragile from adjusting to walking with a heavy pack, and I didn't want to ruin the Heaphy Track that I was doing two days later.

Snowdonia — Beddgelert and Snowdon

Wed, 31 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

I spent a few days over the English bank holiday weekend in Snowdonia — camping at <a href="http://www.caeducampsite.co.uk/">Cae Du Campsite</a> near Beddgelert.

On the first day we walked a loop through Beddgelert, Aberglaslyn path, Nantmor, Cwm Bychan, touching on Llyn Dinas before heading back to the campsite.

Beddgelert is famous for the legend of Gelert the dog, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelert">mistakenly slain by his master</a>. Gelert’s Grave and statue is near the path from Beddgelert to Nantmor, at the start of the Aberglaslyn gorge, a beautiful riverside walk.

After Nantmor we climbed the small valley past old mining relics, and then down to Llyn Dinas, the lake near the campsite.

We stopped in at the Copper Mine museum for a coffee in their cafe, and ate wood-fired pizza at the campsite.

The second day we climbed Snowdon — starting north east of Beddgelert on the Watkin Path, one of the tougher routes up the mountain.

The walk started in a small forest, climbing up past waterfalls, and into a large long valley. It was hot, cloudy and full of midges. We stopped briefly at the Gladstone Rock (commemorating a speech by the Liberal Prime Minister in 1892), before the long slog upwards.

The last bit of the Watkin Path was over scree and boulders, a little more difficult than other routes. By the summit the route was filled with bank holiday crowds. The view at the top was non-existent, thanks to the clouds, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Summit Cafe and Railway Station (<a href="https://www.snowdonrailway.co.uk/">yes, you can get there by train</a>!), and then headed down the South Ridge.

About twenty minutes after leaving the summit the clouds opened up for some blue sky. We stopped and sat on the grass with views back to the summit in one direction and the sea in the other.

We headed back down, and rejoined the Watkin trail back to the car park. Dinner at the Tanronnen Inn, and ice-cream from the cafe across the road, made a good end to a fun day.

If you haven’t been, Snowdon is well worth a visit. Family friendly and easy routes up to the top, and some spectacular scenery. The only drawback of this trip were the millions of midges — making the evenings on the campsite and the first part of the ascent a mini-hell.

Cumbria Way

Sun, 23 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The Cumbria Way is a 5 day, 70 mile walk through the Lake District in the north of England. I completed the walk in Easter 2017 with two friends.

Day One Starts in Ulverston, where there is a sculpture depicting the route near the center of town. The morning walk goes through the countryside, farmland and fields.

The landscape transitions after lunch, up and over the hills past Beacon Tarn to the shores of Coniston Water. We stayed at Coniston YHA.

Day Two is Coniston to Great Langdale. The route passes around Tarn Hows, and then along the Great Langdale Valley. It was lambing season, and we were followed for a mile by a flock of sheep. We stayed at Great Langdale Bunkhouse, which provides very basic facilities. We got food and drink from the adjacent Sticklebarn Tavern, a good place to hang out, as the bunkhouse has no cooking or communal area.

On Day Three the route winds along the valley, over Stake Pass, descending through the villages of Stonethwaite and Rosthwaite. We walked along the River Derwent, Derwent Water, and ended up in Keswick. We stayed in a hostel on the outskirts of Keswick, getting dinner at one of the bars in the town center.

Day Four goes from Keswick over to Caldbeck. There are two routes here, one for good weather, and a longer road route for foul weather. We were fortunate that there was just a small shower of rain in the morning, but it turned into a bright and beautiful day by the afternoon.

The route goes past Skiddaw House, a remote YHA Hostel, through the fells and across High Pike. The route to High Pike was very boggy and tiring. We were glad of a seat in the Lingy Hut near the top. The view was excellent, across the Solway Firth to Scotland. We stayed at Hudscales Camping Barn, which provides a communal dorm, shower and microwave.

Day Five is the final stage from Caldbeck to Carlisle. We stopped in Caldbeck for a morning coffee, and again in Dalston for afternoon tea. It’s mostly fields and forest, ending up on a slightly anti-climatic footpath into the center of Carlisle.

Overall this was a pleasant route to walk, not too challenging, with great views. The middle three days were the most rewarding. You can find out more information (including route diversions) from <a href="http://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/group-finder/areas/lake-district/the-cumbria-way.aspx">The Ramblers Association</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_Way">Cumbria Way Wikipedia</a>.

Whistler

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

I took a trip to Whistler in February for skiing with the family. My brother worked a ski season there around ten years ago, and now lives in New Zealand, so we’re glad to have had this opportunity to see him and to visit the resort to see where he spent his time. It was also a chance to test out the new Sony RX100V camera.

The first couple of days were excellent, with beautiful blue skies. We took the lifts up to the top of the mountain, and skied down the trails along the ridge.

The next few days were much snowier, with a lot of mist. This made for excellent, but occasionally worrying skiing. Due to the fresh fall of snow, much of the alpine area was closed for one day, so we stuck to the winding routes through the trees. The mountain got a lot busier on the Friday thanks to the fresh snow-fall, and we had to queue to access lifts for the first time.

Towards the end of the week we went up to Blackcomb Glacier, around the back of Blackcomb Mountain. It’s accessed via Hortsman Hut, a quick ski down to the Showcase T-bar and then a small scramble up to the glacier entrance. The powder was deep which was a bit tricky for a not-so-experienced skier like me, but the views were well worth it. The trail down Glacier Road runs down the side of the mountain, and was also fun to ski down.

The last couple of days opened up a bit, giving us the chance to get higher up and see more of the views again.

Thanks for the memories Canada!

The Data Lab Challenge Competition

Mon, 06 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

This weekend was the second installment in <a href="http://www.thedatalab.com/">The Data Lab</a> Challenge Competition with <a href="http://www.productforge.io">Product Forge</a>. The Challenge is a series of hackathons for Data Science students in Scotland. Students build data-oriented projects and reports that aim to deliver a tangible benefit for Scotland.

I was invited to mentor at the weekend, providing support and advice for the teams, and to help prepare some of the data sets.

There are a wide range of data sets that Product Forge have <a href="http://usmart.io/#/org/productforge">published on USmart</a>, including a repository of <a href="https://usmart.io/#/org/isdscotland/discovery">NHS ISD data</a>, for the students to build on.

After seeing the teams work, and listening to the pitches, the key takeaways for me from the weekend were:

Teams do better when they just get started, rather than searching for the ‘perfect’ idea or data set.
Teams do better by building incrementally, rather than trying to do it all at once.
Teams do better when they focus on specific questions they can ask of the data they have, rather than hoping a revelation pops out of the exploration process.

I’m looking forward to the final challenge hack in May — to see what all the teams end up producing. For more news on this, and further hacks follow <a href="https://twitter.com/DataLabScotland">The Data Lab</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/productforge">Product Forge</a> on Twitter.

Glentrool, Galloway Forest Park

Sun, 02 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT

A great way around Loch Trool today — an 8km stroll lochside and through trees. A beautiful autumn feeling in the air, with magnificent Scottish scenery.

Parking is available both at the foot of the loch, and (paid) at the Glentrool Visitors Center, a small cafe at the entrance to the area. The walk is fairly easy, and can be completed in around 3 hours including time for lunch and photos. A description of the route is available on Walkhighlands.

Cairnsmore of Fleet

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Photos from an afternoon walk at the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Cairnsmore+of+Fleet/@54.9913365,-4.3754733,7629m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4862f41f6511badd:0x9bb80f852a09368c!8m2!3d54.9754722!4d-4.3433333">Cairnsmore of Fleet Nature Reserve</a>.

Shelter Scotland Product Forge Hackathon

Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMT

I had the pleasure of attending the <a href="http://productforge.io/events/shelter-scotland-product-forge/">Shelter Product Forge 2016</a> at Codebase this weekend. There were seven teams hacking around products and services to alleviate the causes and burdens of homelessness.

There were a few key takeaways from the event: there is a homelessness crisis in Scotland, affecting tens of thousands of people each year; homelessness encompasses a far broader set of issues that just rough sleeping; the problem of connecting people to the right services, and obtaining data on the true extent of problems is difficult.

We heard from members of the Shelter Scotland team who helped explore the issues, and outlined some of the services available. You can find out more information on their work on the <a href="http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/">Shelter Scotland Website</a>.

You can watch the final presentations on the <a href="http://productforge.io/livestreams/2016/07/31/shelter-scotland-product-forge-presentations/">Product Forge Live Stream site</a>, and find out more about the next Product Forge event: “<a href="http://productforge.io/events/future-libraries-product-forge/">Future Libraries</a>”.

Amsterdam

Mon, 20 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT

I went to Amsterdam this weekend to visit the city and Van Gogh museum — a wee birthday treat, booked back in April.

The Van Gogh Museum was excellent. I am a big fan of Van Gogh and this visit was an opportunity to see some of his works up close. The museum is located on Museumplein, close to the center of the city. We went on a Friday night, when the museum is open until 10pm. They have music and Van Gogh-themed video projections in the lobby area, and serve up G&T and beers for visitors.

The museum was excellent, with three floors taking you through Van Gogh’s life, influences, family and friends. Taking in all the works was manageable in the few hours we spent there — highly recommended.

I was a big fan of the “Nine Streets” and Jordaan area — lots to explore, with small cafes, bars and restaurants. The center of Amsterdam has a really distinct character, and lovely architecture. I’m less of a fan of the area over the other side of the center, which seemed to be filled to the brim with gawkers and tourists in the Red Light District. Do they not know that there are excellent sandwiches just a few streets west?!

Amsterdam is a bike city — I was really impressed by their cycling infrastructure. It made me wish that Edinburgh had even half the level of provision for walkers and cyclists. The trams were also excellent, hop on and off to easily get around the city. You can pick up travel cards from the tourist travel center by Amsterdam Centraal Station.

We walked around the gardens of The Rijksmuseum to see the sculptures and monuments. There was an exhibition of tree and boulder sculptures by Giuseppe Penone, which were striking and impressive.

There was a monthly market by the Iamsterdam sign in front of the Rijksmuseum — craft, art and fashion stalls, plus some street food and coffee.

We managed a quick run in the Vondelpark — I try to run in every new city I visit. It was 7km round, plus up Albert Cuyp market street. A good flat run, and as with everywhere in Amsterdam, full of bikes. You really have to pay attention to where you are going!

The food was good throughout — thanks Foursquare! We tried the recommended Dutch snacks of Stroopwafels, poffertje and waffles; sandwiches from{" "}

Singel 404, and De Wasserette ; and evening meals at Sama Sebo, The Pantry, and Ali Ocakbaşı.

The Pantry was one of the few restaurants advertised as traditional “Dutch” on Foursquare. It was a little touristy, but worth a visit. The food was based mainly on sausages and potatoes — possibly more suited to a cold winters evening than a summers day! The pea-soup starter was surprisingly excellent (excellent pea soup, who knew!). The waiter heard me deliberating over whether to get the soup or pickles and ham for a starter, so solved my dilemma presenting me with a small pre-starter pickle gift with a Dutch flag. I love pickles, so this made my day.

Lastly, if you are looking for a place to stay in Amsterdam, check out

<a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/7878623">Hanane’s Airbnb listing</a>. It’s a cosy apartment located just on the southern edge of the central district. It’s within walking distance of the museums, a street market on the doorstep and two minutes from a tram stop.

Dank je wel , Amsterdam!

Walking the Dales to Lakes

Sun, 03 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT

I joined my good friend Aileen for the last two days of her walk along the Dales Way, a walking route that runs from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere.

We spent the first night camped at Ewegales Farm in Cowgill. The facilities were a little basic — a farmers field and a lean-to toilet and shower room at the farm cottage. Not somewhere you’d want to go on a family camping holiday, but fine for pitching, sleeping and getting going with walking.

It was misty and wet — but the day soon improved.

We walked first to Dent, and then on to Sedbergh to catch a (very) late lunch. Cafe Duo in Sedbergh was excellent for food and coffee, with a butchers shop around the corner for pies and rolls for the journey.

We made a quick visit to the Pepperpot, a recently restored Sedbergh historical site (guided by Sedbergh School archivist Katy de la Rivière, thanks Katy!) and continued on alongside the River Lune.

The sun started to go down, and our late start caught up with us. Although we saw beautiful sunsets and layered purples across the Dales, we did end up in the middle of a field in the dark. Not a great place to be without a detailed map!

We camped at Low Barn that night, making use of their small caravan. It was very friendly, and lovely location.

The next day was rainy, heading through rolling hills towards the Lake District. We stopped in at Staveley and ate lunch at Wilf’s Cafe, next to the Hawkshead Brewery. I visited the Brewery Shop to pick up a couple of victory beers for the end of the journey.

The last few miles to Bowness-on-Windermere were very wet and muddy. We ended the walk at the Royal Oak Pub, who provided us with beer, food and an open fire. An excellent couple of days.

Madrid

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT

A quick jaunt over to Madrid this weekend — thanks to Easyjet cheap flights out of Edinburgh.

We stayed nearby Opera in a small AirBnb studio, on a backstreet in the older part of town. The cathedral was modern, full of vibrant colours, the adjacent Royal Palace impressive. The city was grander than Seville and Barcelona: larger plazas and fewer winding backstreets in our area. The parks were lovely, with interesting attractions like the <a href="https://foursquare.com/v/templo-de-debod/4adcda37f964a520113c21e3">Templo De Deboro</a>, and views to the mountains in the distance.

The food was great — check out the Mercado de San Miguel for food stalls, tapas and drinks in the mid-evening. Museo del Jamon was good for a quick daytime ham and cheese sandwich with a cheap beer to wash it down.

I love to run in every new place I visit. An <a href="http://rnkpr.com/abx58a0">8km route</a> at the edge of the <a href="https://foursquare.com/v/templo-de-debod/4adcda37f964a520113c21e3">Casa de Campo</a> was well worth it for the views and the fresh winter sunshine. The park is huge, I would have loved to have had more time to explore and run the rest. There is a cable car that can get you up to the top of the hill if you don’t fancy the run — and a lake near the entrance where you can grab refreshments. Looking forward to returning to Spain in the (hopefully) not-to-distant future!

Thought for the day: feelings are like water

Sun, 09 Aug 2015 00:00:00 GMT

A quote from Knausgårds first book in the My Struggle series:

<blockquote> “Feelings are like water, they always adapt to their surroundings. Not even the worst grief leaves traces; when it feels so overwhelming and lasts for such a long time, it is not because the feelings have set, they can’t do that, they stand still, the way water in a forest mere stands still.” <cite>— Karl Ove Knausgård, A Death In The Family</cite> </blockquote>

We are responsible for shaping the ground over which our feelings flow.

<blockquote> "When we are no longer able to change a situation — ...we are challenged to change ourselves." <cite>— Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning</cite> </blockquote>

It is the assumption of that responsibility, and our response to life’s questions that makes us who we are.

Thought for the day: John Adams

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT

A thought for the day from the life of John Adams, 2nd President of the United States:

<blockquote> On July 21, 1756, he wrote: “I am resolved to rise with the sun and to study Scriptures on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings, and to study some Latin author the other three mornings. Noons and nights I intend to read English authors. . . . I will rouse up my mind and fix my attention. I will stand collected within myself and think upon what I read and what I see. I will strive with all my soul to be something more than persons who have had less advantages than myself.” But the next morning he slept until seven and a one-line entry the following week read: “A very rainy day. Dreamed away the time.” </blockquote>

The exceptional are human too. Don’t beat yourself up for the occasional dreaming day. Taken from <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/john-adams/oclc/45827978">John Adams by David McCulloch</a>. Cross-posted on <a href="https://medium.com/@jamiemchale/a-thought-for-the-day-from-the-life-of-john-adams-2nd-president-of-the-united-states-9b309d75013">Medium</a>.

The quantified lives of others

Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The quantified self movement aims to provide us with the tools and techniques to collect and analyse data about the way we live, so we can take action to improve ourselves. As the devices we use to track ourselves become more mainstream, are we considering the impact that this vast collection of data has on the privacy of those around us?

There are many devices out there to help collect data on ourselves. From wearable pedometers, heart rate trackers and sleep monitors, to smart scales, air quality samplers and the ubiquitous smart phone.

<blockquote>What is that thing?</blockquote>

People don’t know why you would want to collect data about yourself or record so many aspects of your life. It can be seen as geeky, or slightly creepy. The motives behind the quantified self movement are not yet widely understood.

Many people don’t recognise wearable personal tracking devices yet. When they do, they often have concerns over what the device can and can’t record. The headline-grabbing devices such as Google Glass are often paired with media attention to their privacy implications. So what are the risks with the collection of this data?

As data collection devices proliferate then it becomes easier to get a full picture of your life. Data collection is now automatic and not tied to a specific action such as a check-in. It’s always on.

Some see mobile tracking devices and apps as a form of participatory surveillance. You can decide to track and share your data with friends, clinicians, insurers, or a network of like-minded people.

<blockquote>“Is it recording me too?”</blockquote>

However, collecting data on yourself also collects data on others by proxy.

If you know what I have had for a meal then you likely know what the person I live with has had for a meal.When I share a bed with my partner, tracking my sleep tracks an approximation of their sleep.

As data is aggregated it will be easier to interpolate the lives of others.

Out of my data, we will be able to build a picture of your data too.

But, you did not consent to your data being tracked.

What responsibility do I have to you? What responsibility do we have as device and software developers to respect non-users privacy?

We are already feeling the effects of this data collection and sharing. Pity those people who told their partners they were having a quiet night out, but whose friends checked in at the pub and recorded a vast number of beers on Untapped.

Facebook has recently been <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-facebook-shadow-profile/">criticised for a bug that revealed the shadow profiles</a> of over six million of its users. This included users private emails and phone numbers, none of which they had consented to share. It is obvious that Facebook collects far more information than this on users from their friends, even when the user themselves does not use the site regularly.

Looking forward to the future, there is the prospect of insurance companies customising coverage based on self-reported data of you and your peers. Marketing companies predicting your preferences from those of your friends, supplementing the data they already collect on your buying habits.

Governments could now establish your political preference and monitor your activity based on data from the people you interact with. In light of the recent revelations of many countries putting large numbers of their own citizens under the dragnet of surveillance we have to ask: are our data-collecting peers participating in surveillance on our behalf?

What rights do we have to demand that our data not be collated by our peers, companies and Government?

These devices and apps are an exciting step in the quantified self movement, but we must remember that when designing these devices it isn’t just a single user that will be recorded - and consenting to being recorded - but all the people that person interacts with too.

Cross-posted to <a href="https://medium.com/quantified-self/the-quantified-lives-of-others-3ffa3f9281f2">Medium</a>.

West Highland Way

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Here are some photos from my hike of the West Highland Way with Gordon and Aileen.