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A human authored journal in search of novelty, exploring what we share, how we share, and where we’re going.

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Choose your own adventure [281]

Greetings from the garden bar...

Documentally

Jul 2, 2021

We are made of stories but sometimes forget we can change what we pretend to be.

You are lost in a strange, dimly lit cave. Gradually you can make out two passageways. If you’d like to know what i’ve been up to head towards ‘TheAction’.

Otherwise, head to ‘ThePictures’.

#TheAction

It wasn’t the smallest #1984Symposium ever but I think it was the longest. Even longer than the one that ended in the pub. Probably because I’d got there early in the morning to get some writing done.

This means that while present at the grave for most of the day, we got to chat with more random drop-ins. With less of a crowd, people felt happy to approach. All of them surprised to have visited on Eric’s birthday.

Next year the 25th of June falls on a Saturday. Get it in the diary. It would be great to see you there. We don't see nearly enough of one another.

Thanks to Amanda, Helen and David for being great company.

On around the 18th of June I discovered the challenge section of Strava. I tapped on the ‘400km in a month challenge’ not knowing that a week later i’d re-crack a rib while grafting in the garden. But i’m happy to say I still managed it.

We have a cycling group on the free version of @Wire and that has been quite the incentive. Let me know if you’d like to be added to the group.

#ThePictures

How to build a fictional world.

Speaking of fictional worlds, if you’ve looking for something light and easy on Netflix try ‘Sweet Tooth’ I’m not binge watching it. Just taking this charming post-apocalyptic pandemic based series a show or two a night. All my favourite stories are journeys, and this series has a few of them intertwined. At first I thought it might be good for my kids to watch but I’m thinking the Netflix rating of 12 is about right. Here’s the trailer.

Love this. I’d hang this on the wall. If we had space.

#TheWords

I was in the attic looking for something else and stumbled on an old copy of The Cave of Time. Later that day an image of the book popped up in my reading list. I took this as a sign to dig a little more and found a great post on how the book came into being.

Thanks to Iain Rowan for sharing this long read… The Yoghurt Mafia

#TheSound

Audio bloggers month a.k.a. #AudioMo is over. My workflow looked like this.

Bernie Goldbach has curated some other AudioMos into Spotify and here are all my posts in one place…

Day 01 / Day 02 / Day 03 / Day 04 / Day 05 / Day 06 / Day 07 / Day 08 / Day 09 / Day 10 / Day 11 / Day 12 / Day 13 / Day 14 / Day 15 / Day 16 / Day 17 / Day 18 / Day 19 / Day 20 / Day 21 / Day 22 / Day 23 / Day 24 / Day 25 / Day 26 / Day 27 / Day 28 / Day 29 / Day 30

It might be that a few are just older, but here are the top five listened posts. First Second Third Fourth Fifth. And here is the post with the fewest listens.

Although AudioMo is over, the community will continue to post to the #Audio365 tag throughout the year.

Episode 169 of the kitchen Sisters podcast features Gert McMullin, the Keeper of the Quilt. In 1985 she was one of the first to begin stitching the AIDS Quilt. It began with one memorial square in honour of a man who had died of AIDS. 33 years later and it now holds 95,000 names. This podcast features the history of Gay rights movement in San Fransisco and the origins of the quilt.

#TheConsumed

This portable chilli was a gift from David Charles. A great idea. The URL on the bottle doesn’t work but there are a few brands out there doing the same thing.

Thanks to CJ for a sample of this… Fragrant and delicious.

I still get whisky delivered every month but they have been piling up as our little online tasting group has been delayed for a couple of months. Looking forward to getting back together next week where we have some catching up to do.

Here is my referral link to WhiskyMe should you want to get a pouch of whisky through the door every month. They are now branching out into bourbon and rye.

#TheThings

My new bike arrived yesterday. It’s a Sonder Camino TI Force 1 Hydraulic from Alpkit. So. Happy.

I ordered it five months ago. There is just too much disruption in regards to manufacturing of components and shipping. Sourcing my own callipers meant I got it now and not November. Choosing hydraulic breaks also meant I’d get the bike earlier, but watching this video had me wondering if i’d made the right break choice. Thankfully I’m told that once set up I should never have to worry about them.

If you are interested in the full spec it’s equipped with: Sonder Alpha 700c HG wheels / 40x700c Tubeless Donnely Ex’plore tyres / Sonder Bomber 56cm handle bars / Brooks Cambium C17 carved saddle / Sonder Torque pedals / Sonder Juice Boost Dynamo hub / Sonder Mool Pannier Rack (when I need it).

Alpkit have been great to deal with. Good communication and a decent price. The bike got a ding during delivery and they are sending out a new stem to rectify the issue.

It’s bliss to ride. Both on and especially off road. The less aggressive flared drop bars are the most comfortable i’ve used and overall the bike feels far less delicate than a road bike and faster than a mountain bike. I wasn’t looking for speed but on a short ride today I broke 7 personal records.

After only 15miles in the saddle I feel it’s the most comfy, capable bike i’ve ever owned. The most expensive too. It cost half what I got for selling my motorbike and double what I paid for my Brompton. Thankfully the titanium frame should outlive me.

Thanks to Steve Upton my new Magloop antenna now has 3D printed fixing brackets to keep it in shape. Here is more info on this type of antenna.

I had a clear out of my clothing cupboard. I’m not one to throw much away as I fluctuate month to month in body shape depending on my chosen fitness regime. Or lack of one. As a result I’m in embarrassed to say I found 13 pairs of jeans. All of them fit but half are a bit baggy. Three of them are armoured for motorbike riding and a couple of the remaining I use for garden work. According to an unscientific poll on Twitter the acceptable number of jeans to own is between 1 and 3 pairs. Ooops.

Christian Payne @Documentally

How many pairs of jeans is it acceptable to own?

#TheThanks

I made this spot to thank paying subscribers. Those that drop the $5 or £3.64/month to get all the content I share into this feed. At time of writing there are 1,666 total subscribers of which 139 support this email. Thank you SO much.

Still undecided? Here is 10% off if you subscribe within 7 days.

#TheWeb

Nice little article on the Brooks website. Great portraits as well. I don’t care too much for racing in Africa but i’d certainly be keen to ride it’s wilder places.
Have you added yourself to the Documentally community map?
Could this be a new species of ancient human?
Have you seen the exciting places to visit on Smut3words?
Would you like to use your bike to show solidarity with refugees and get in the record books. Thighs of Steel have big things planned. Join them in creating the worlds largest bicycle powered GPS art! Check out the rides here.

#TheEnd

Thanks for reading.

Please consider subscribing. I’ve got some cool stuff planned for the supporters feed. Plus now AudioMo is over it’s time to get back to the podcast.

Have a great weekend. Now who fancies a ride?

“Make everything an adventure. Otherwise, it will suck.” ~ Nita Morgan

Branch out.

See you out there.

Over…