Now this weather.
#TheAction
All the immediate action is happening outside my window right now. And a bit further afield on the Isle of White there have been reports of winds reaching 122mph. Hope you are warm and sheltered.
With this busy last month, it’s been easy to put the non-essential fun stuff on the back burner as I attempt to up my workload. The thing I’ve missed the most is regular cycling. It’s been easier to walk the dog in icy wind than jump on a bike. But in this brief time out of the saddle I’ve put on almost 2kg in weight. 4.19lb to be precise. Granted there has been a lot of cake, and more celebratory drinks than usual. But it’s so good to get back on two wheels. Even in the driving rain.
So cycling has been a highlight of the week and to balance that out, a lowlight has been hitting brick walls on the internet. Especially attempting to verify my account with the crypto trading app Binance. I’m sure you have had your own user experience and communication nightmares in the past but it’s been a while since I have experienced anything quite this bad. I rarely add to the gazillion rants already on Twitter but I did have this mini lighthearted one.
Being pretty much paperless in regards to bills and or not having my name on many of the utility bills has made it impossible to meet the new criteria set by Binance. Life is too short and I’ve spent way more time than I am comfortable with faffing around in their convoluted system. So I’ve just extracted what little I have in there and will delete the account. Buyer/user/mugs beware ;-)
Still really happy with Ledger Live though. It just works.
In other news my lad had his first Covid jab and was really not very well immediately afterwards. It was a walk-in center and weirdly empty. After a sensitive caring pep talk from a nurse they administered the vaccine and then said they were no longer asking people to wait for 15 mins after the jab. I wish they had. It’s not his first vaccine but I think it was only the second time he has had an injection and he was really feint. He only just made it to the car before throwing up everywhere.
I was so proud of how he dealt with the situation. He wiped his mouth, scoffed the three ginger biscuits they gave him and asked to go to Subway.
He was as right as rain in no time.
#ThePictures
This should give you some inspiration should you want to get fancy shooting video with an action camera.
Although I can’t guarantee your camera will survive very long.
Looking forward to this film…
I rewatched ‘Stand By Me’ this week. Wow.
It’s hard to capture my feelings about this film.
I had friends like these. Some did time. Others died young. All those that survived did ok.
There was even a dead body down a dirt track. I’d actually walked past it on the way to school. My Dad found him later in the day.
Recently, 35+ years after we were twelve, a few of us met up in our old stomping ground. The three of us climbed through a hole in a fence and had an adventure. Only to get spotted and chased like giggling kids back out again. I have written about it in a past email. I thought of this film and how much it transcends time. How perfect a portrait it paints of so many childhoods.
Enjoying Dillon Marsh’s images as he visualises the output of various mines in South Africa.
#TheWords
Witness. An award winning short story by Jamel Brinkley.
How Einstein arrived at his theory of general relativity.
Time makes no sense to me. This tweet resurfaced this week.
It’s almost 6 years old and it feels like I shared it last year.
#TheSound
This podcast may well change your mind about wearing socks with socks sandals. In fact I think I might be a convert now I know what I know.
Even with most bills arriving in email I’m surrounded by paper in the shed. It’s still very much apart of my life even if I use very little in my work. This podcast is about the long history of paper and the prospect of a paperless future.
A while back I did a series in this dispatch entitled Documentally on Podcasting where I covered everything I thought you might need to know in order start your own podcast. If that is the kind of thing you might want to learn then it is there for all supporting subscribers. You could easily listen to all five episodes in a month. That’s only £3.68 for a podcasting course.
For those of you that want everything for nothing ;-) …this is the kind of thing I covered in the course… 10 great tips for getting better sounding vocal recordings.
#TheConsumed
I’m not on Vodafone but it looks to me that if you are you can get 25% off with Just Eat. Only once a week but if you do that kind of thing then that’s not a bad chunk off the bill.
In my list of 50 challenges to do this year was ‘try a new grape variety’. I assumed that meant try a new wine made from a grape I have never had. It’s hard to remember all the grapes in all the wines I’ve enjoyed, but I do not remember having either a Karazakiz or Bobal.
The Pasaeli was a blend of Merlot and Karazakiz grapes and went to make a light easy drinking wine. Having had a fair few Turkish wines when I talked at the European Wine Bloggers Conference it might be I have had it and forgotten. It was a little non descriptive for my palette and would have been easy to forget if I’d drank it before. although I really like the label design and would love to know what font the 6N is in.
The Bobal on the other hand was something special and i’m pretty sure I’ve not had this before. Robust and powerful without being too heavy. I’ll definitely be hunting this one out again. Especially as it was half the price of the Pasaeli.
#TheThings
10 things you might like to know about the Swiss Army Knife. But this is the actual knife that the Swiss army use since 2008. I very nearly just bought one in a sale but I really don’t need any more multitools.
There is no such thing as one mic to rule them all. But there are some phenomenal microphones doing a great job in their specific areas. The Lewitt LCT 1040 is one such mic.
Although this microphone has been prototyped for a while, it’s still the new kid on the block and though still fresh out it’s difficult to find a straight up opinion from a heavy user. Most of the videos I have seen are from people who’ve been sent this £2999 ($3500) microphone to review and so far, from YouTubers, podcasters and studio engineers, everyone is fawning over it.
Sadly it’s a little bit rich for me. If I had a studio and not a shed that creaks in the slightest breeze I’d be very tempted to (save up for a long while and) get one.
I guess I could always sell something.
#TheThanks
This newsletter is 23% funded. And for that I must thank the paying subscribers that pay $5/month to get all the content I share into this feed.
If you are able, please upgrade to become a paid supporter.
#TheWeb
How to read stuff posted online.
The weather looks fine on the Documentally community map.
Shackleton died 100 years ago. How antarctic explorers kept themselves sane on the voyage from the writings of Ranulph Fiennes.
Since 2001 Portugal has been inspiring others in regards to decriminalising illegal drugs in favour of the overall health benefits.
Why people used to look so serious in photos.
A font designed for software developers... MonoLisa.
I also do a ham radio focused dispatch. Please tell your nerdy radio friends about it.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading.
I hope all is well with you. Outside the wind still howls and the shed still shakes. I’ve put the heater on and I’m about to grab an ale before an attempt to tidy my desk. Then I’m going to prepare for a story workflows workshop I’m delivering on Monday.
Chat next week?
“Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.” ~ Kim Hubbard
Stay grounded.
See you out there.
Over…