https://www.gordonmclean.co.uk/blog by @snowgoon@mastodon.social
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Life 75% · Tech 14% · Writing 6% · Culture 2% · Art 1% · Crafts 1%
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When I focus on my words I take care with them, I choose them deliberately, sometimes to soften things, sometimes to provoke, but it’s rarely by accident. Since I started being a bit more considered with the things I posted here, in particular the longer Musings, it’s been part of the joy of writing. Trying to process my own thoughts. Trying to capture them in a way that others might understand. It’s helped me figure out things about myself. It’s helped me figure out things about the wider…
Bring back the silly.The quick and easy.The nonsense.Make procrastination a reason. Note: this post is for me, it will bore you, it’s about this blog, which is really only of any interest to me as a whole. Perhaps you are interested in a post here and there, but it’s different for me. This is me. I overthink.I revisit and question.I write.I publish.I muse.I note. It’s all the same thing really just the intent that differs, and with that intent a level of motivation, a desire to write like this,…
Every now and then Becca will shrug her shoulders and say, “We like who we like.” It usually comes up in the middle of some completely ordinary conversation and, almost as quickly as it’s said, we move on. It’s never intended as a grand statement, but the more I’ve thought about it over the years, the more I think it perfectly sums up how I see the world. I’ve not written much about sexuality or gender here, and I am aware this is something I probably should’ve written about publicly a long…
This time it’ll be different, they say. This time it’ll be about the people, they say. This time it’ll be a change for the better, they say. This time the system won’t win, they say. Colour me apathetic. Another PM we didn’t vote for —I know, we vote for the party not the person— in a system that feels increasingly broken. But what choice do we have? It’s this or the right wing. Right? Thanks for reading and keeping RSS alive. Visit my site for more.
Life Notes Wednesday morning I took Jack to his swimming lesson. We enrolled him in a week-long course, and Becca has taken him so far, so it was wonderful to watch him actually listening and learning. He loves being active, loves being in the water, and he will need to be able to swim for next year as I have grand plans to get a kayak for us (and a paddle board for Becca). A visit to the dentist to get a filling repaired went fine, I mean it’s never fun, but needs must. She updated my x-rays…
A lovely quiet day. Car washed. Front and back grass cut. A picnic blanket in the shade for a snacky lunch. Some games with Jack. Glorious. The type of day I’ll try and etch in my memory, the softer moments of life are so welcomed and deeply held. It’s how I keep going. For Jack, for Becca, just hanging out with my besties. Such simple pleasures. Thanks for reading and keeping RSS alive. Visit my site for more.
I’ve signed up. On Sunday 9 May 2027, I’ll be taking on the shortest route: 40 miles (65 km) with 2,823 ft (860 m) of climbing. I’ve ridden it before, although the 2021 edition ran in the opposite direction after the original event was postponed because of COVID. The later date coincided with the potato harvest, so the route was reversed to reduce disruption to local farmers. So this will be my first time doing it in the “proper” direction. I’m hoping I can stay injury-free in the lead up. I’ve…
Ahh those heady days of the internet, blogs were everywhere, some were about to get book deals and TV series, and there I was on the periphery (as always) quietly commenting on the sites of many of those who were making waves. It was a different time, and the UK blog scene was in a boom. As was the TV reality show Big Brother. You know the one, a mish-mash of people thrown into a ‘house’ and monitored 24/7. I can remember the first airing of this format back in 2000 when it was genuinely…
Matt creates and designs some great apps, they are thoughtful, and considerate of the user. The fact his latest Micro app is called ‘That Guy’ suggests, with a subtle wink and a nod, some knowing on his part about what he has created and, whilst I laud the thinking behind it, I can’t help my gut reaction being JUST WATCH THE MOVIE! The suspension of disbelief, the ability to lose oneself once you enter the hallowed space of a movie theatre, committing to the art and skill that you’ve paid good…
I’ve had my Gravatar account for a long time —18th January 2017, something I managed to find by exporting my data and querying the JSON file included (which only gives the UNIX timestamp)— but I’m about to close it. Why? Because it serves me no purpose. At BEST it was a quick way to get my details added to a comment box on some (WordPress mostly) sites, but at some point in the last few years it changed to only populate the URL, that is normally asked for, with a link to my Gravatar profile,…
I’ve made a few tweaks to the Mac menubar app I vibe coded the other day. Sidenote: I really ick on the term vibe coded. But what else would I call it? Largely driven by a change to the BBC Radio 2 lineup with Sara Cox now (finally) getting the breakfast gig. It does put her in direct competition with Grimmy on 6Music but at least now I have a choice in the morning, before Laurene on 6Music mid-morning. Largely inspired by the app I used to build something similar(ish) myself before which my…
I’m blaming the heat, but I have lost all motivation for writing. I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m writing a novel, and I’m at the stage of saying the rough draft is complete. So what I need to do know is read through a chapter, make some notes, and then rewrite. I’ve been at this stage for a few weeks now. It’s probably notable that I’m taking more time to craft my longer posts here, and have even toyed with writing a memoir (part companion to the novel, part procrastination). So I’m…
We are currently looking to get a new washing machine. Looking online at the usual big stores and every single one has an awful AWFUL website experience. These are large companies who are typically owned by a large conglomerate who should, somewhere in the depths of their organisations, have people who know how to build websites well, and certainly they’ll know how to code things so they work well on a mobile device. Right? RIGHT? Wrong. The worst, so far, is Curry’s. I’d clicked through to…
Every now and then one catches my eye and I have one of those little “oh yeah, I have tattoos” moments. Then I start to think back on not just why I got it, but who I was when I did. Most days I barely notice them. They’re simply part of me now, as familiar as the freckles on my arms or the scar on my knee. But every so often I’ll catch sight of one whilst reaching for a mug, pulling on a T-shirt, or walking past a mirror, and for a moment I’m transported back to the day it was done. I have…
This little site is doing the rounds so no doubt you’ve seen it linked to already. If not, why aren’t you following Kottke? The premise is simple, leave a short recording with your location tagged on the map. Why? Well the creators say: VoiceDot exists so that people live and love each other. So that no one ever reaches for what is not theirs — someone else’s land, someone else’s home, someone else’s peace. That is the whole idea. There is no other.The stories here are all different — joyful,…
For those of you in the UK. Do you remember who got the coveted Christmas number 1 slot in 2009? Do you remember how it came to be? I ask only because I randomly saw this post from my own blog. Thanks for reading and keeping RSS alive. Visit my site for more.
Jack and I were away for the weekend in Vera (our motorhome). We stayed at the very lovely Blair Drummond Campsite. Yet I bet most people who read the title of the post presumed I was going to talk about the nearby Safari Park —I will in a minute. I picked up Jack up from nursery on Friday, and we drove straight to the campsite, had ice cream before dinner, set up Vera for our two night stay, found the play area, and ended the evening (after dinner and showers) playing with his frisbee whilst…
Life Notes Busy busy at work, which has dominated most thoughts this week. Vera MOT passed thanks to my father-in-law having the tools, know how, and bloody mindedness to replace the failed headlamp unit. What a faff, but what a hero! Friday I picked Jack up from nursery, and he and I headed to Blair Drummond campsite for two nights. Just the boys! (Well, minus Dave, bit too warm to leave him in the camper van during the day). What a great time I had, completely switched off from everything,…
That ship has sailed. It sailed years ago when we all happily leapt on to Facebook, then Twitter, and before that Google already had all our data anyway. We willingly, naively perhaps, made ourselves the product. Tech will always tech, tech bros will always monetise without thought of ethics. We made this bed. Can we remake it? Thanks for reading and keeping RSS alive. Visit my site for more.
Many years ago, when I was single and had money, I bought some lego kits and then —for reasons I can’t really recall— went on an eBay splurge on some Lego Minifigures. I don’t think I was trying to build a collection, just realised that for a few quid (I think the most I paid was £3 + P&P) I could have some little fun lego people. I have a LOT of them but most of them are from common sets and are worth precisely as much as they cost at the time. However, a couple of years ago I was trying to…
This was the title of a post I’ve had stuck in draft for a while. It was also the post that got the most ‘votes’ to be written and published, which was handy for me as it was almost done anyway. Revisiting old drafts is always an education, I could see where I was going when I wrote the original draft, but I realise now I had stopped because I couldn’t quite square it away, wasn’t really sure where it was going. The time away from the draft helped make it clear and finishing it off didn’t take…
I work from home most of the time and, from where I’m sitting right now, I can see the main road at the end of our little estate, the houses beyond it, and beyond those the edge of the Crags, a local hill crowned with a line of rocky cliffs. The view reveals itself in layers. Beyond the houses, a small copse of trees fills the foreground before the land rises gently towards the foot of the Crags. As I write this the sky is overcast. A light smirr hangs in the air, while low cloud softens the…
My blogging mojo comes in fits and starts. I’ve been enjoying having a little more freedom in approach since switching to, essentially, two streams of posts; these shorter (or at least less considered) Notes, and the longer Musings style, umm, essays? Since writing about not being able to finish a Draft I’ve managed to finish three (all are scheduled) but I started noticing a level of writing fatigue. I think that’s what I’d call it. Admittedly, like most, I do this hobby around a busy full…
Is this metablogging? Perhaps. I’m not going to dwell on that though, there has been plenty written about that avenue / type of post, instead I’m gonna be honest. My writing process If anyone has read any of the entries of Manu’s (now Zachary’s) series People and Blogs you’ll have seen this question asked: What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging? I always read this section in detail and with great fascination because, for a long time, I didn’t think I had a process.…
My (step) father-in-law has been helping me try and remove a headlamp from our motorhome. It has not been a fun job. We may have done a swear. Or three. I tried it myself for about an hour late last week, to no avail. It’s one of those awkward jobs that was, probably, very easy to do when the van was being built, but then they’ve attached the bumper farings etc, which are riveted in place, and so you need to be a contortionist to even reach your hand into the right position. I’m 186cm tall (6′…
Life Notes Monday was a day off, already can’t quite remember what I did with it. Oh yes, a wander round the shops and some sushi. Nice to hang out with my beautiful wife, sans Jack for a change. Tuesday was the day of the Alanis Morissette gig, and it was glorious. The weather held, the crowd was in good spirits, and OMG what a voice. I was fully in bits, tears streaming down my face at one point. Not that that is anything unusual but this was much more specific that my usual overwhelm around…
The Tour de France starts today. I’m still debating shelling out for HBO Max so I can watch stages live on my iPad while I work —the joys of working at home— but I’ll be following along regardless. It should be a fascinating race this year, even if the winner is more than likely to be one of only two men. Barring a crash, Pog will win it. I think. I’m not alone in that prediction. Intrigued to see how some of the teams will adapt, and as ever, will be fascinated as I watch the team tactics…
Jack insisted on showing me around the Safari Park last weekend. We have season tickets, and he knows the place so well that I spent the day being marched from one attraction to the next. We visited most of the animal enclosures, including the Dinosaur paddock where Jack made sure I stood in just the right spot for a dinosaur to squirt water at me! He’s so cheeky and thought it was utterly hilarious of course as 4-year-old boys are wont to do. After that we stopped in the BBQ area, which…
Happy Birthday America! You did it. 250 years old. Well done!We just won’t ask those guys over there about it though (you know, the natives). Anyway, as Aimee Mann says: Today’s the Fourth of JulyAnother June has gone byAnd when they light up our town I just thinkWhat a waste of gunpowder and sky You’ve still got a bit of growing to do though, which kinda shows at the moment, guess we’ll calling it growing pains? Maybe some examples of things that are a little older than you might help give you…
Not sure that title even makes sense to be honest, but on we go! I listen to BBC 6Music most mornings when I’m working. The joys of working at home, my music choice, my coffee, my desk and a window I can open as wide as I wish. However that means keeping a browser tab open all the time, something I’m clearly not great at as I kept closing it/the browser and so I looked for a solution. I found one, adapted it for 6Music, and have been using it since then (2021). Over the past few weeks I’ve been…
