Just Random Shit!

Building anything is a major undertaking. Make the right choices and you create something wonderful, something that functions well and hopefully something that lasts. Make the wrong choices and everything about what you are building risks being impacted. Often it’s not a binary case of making the right choice or the wrong one. It’s as…

What the fuck is a purpose? I had dinner with a friend last night. He is an old friend. I use the word ‘old’ both in the sense that I have known him for a long time, but also to convey the fact that he is further along his timeline than I am. He is…

Somebody ran into my car today. I was in it, so got out and sorted it with the other party. In fairness to them there was no issue. No denial of blame. Nobody was injured. Just a bit of inconvenience and the metal box of mine will get fixed and that will be an end…

I’ve said before that the spaces that we occupy are as important to our human needs as air and water. Not just for the shelter and warmth that we require to sustain our physical existence, but for the social and creative aspects of our humanity that are vital for our fulfilment. Digital nomads – the…

I’ve always been interested in space. Not space as in the vast void within which sits our tiny planet amongst the trillions and trillions of other celestial bodies. Although that is interesting too! Space as in the places that we occupy. The places where we live and work and hang out. Where we study, socialise…

You don’t have to be Oliver to want more. We all want more. From everything, and from everyone. We want more from our employer. We want more from the supermarket when we get our weekly shop. We want more from our bank. We want more from the government or from our local council. And we…

My son is 17. He’s in 6th Form, studying for his A levels. Except, that’s the thing – he’s not really. Studying, that is. Now I know from experience that A levels are probably the most important stage of a student’s academic life. The results from A levels have a direct impact on the whole…

Tao Te Ching Chapter 33 Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength. He who knows he has enough is rich. Perseverance is a sign of will power. He who stays where he is endures. To die but not to perish is to be eternally…

“The Luxury Gap” It’s always nice when you can start a post with the title of a fabulous 1980s album! Confession time again (almost another 1980s classic album title – answers on a postcard to…): I love a good bit of stationary! I adore notebooks (I go through several every year) and I have to…

People of a certain age grew and who up watching Sesame Street will remember Oscar. He was a green muppet character famous because he lived in a trash can (to English readers – that is a round metal dustbin!) He was a Grouch – apparently his species, and also a reference to the way in…