Having a puppy is bonkers. Why do they learn everything you wish they wouldn't immediately, but things you want them to learn take forever?! I gave Forest a treat before bed to get him into his crate three nights ago, and every night since then he thinks there's something delicious in my hand. But trying to get him to pee outside has taken two weeks! Dogs are annoying.

F1 Exhibition at Excel

11/10/2024

Took the day off to go up to London to see the F1 exhibition with one of the F1 dads.

Dogs are annoying

28/09/2024

Meet Forest. He is a 15 week old Labrador puppy who now lives in our house and chews our feet.

I'm done with social media. I may live to regret it, but I've deleted my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky (don't think I ever opened it once!). It's all such a manipulative time-sink, and I'm just done with it. Feels weird, but good.

Saturday

14/09/2024

Tabitha had to go to school today for an open day. Charlotte and I went for breakfast, then we all went for a walk. Making the most of the beautiful weather.

I've been a moderate fan of Death Cab for Cutie for a long time; have always said that I could make one great record of tracks I select from each of their albums. I prefer The Postal Service.

This week, I'm not really sure why I say that. I've been going back through their discography because Summer Skin got stuck in my head and these records (Plans, Transatlanticism, Narrow Stairs, so far) are all total gems. Why have I spent so many years thinking these records only have four tracks? I'm annoyed with myself but there must be a reason.

It's true that there's some incredible standout tracks; Transatlanticism, in particular, has "We Looked Like Giants" which has a vocal melody that makes me want to do a little cry. It also has what sounds like a super smart rhyme - "we looked like giants / in the back of my grey sub-compact / fumbling to make contact" that reminds me of "even the sturgeon and the ray / get the urge and start to play" (which, I think, is my favourite rhyme ever). These are all brilliant records, though, and I feel remiss for having sold them short for so long.

Still I have some nice stuff to listen to so weirdly feels like I'm being rewarded for being stupid.

Also I know I'm terrible at writing about music. Once upon a time I thought I could be a music reviewer; wrote one review and gave up. I am bad at that but I still love music and talking about it and I have nowhere else to do that!

JLW Bruce the Keyboard

11/09/2024

I know it's been ages since I built a new keyboard. I've been very excited about this one.

Sunday Pizza

01/09/2024

These went so well today. I love this dough when it goes well.

Halide Process Zero

29/08/2024

I found this via Chris Glass (where I find an above-average amount of my good stuff), and was pretty skeptical but it's very nice.

A Wholesome Evening

20/08/2024

We went for a walk as Charlotte wanted to go blackberry picking. Wholesome enough on its own, but it took a turn for the even-more-wholesome!

ArcTanGent 2024

18/08/2024

This is probably going to be my last ArcTanGent, at least for a little while. It’s an expensive indulgence just for me, it comes right in a prime holiday timeslot, and I just fundamentally don’t enjoy the concept as much as I used to. I still had a great time this year and saw some amazing performances, but I think it’s time to quit whilst I’m ahead.

Le Weekend

11/08/2024

Bit of an eclectic weekend. Norman castle, village fete (the kind you're not really welcome at if no-one recognises you), raft race, cheese on toast, pizza.

Friday

09/08/2024

Haven't done one of these for a while. Mainly because she's not a very friendly cat. I don't really know what we do to cats to make them this way!

Two things that stress me out are dates and deadlines. So it makes sense for me to volunteer to coordinate all of the fixture dates for Sussex Junior Badminton, which has a deadline and I feel like results in a lot of people aiming grumpiness at me if I do a bad job.

Woodingdean Sunflower Field

06/08/2024

It's a load of photos of sunflowers. Do you need this many photos of sunflowers? No, you do not, but it's not hurting anyone!

Spa GP, Belgium 2024

29/07/2024

F1 Dads take a road trip to Belgium, to one of the best tracks of the season, to watch George Russell get robbed.

Tabitha's final day at primary school

20/07/2024

There's nearly seven years between these pictures. So much has changed. Very happy to have such a great kid and I'm so excited for her to start secondary.

Charlotte is doing a sponsored abseil for charity. You can read about why she's doing it, and I would hugely appreciate if you could donate/sponsor her.

Fuji X100VI

14/07/2024

I had an X100-series camera ages ago, but a can of Dr Pepper exploded in my bag and killed it.

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