Back on the Eurostar this evening. Finally headed home, yet returning to a very different country.
All change, all change.
Notes
She’s been very clear, and she’s got a bold plan. So that’s all good then.
Went into the local bar and ordered a drink, entirely in Portuguese. My 8 day streak on Duolingo has paid dividends. Cheers!
Find myself tantalisingly close to the Spanish border in Valença, Portugal. Was on the delayed train from Porto to Vigo, but it’s broken down. Now we wait for a bus. A sprinkling of adventure!
Wish I had an appreciation for foreign languages growing up. I didn’t visit a non-English speaking county until I was 26; a holiday or school trip to Europe may have been transformative.
Sat in my happy place, on a Eurostar train headed towards mainland Europe.
Having had my arm twisted, binged all 4 seasons of Stranger Things with my eldest niece over this last week. I throughly enjoyed it! It’s a compelling story and has some fun characters, but boy do they need to hire some damn editors; that last episode was 139 minutes long!
Brentford!!?
Going against the grain when it comes to sleeper trains on the continent, turns out the Sud Express has been suspended indefinitely. Makes planning a trip to Porto all the more difficult to arrange.
To lose one driver, Alpine, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
I now fully expect Alpine to have a championship winning car next season.
If you want a job doing… absolutely bloody brilliant! Well done England’s Lionesses!!! 🏆🦁🏴
Last day on my current project and with this feedback from a colleague: “You’re always pushing us to do the right thing… it’s like working with your mother, telling you to eat your vegetables”. 😂
Not only has this been a massively productive weekend, but today I managed to wangle a free iced coffee from the local cafe, and my neighbour gave me their basil plant.
This week I added Polish and Serbian translations to Indiekit, bringing the number of supported languages up to 9.
This is fast becoming the most encouraging aspect of this project, furthering the goal of it being a truly universal application.
Minions really are the most humorous, joyful and life affirming little creatures that cinema has ever produced. 💛
Looking at the BBC home page, am reminded of the decision to remove icons from GOV.UK. Icons can sometimes aid comprehension but more often than not they add clutter and confuse users.
Good riddance.
Nothing melts my brain quite like the IndieAuth token grant and verification process, but after the fiftieth refactor, I think it’s finally starting to make sense.
Until it all breaks again. 🫠
I think my 2 posts from this time 6 years ago still hold up. Brexit remains a complete waste of time and energy, a Tory psychodrama from which none of us can escape.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is the multiverse done right: original, vibrant, funny, surprising, thought provoking… Doctor Strange could learn a thing or two from Evelyn Wang.
If Apple updates their macOS apps like they updated Safari last year (poorly conceived features, confusing design, bug-ridden implementation), then I think I might cry. #WWDC22
Saw a DeLorean pull up outside the Monte Carlo Casino and no, it wasn’t a dream.
Absolutely wet through. Sought shelter under the grandstand alongside everyone else. Hope we get a race today.
Grey clouds cling to the mountains above. A few spots of rain have fallen on the grandstand. This race might not be the usual parade. 🤞
Sat opposite the pit lane, it’s fascinating to watch the pre-race build up. It almost looks like a zoo, with suspiciously monied visitors taking photos of the specimens on display.
Monaco, probably the only Grand Prix circuit where you enter the venue via a primary school.
Even my dreams aren’t safe from Tom Cruise popping up to promote Top Gun: Maverick.
Outside Churchill Square, Dianetic ‘stress tests’ are being conducted directly opposite a police recruitment van.
Scientology or the Freemasons, the choice is yours.
Doctor Strange and the Actors Who Were Available at the Time of Filming.
The first of a few side-projects I’ve been working on to help teams within government, a plugin for Eleventy. Use it to quickly build marketing pages, blogs and documentation sites.
Huzzah! @Higgidy have finally replaced the plastic trays for their quiches with cardboard ones. Now all that’s left is that damn plastic window…
Am reminded of Jon Stewart’s view that the conflict is not left versus right but corruption versus not-corruption; ‘contrarian narcissists who trade as “free-thinkers”’ sit firmly in the first camp.
Lovely bumping into @yandle earlier. Compared notes on working in government, and reminisced about ‘that trip’ to New York in 2013.
Proof, if it were needed, that Google ruins everything. 🤢
2 weeks banging my head against a wall trying to get something to work, but getting nowhere.
10 minutes explaining the problem to @roobottom this morning, and have now figured out the correct solution.
It’s good to talk.