Cycling
Feeling pleased about this weeks efforts. Maintenance and rides.
Replaced a spoke on the back wheel. Does not sound like much. However, it was a multi stage process. Remove and replace the wheel, tyre & inner tube, disc brake rotor, and cassette. The wheel was true before and after.
Tightened the cable to the front derailleur. I can now get into the big ring once more. The barrel adjuster is kaput hence riding without the big ring for longer than necessary.
Replaced the back tyre and inner tube on Wednesday. A tyre bead failure and blow out. Lucky it happened when the bike was stationary. Second such incident in a month. It was the front tyre in July. I think my use of metal tyre levers when removing and replacing tyres to fix punctures damaged the tyre bead.
Just a couple of days without a ride. Tuesday and Thursday. Decent overall stats.
Work
I started the week knowing there was a lot to get done by Friday. Monday went well. I submitted two completed assignments I’d been working on for a little while. They’d been reviewed and just needed some final tweaks to past muster.
Attended a remote meeting in the afternoon that set the direction for the rest of the week. The meeting was cancelled by higher ups just as it started. A few of us had logged in already. We had things to discuss so went ahead anyway. It was a very productive conversation.
Had useful conversations with a couple of colleagues. The first was to apologise about what I thought had been a defensive response from me to feedback, which I’d asked for and been given. My colleague was very gracious in saying they did not find my response defensive at all. That created space to go over the subject matter and pull out learning points for both of us.
Had an in person team meeting on Wednesday.
The other helpful conversation was on Thursday. I’d spent most of the week creating supplementary practice guidance the need for which was established in the Monday meeting. We reviewed it together. Their input was invaluable. Really worthwhile couple of hours.
Rounded up on Friday so that things are where they need to be for Monday and to present on Wednesday.
Not all work weeks are like this. To be honest this was a rare streak of focused productivity. Things that helped included a good balance between what had been done already and what was needed for the final push, fairly high expectations, a realistic challenge and a non negotiable deadline. I was up for it and happy to take ownership of what needed to be done.
Music
We went to a session on Saturday. Down in Hastings. The Mighty Aba Shanti I meets Humble Rumble. It was in a sports hall. Both sounds had two stacks of well tuned speakers. Good vibes. There was a friendly crowd of people.
Family
Mum and dad both seem okay. No health dramas reported.
The boys seem happy enough. No.3 is on the front-line. Sports Direct in Chatham High St. He commented to wife the other day about not being sure he could do an eight hour day. I guess there’s a couple of ways that could go.
Sunday afternoon football taxi service and sideline duties have recommenced.
Computer & Internet
Blaugust. A month long festival of blogging. Posted about it here. As with lots of things, I have approached the first week in a way that seems unsustainable. I shall not curb my enthusiasm. That will wane all on it’s own. For now Blaugust is serving as a vehicle to help learn more about Hugo, to encourage me to write more, add to my digital scrap book, and to be inspired from the sites I visit and posts I read.
Top of my list this week has been Jedda’s site. I love the way Jedda organises content. Also, the different approach to the traditional blog roll with a postroll instead. Great idea. I may get round to creating something like it.
I changed my mind about not using the term Week Notes for posts like this. I shall appropriate the term and make it meaningful to me.
Photography
Still getting to grips with the X-T4. Learning slowly from mistakes. Remember to remove the UV filter for some shots. Ruined a few possible keepers for not doing so. Light being reflected. I put it on to protect the lens. I think I could probably do without it if a bit more careful.
Selecting the right focus mode, metering mode and level of exposure compensation. Getting good shots at the sound system sessions we go to is proving to be a challenge.
I also continue to miss good photo ops. Not thinking quick enough to stop when I am out on my bike and spot something that might make a good picture. Feels kind of weird to go back when I catch myself on. I guess that’s something I should get over.
Other business
Donated blood on Thursday. My blood type is O neg. That means it can be given to most people in an emergency.