Weeknotes 1574

Weeknotes

• The last two weeks have been the kind that make you feel physically compressed. Hot, busy, exhausting.
• Work has gone bonkers, huge, huge amounts to do, but thankfully so far it's all been going well. The next month or two will be intense and then hopefully things will taper off a bit.
• I mentioned last time that we've been looking at flats; in the intervening time we've seen some houses a bit further out of the city centre that feel a bit more like what we want (more space, actual gardens!), including a couple that we're really keen on... and also mortgage rates have gone up substantially, so maybe we won't be getting anything. On the other hand, I finally understand why most of the older adults I know are so attuned to interest rates!
• I have had so many calls and conversations about AI, particularly around regulation and responding to the government AI whitepaper that it's not even funny. I have also stopped trying not to call it 'AI'; after a few tries at enforcing specificity I've given up. I now believe the weirdest thing about Stallman is that he's able to stick to his guns with all his "actually, I call it"s.
• Now I'm pretty confident that my heart isn't going to give out, I've started doing BJJ again and it's difficult to convey to people who don't do it already how fun it is to put people in armlocks.
• We looked after our friend's dog Elsie, who was incredibly sweet, and only slightly snory and drooly.
• I went to what I thought was a joint birthday for a couple who are old school friends of mine. When I arrived, another friend informed me it was probably a surprise wedding (close—the celebration of their registry office wedding the previous day). Really wonderful, really sweet, massive congrats to Lawrence and Abi, they're the best.
• CM's been doing a comedy course for the last few weeks, and last week was their big showcase event. She was (genuinely) the funniest, but the overall standard was pretty high. I hope she does more!
• CM passed her driving test a couple of weeks ago now and has joined the car club thingy that Brighton has. My second test is tomorrow so hoping to be able to do the same!

Writing

• Over at the Seagull we had our last week of Fringe coverage, and I wrote something about Caroline Lucas stepping down.
• Been writing lots of stuff about AI but that'll be released in due course.

Reading

• Started Revenant Gun but got a bit waylaid by all the above.
• Also started The Book Of The New Sun, trying to read along with the Ranged Touch lads' podcast.

Listening

• I have been listening to a lot of old rap music and it may not be original to say that Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is a good album but it is a good album.
• Mentioned here that I've been listening to a podcast about Family Guy. I'd listened to their later stuff about Channel Awesome before, but not the Family Guy stuff and it's oddly compelling for being about a show that I've not watched since my mid-teens. Most of that was on Saturday which has become my 'day off'/'no-meds' day—I've been trying not to listen to podcasts as much, as I think too much of them can habituate me to stimulus, which I'm trying (as best I can) to avoid. An hour or so after work; that's it.

Keep it real, gang. Over and out.