After resisting all the Bluesky invitation codes; I’ve signed up with the masses.
Lean Can Be Applied Anywhere
Deploying small, incremental improvements. Prototyping an improved workflow using lean, visual control and 5S principles. Observation will determine what improvements and changes to next make.
I need a side hustle that generates a reasonable amount of cash. Why are my skills so esoteric?!
I spent the money. This is a much more pleasant reading experience. 📚
Should I spend $16 to buy a Kindle version of the book I’m reading so I don’t have to deal with small print? The pink highlight shows the Kindle viewport. 📚
My Replacement Xbox Controller Dead on Arrival
What’s the deal with garbage Xbox controller hardware?
I had to return a controller because a button wasn’t responding. My replacement controller arrived. Straight out of the box, it reports LB as being permanently activated, and I can’t even navigate the menu system with it, as the D-sticks and buttons don’t respond correctly.
So now I’m sending back the replacement of the replacement, but Amazon won’t issue another replacement.
So I will have to buy another somewhere else, and hope that Amazon eventually give me my money back.
The main issue though, is this is about the 4th Xbox controller I’ve had that has had problems.
Is this common? Are there any alternative controllers I can get instead?
I’ve decided not to renew my Flickr Pro account. I’ve had it for years and years. I don’t use the service enough to justify the cost. Sorry for any link breakage that may occur!
The Breakfast Club, 1985 - ★★★★½
I think I’m older than the teacher now. He’s the guy I now relate to.
Currently reading: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami 📚
I just used Make Me A Cocktail. I don’t have a large bar at the moment, but it suggested a Black Russian and I’m enjoying it!
I feel in the flow. Normally this feeling is linked to a particular task, job or project. Yet I’m feeling it broadly across life management and my mental state. I like it. 🌈
Finished reading: From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks 📚My takeaway is that I am in a spiral career transition. Plus I now have an excuse as to why my energy levels for work are lower than they used to be.
I simply don’t care about Apple Vision Pro. I have no desire or motivation to watch the 10 minute demo videos. I don’t care about listening to hours of podcast thought pieces. I’m not interested.
I started watching Loudermilk tonight. I like it. Not sure if only because Ron Livingstone basically plays a recovering Peter Gibbon from Office Space, 📺
Finished reading: Thirst by Scott Harrison 📚on Headway app (🪜). Glad I only committed 13 minutes to the book, rather than actually reading it, because it was terrible.
Once a Nerd…
I can draw a fairly straight line from my personality as a young fella to who I am today.
I mean, look at this nerd. He’s got a Commodore computer running Workbench 2.04. Dot matrix printer. Stephen Lawhead books on the shelf. A thermometer that read the outside temperature. Basketball trophies. This would be a great submission for one of Hemispheric Views Desk Reviews.
But it doesn’t end there. As listeners of my podcast will know, I maintain a depreciation spreadsheet tracking my major asset purchases. Turns out, this isn’t a new concept for me. Here is the prototype, from 2001:
People may also know me as a prodigious booster of YNAB as a means to manage your personal finances. Before YNAB, there was Quicken. Before Quicken, there was my ledger book.
And before my ledger book, there were my transaction registers!
To give a sense of the timeline, the registers, as the first documents, are dated from 1994. That would put me at 16/17 years old. My memory has me doing these a little younger, but this is the first documented evidence.
I also found a neat record of my automative service history from 2000. This car needed a lot of work!
I’m not sure I’ve changed much in the 30 years since.
Douchebags Galore!
Steven Hackett is being ripped off by douchebaggery from 37signals, as they try to get their HEY! Calendar app approved by the App Store Review Team.
It’s a real bummer to feel like I’ve been ripped off by a much bigger company, seeing them pitch something I’ve worked hard on as a free feature in their app.
I find it fitting that douchebag DHH is promoting his actions on X, a site owned by another douchebag.
So many big life decisions to be made. Being an adult can be hard.
I just did an internet quiz like it’s 1999. 
What Anime Hair Color Best Suits Your Personality?
Hosted By theOtaku.com: Anime
via Thomas Rigby
In between watching basketball and packing Lego into boxes, I recorded E102 of @HemisphericViews with @Burk and @martinfeld.
Our friend @rknightuk has built a word cloud based on the 320 default blog posts arising from @HemisphericViews Episode 097. His talents are amazing to me.
Year in books for 2023
Here are the books I finished reading in 2023.
This is a terribly short list.
I’m at the beach! It’s a bit cold today.