Be Excellent To Each Other

1024x768 AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCK OFF

So anyway, I'm going to try and be tidier, and slouch less when I walk around. What about you cunts?

I'm going to punch 75% fewer horses this year... Coincidently I had a Tazer this Christmas.

I'm going to be even more awesome than before.

New Years Resolution was to own an Amstrad CPC. This will be resolved in the next few days leaving me to do what the fuck I like for the rest of the year.

Aim high people, aim high.

Not go on a diet as such, just stop eating so much crap. Start running again, the usual sort of stuff I suppose.

I need to get back out running again. Somehow I'm maintaining my weight, but considering we're planning to ride mules down the Grand Canyon in May, which has a weight limit of 91kg, my current 88kg is probably a bit close to the line, so might be nice to shave a bit off that

That's some lazy-ass mule. Unless it's carrying two of you.

That's no way to talk about TFF!

I'm going to resolve to call people a dick less in public.

EDIT: Damn.

You can keep your private fantasies out of this.

Are we?

I'm doing the Ducan diet for a few weeks as a head start before just eating better. Going to be more productive with my painting/drawing/illustration etc too. All going to plan so far.

Oh, and no booze for January!

Don't tell me you forgot, my gorgeous shiny-headed paramour?

Eat and drink as much as possible this month as when I have my orthodontic surgery I'll be eating through a straw for about a month.

I need to drink less in the run-up to march and, well, generally.

I'm going to the doctor on Friday to get back on the anti-depressants because it's been a consistent slope since I came off them, which I've only really admitted over the last month (yay Christmas!). I might go back to therapy but as it's a very generalised depression this time rather than targetable anxiety I'm not sure its worth 50 quid a week.

100+ miles on the bike in a day.

According to a stupid article in the Guardian today, if you do a dry January it basically means you're a closet alkie.

Get back to running and lose some weight now that my back is sorted out

Drink a shit load less, I have over 50 bottles of hard stuff 60% is whiskey and bourbon, I have 9 different types of bourbon. That’s not including the duplicate store in the garage where there are another 10 bottles of stuff.

I came by a lot of it very cheaply and free (in exchange for IT work) and have some pretty expensive bottles as well, it became as much about collecting as anything else.

Thing was when I looked back, I never drank any spirit other than vodka, then cheap £100 RRP bottles of whiskey came my way and when it’s that price it’s really nice and they all tastes different

Wake call for my was Saturday when drinking a 2nd generous measure of whiskey I realised it didn't burn my throat anymore.

So time to dry out for a while way past Jan as well.

Surely if you can't do one then you're a closet alkie?

That's what logic would tell you, yes.

EDIT - no, then you're not in the closet, presumably. I dunno. Anyway, booze is bad, m'kay.

I've got a 55 mile ride booked for the summer which will beat my previous 40 mile best. 100 miles might be a stretch too far.

Three main goals for me;

Get healthy - I reckon this will take about six months. (diagnosis permitting)
Get my Masters BPS accredited - I'll be happy if I can at least start that this year.
Learn to do something new - this year will be to learn to use my sewing machine and make stuff.

I don't really have any resolutions, but I decided that I want to knit more of my favourite yarn and that I should use my favourite stickers to make things pretty rather than hoarde them (though this is a tough one for me to really get into) and also not to save notebooks as special to the point where I don't write in them but just keep them hidden in a special box.

Not just me then!

Nope. I don't know if I'll ever be able to bring myself to defile the special edition lego-inset moleskine with lego themed inserts, though.

Moleskine + Lego = too much awesome for a Mimi to handle

Sounds good, where are you going?

I need to do way more hiking. I say that every year, but this year, I mean it. Want to do some wild camping this year too, but that will mean getting a tent I can carry and put up by myself (I borrowed a friend's when I was in Ireland as it was far simpler than my modern tent). I need to buy loads of new kit too. All that, and consider joining a new re-enactment group to do a different impression, if I can bring myself to go cleanshaven.

I have a lightweight hiking tent kicking about somewhere you are welcome to.

I should also cut down my use of unnecessary parentheses (it's really rather annoying to read)

It's this one.

http://www.worcesterclassicbikeride.com

http://www.worcesterclassicbikeride.com/route-guides/

It should be a nice change riding in a group instead of off on my own.

That looks really good. Go for it!

/pats Tomcat's driver's seat

I'm planning to...
TTFU!
Get more hours in on the bike & do longer, more out the way routes.
Batter down more hills on the big bike.
Climb more outdoors instead of at the wall.
Wander up more hills (I've been getting really fucking lazy when it comes to this)
Camp more.
Go more midweek adventures.
Take more good pictures.
Read more.
Take a proper holiday once my time is out.

So... business as usual except for the holiday bit.

Come up for a wander with oor lot if you want... & come to the tinkers meet.
Consider a bivvy bag. They're much better than tents, except in shitey weather but there's ways around that & I'd like to see you stick a tent in a wee cosy cave or wee ledge up a hill. I've only used my tent a few times this year... at festivals, when I was on a campsite & when I had company

We'll always have Keswick.

Yes, will try to get to Tinkers this year.

Bivvy Bags sound like a good idea: at re-enactments I just use a blanket after all so know I can cope with sleeping on the hard ground with little kit

Heh, I would LOVE to try something like that.

If only you knew someone.

For this year.....

To have more fun, mainly fun...

Take up running, I have even bought running trainers. This will be encouraged my MissKov as she does triathlons.

Walk more in the contryside, already done 3 walks this year, I had forgotten how much fun it was.

Get my TOGAF certification, just need to take the exam.

The one thing I noticed about walking the mutt in the countryside is that I noticed the changing of the seasons much more. It was nice to see the different colours of plants, all the animals and birds and stuff.

I need to do TOGAF as well. I've had a formal goal to gain some sort of professional qualification for over a decade now. My self-appraisal justifications for not having done one are getting more and more outlandish.

"2007 - decided to defeat a Kraken instead."

That sounds like I was heading to the exam and suddenly needed a really big shit.

TOGAF? To Occasionally Give A Fuck?

The Open Group Architecture Framework.

Please don't do any courses in this and think that it is actually useful, and the last guy who tried to bring it in to our current client project got fired because of that...
If your doing it because it'll get you more cash at your current place, then go for it

At my place, if you have TOGAF on your CV, then unless the rest of it is exemplary, then that is usually enough for us to not bring you in for an interview

Yeah, not so much.

My colleague did TOGAF last year. I saw his notes. Very dull.

It's toxic, and actually stops people doing anything of value.

So, what should they do?

Look at the situation in hand and do what is required to make the system and situation work, rather than slavishly follow an arbitrary process regardless.

IME, TOGAF people forget the F part and use it as a proscribed template for every system they ever work on...