In the UK we switched from imperial to decimal measurements decades ago. That’s the official line. What actually happened is that we found it hard to switch and even the latest generation are confused.
Stand on the scales and you can report your weight in pounds and stone or kilos. Measure your new carpet in meters or feet and inches. Don’t get me started on how we measure a field.
If visiting the UK and you have a question about measurements, prepare to have a converter at hand.
Benefits of many bank accounts
There are several benefits to opening multiple bank accounts. By bank accounts I mean current accounts at high street banks and building societies. There are many such banks in the UK and it’s worth having one at each bank containing at least the minimum balance.
So what are the benefits?
The first is that when you need to open a savings account, ISA, or other type of savings or investment account you will find that the more favourable rates are only offered to existing customers with a current account at that particular bank. If you have such an account you can then open the more beneficial account straight away.
The second benefit is that on occasion banks offer their customers free money. For example when they de-mutualise or are bought by another company, existing customers are often offered money or some form of bonus for doing nothing more than being a customer. I have received both cash and shares in the past from this very scenario.
And the cost of opening so many accounts? Just your time.
The Matrix of the brain
There’s a line in The Matrix that escapes me, it’s where Neo or someone asks Trinity if she knows how to pilot a specific type of helicopter. She replies that she will in a moment as that knowledge is downloaded directly into her brain. If only.
The real world doesn’t work like that. Not quite. But you can still download knowledge into your brain, only it takes a little longer. Yet it amazes me how many people don’t bother learning stuff any more. To actively seek out new knowledge.
I enjoy learning. I’m an autodidact. I think that’s the right word. Essentially I just keep teaching myself stuff. I love the process. You can teach an old dog new tricks and I teach myself every day.
I love comparing the me after to the me before. This morning I know nothing about a particular subject but I’ve gathered some books, articles, or web resources together and I’m ready to learn. Then at the end of the day, or week, or however much time I’ve allocated to learning about the new subject, I look back at what I now know that I didn’t before. I’ve downloaded new knowledge and information into my head. Stuff I didn’t know before that I do now. I think that’s cool.
I’ll think about what I’ve learned and combine it with other things I know and my brain will sort out all the connections like a Neo4J database. Only this database is big with limitless capacity. At least I’ve not hit any discernible limits yet.
What shall I learn today?
Conversations with the dead
Some say that it can be good therapy to have conversations with those that are no longer with us. Working out your problems talking to someone who is not there, keeping the gone close in your mind.
Or are we slightly mad to talk to someone that isn’t there? Talking to ourselves. Even if you wear headphones or hold a phone to your ear that isn’t active to disguise the madness. Are we mad?
If it helps you then I say no. You may work out problems, recall something you needed to remember, or bring some form of inner peace within yourself. After all it’s just talking. We talk all the time. To others, to electronics, to animals. What’s the harm in talking to someone that isn’t there any more?
If it helps.
At what point do you stop spending money on something?
I love my printer.
I took ages buying it. I researched the market, narrowed down to a handful of options then selected the one I wanted. An all-in-one office printer with a discrete loading tray for the paper, quiet operation, flatbed scanner, effortless double-sided printing and cheap ink options.
Then things started to fail after many years of good service. I learned how to clean the heads. Inks stopped working after firmware updates. I had to replace the maintenance box. Inks lasted only a few pages. Money kept trickling through my fingers spent on paper, maintenance tools, and ink.
At what point do you stop spending money on something? When do you decide enough is enough? You are just throwing more money away. If it can be fixed then it’s beyond your skillset or an amount that you are willing to spend.
I hate throwing things in landfills so I’ll probably gift it to someone in the hope they can make use of it. Then disposing of it becomes their problem. Their landfill karma.
I loved my printer.
Childhood seemed easier
Childhood seemed easier when you only had to think about who to play with, and what to play with: Action Man or Star Wars toys today? None of this adulting stuff. Career planning, frenemies, bills, knockbacks, constant health problems: yours, family, friends.
Everything was in front of you, but not that important. Playing, eating, sleeping, were the priority. Leave the adult stuff to the adults. Simpler times.
Home is where my backpack is
I’ve lived out of one backpack or another for many years. As an IT Consultant I had a custom backpack with compartments for laptop, accessories, office equipment, adaptors, chargers, plus overnight necessities, food, water, etc. All waterproof, lightweight, and sturdy. Travelling for pleasure long distance I had a larger capacity bag and a small day bag.
Wherever I was my backpack was my home. Like a human snail. Wherever I stopped for the night or even a few hours, my backpack was my home. You learned to carry only the essentials and nothing else. No luxuries or extras. No backups (that’s what cash and credit cards are for). You have to carry it so you learn to be picky about what you carry. If it can be digitized then do it. A digital copy has zero weight. Books, entertainment, data.
I got homesick a few times. Not just for people I missed but for the familiar. Your own bed, garden, space. It passes though.
These days I still carry backpacks. I have a go-bag for any emergency and a professional backpack for contract work.
Home is where my backpack is.
End credits
Sat in the cinema at the end of a movie. Or is it? In a bid to get viewers to actually look at the end credits, film makers started to put bonus material right at the end, and sometimes during the credits. Out of FOMO, a Fear Of Missing Out, viewers remain in their seats long after the movie has ended in the hope of seeing additional content, maybe a hint at a sequel or plot twist.
This time we are all rewarded and A Minecraft Movie delivers a bonus few seconds. I’m not a Minecraft player though so my kids explain it. Worth waiting ten minutes of my life for? Probably not.
The team player
It’s a great feeling when you find yourself being part of a great team. Brought together for a common goal, working towards a target, an achievement. Day by day working alongside your comrades achieving each milestone, constantly learning and evolving, enjoying the work.
Time ticks along and friendships grow as you fight on in the trenches together, still delivering, often under tight deadlines with limited resources, yet you hit the targets and the client is pleased. They hired a great team.
But everything must come to an end. Projects complete. Budgets run out. Priorities change. The team is disbanded and everyone goes to the four winds. Temporary ronin until a new master calls, a new team, a new challenge.
Some of us keep in touch. The occasional comms. A brief how are you, where are you working these days? Not the same as when you were in the trenches together working on that fun project up against the clock, delivering, with a happy client.
Nothing remains forever.
Here’s to all those great teams out there. Enjoy the flow while it lasts.
Searching for the human touch
There seems to be too much AI content. It was fun and interesting at first but the algorithms watched me consume AI content and now that’s all they seem to send my way.
On Spotify I can now identify an AI-generated music track within the first few seconds of hearing the vocals. It’s like the early days of in-car navigation systems: only a few voices were available. The few variations of male and female voices offered allows you to spot the AI singer with ease. I’m now trying to train the playlist AI to not offer AI content.
On Instagram it’s getting harder to spot the AI generated images from the real. They’ve now mastered fingers and toes and general biology. You now have to look at the shadows, facial expressions, eyes, and the overall feel of the image. Does it look too glossy? If yes, is it a filter? Also look for perfection. Perfect skin tone and musculature in every pose screams fake or manipulation. It is getting harder to tell what is real. Welcome to the Matrix.
There’s even AI videos, including short films, news articles, white papers, and podcasts all generated by AI. Ok it was cool at first but I find myself having to hunt for genuine human created content. I look for typos, grammatical errors, and human prose. I actively go out of my way to avoid AI content. Enough is enough! I want to consume something real, created with passion, interest, and human creativity.
I’m searching for the human touch.