This has to be the slowest blogging year I’ve had since I began this blog (almost a decade ago). The ironic thing is that ordinarily I would have more time than ever to keep the ole’ site up to date. Since I started contracting at a certain national broadcaster some six months ago, this has meant my working away from home during the week. A short (walking) commute coupled with no family or household chores in the evening surely mean oodles of time for blogging, hobby projects, and general geeky writing does it not?
Well no, not for this one. The fact is, since I opted to take a year out from contracting at the tail-end of 2010, preferring to focus on pure freelance work, the job has gone bonkers (in a good way). Multiple projects are at the forefront of everything I do. Most evenings are spent working, with bits at the weekend too. Whilst I’m a firm believer in the saying “Make hay whilst the sun shines”, this can go too far. I love what I do, and I love learning about our craft. It would be terrible to end up resenting the coder’s life—that would never do!
I reckon that there will be a little more activity here in the coming months as things calm down a little. I’ve got lots to write about, but some of the posts will be pretty technical, and will require a lot of thinking and drafting. There shall be HTML5, CSS3, Java, JavaScript, and who knows what else. Hopefully some people remain to read it ;-)
Back to black
Sat, Feb 23rd 2013 7:28a Ben Poole Mr. Mooney recently posted about his old Apple MacBook, which he received in recognition for all his hard work with ILUG in 2007. Seeing his post reminded me of the “mb4bp” initiative that Volker kicked off:
In December 2006, through the wonderful kindness of the wider IBM Lotus community, I was able to buy my first professional grade (and new to boot) machine. This started something big. Within eight months of receiving that splendid little laptop I had formed my own company and resigned f [read] Keywords: ibm
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The music post
Tue, Feb 19th 2013 3:28p Ben Poole An astounding year for music so far, and we’re only in February! First up, I was delighted to find that a relatively new discovery of mine released a new album in January. These fellows hail from Manchester and are called Dutch Uncles. Prog-pop is the description they’re most tagged-with, and I suppose it suits. Think a joyful amalgam of 80s King Crimson, Talking Heads and Sparks. Some fantastic odd guitar figures, shimmering keys and a unique vocal style from leader Duncan Wallis. Excellent [read] Keywords:
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IBM Connect 2013: the last post
Thu, Feb 14th 2013 3:56p Ben Poole And so to the last day of Connect, Thursday (this post is a bit of a ramble, I warn you now). I started off poorly by missing Mark and Julian’s show ’n’ tell, “Buried Treasure: Finding the Hidden Gold in IBM Notes Data”. Damn! Instead, a little work and then off to the various Q&A sessions, kicking off with Gurupalooza, hosted by the wonderful Susan Bulloch. This is always a fun session, and the “re-education bat” added a certain je ne sais quoi.
Gurupalooza was followed by [read] Keywords: connections
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IBM Connect 2013: the third post
Tue, Feb 5th 2013 3:43p Ben Poole Tuesday was a superb day in Orlando, really enjoyed it. And I’ll tell you for why… (said in best Uncle Bryn voice):
First up, a load of work, and chat in the rotunda. Always good!
And then, just before lunch we had a gem of a session: Spark Ideas, put together by the Nerdgirls. It was just wonderful. I nearly ended up blubbing like a baby (thanks Graham :-)) and also laughed like a drain. Nothing technical, nothing about IBM. Just a group people I respect (more than ever) laying a little o [read] Keywords: domino
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IBM Connect 2013: the second post
Mon, Feb 4th 2013 3:20p Ben Poole And so to Sunday. I suppose one would class this as the first “proper” day of IBM Connect as Jumpstart sessions get going, and there’s business development stuff going on. In the Woodward / Myers / Poole suite pit things were somewhat muted and slow to start. We all had things to do, so the day was spent gently faffing. Mark and I even got a decent brunch in (one of the few proper meals enjoyed during the week!)
Predictably, the evening started early at the pool-side reception, and finishe [read] Keywords: ibm
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IBM Connect 2013: the first post
Sun, Feb 3rd 2013 3:30p Ben Poole A taxi, a plane, a train, a walk, another train, and another walk. Left the Dolphin just after 5pm on Thursday, and walked through my front door in Blighty exactly fourteen hours later.
And what a trip! As long-time readers will know (!) I don’t do the Lotusphere thing very often. I went courtesy of my old employer in 2006 and then thanks to team Elguji got to go again in 2010 as the indy coder I am now. Despite this paucity in my attendance record, Lotusphere always feels welcoming, it just [read] Keywords: ibm
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Quote of the day
Mon, Jan 7th 2013 4:30a Ben Poole Just catching up on Robert Fripp’s diaries. He was discussing the various interactions he’d had with people on-line over the years, and this line stood out:
It is not possible to discuss the weather with a person whose head is placed where sunshine never falls, and yet who feels themselves to be a climate expert.
Read more… [read] Keywords:
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Headline of the year
Mon, Dec 31st 2012 7:57p Ben Poole … possibly. ‘Oompa Loompas’ sought by police over Norwich assault.
Happy 2013 everybody. Sorry for the radio silence for so long. It has been one hell of a mad year! I hope to see many people during the course of the next. Sorry, this. Yes. [read] Keywords:
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Wise words
Sun, Nov 25th 2012 1:47p Ben Poole Something I just read whilst catching up on Robert Fripp’s diary—a piece of advice to a struggling musician colleague, but I think there’s a little nugget in there for all of us:
My advice: re-establish the morning sitting. Life without the morning sitting is like trying to walk without legs. This is the beginning, the foundation, of strengthening personal presence. If we are absent, then life is all stuff. Nothing real happens; so when things go wrong, it’s not possible [read] Keywords:
