{"id":7262,"date":"2017-10-29T18:58:29","date_gmt":"2017-10-29T18:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7262"},"modified":"2017-11-05T23:17:28","modified_gmt":"2017-11-05T23:17:28","slug":"a-newsletter-weeknote-blogletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2017\/10\/a-newsletter-weeknote-blogletter.htm","title":{"rendered":"A newsletter? Weeknote? Blogletter? Issue No 1 (Week 43, 2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inspired by David Hughes (@DavidHughes<\/a>) and Christian Payne (@Documentally<\/a>), a few weeks ago, I ran a Twitter poll to see if anyone would be interested in a newsletter of some of the stuff I\u2019ve been up to. The responses were mixed, but some went along the lines of \u201cthe email format doesn\u2019t resonate with me\u201d and \u201cI like reading what you\u2019ve been up to on your blog\u201d. My blog has been falling by the wayside in recent months and I do want to write more, so I\u2019ve decided to write a weekly (ish) newsletter here instead. In between, I’ll stick write the usual tech-inspired stuff but this will be more eclectic. Matt Ballantine (@ballantine70<\/a>) does something similar with his weeknotes – but he must be incredibly disciplined to get them out every Friday. I spend Fridays trying to end my week.<\/p>\n

So, here goes for issue 1. I\u2019m still not sure what this thing should be called?<\/p>\n

A week off<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve just had a week off work. I needed it. My previous blog post describes some of the challenges I\u2019ve had lately<\/a> and I really needed to decompress. After the initial weekend madness (just like every weekend), the first half of the week was spent at home, mostly sorting stuff out (more on that later), then a few days away with my family\u2026<\/p>\n

The weekend before…<\/h4>\n

My eldest son has started competing in the Central Cyclocross League<\/a> and I\u2019ve been joining in the novice races whilst he races in the Under 14s (both races take place on the same course at the same time).<\/p>\n

I seriously considered not racing last week after a very hard practice lap but then my son instructed me to \u201cput your numbers on and race your bike\u201d. Oh, OK then!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m reasonably fit for long distance stuff (I recently completed<\/a> the rather hilly inaugural Velo Birmingham<\/a> 100 mile sportive) and my Caveman Conditioning<\/a> (circuits) a couple of times a week help with general fitness but cyclocross is something else. Particularly when you’re using a mountain bike because your son is riding his CX bike (how inconsiderate!). I think it may be time for an n+1<\/a>. Certainly if we do this again next season!<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, being ignored in the LBS doesn\u2019t leave a very good feeling. Being ignored on social media after sending the tweet even less so\u2026<\/p>\n

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Dropped into @TrekMK<\/a> yesterday. 3 staff behind the counter. All ignored me. Guess my n+1 won\u2019t be a #Trek<\/a> Boone then… #CustomerService<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) October 24, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shopping<\/h4>\n

I don\u2019t often wear a suit for work these days – but there are occasions where it\u2019s still expected (first meetings, particular customers, etc.). I\u2019ve been putting off buying a new suit for a while because a) there are two in the wardrobe that I really should slim down into b) I\u2019d rather spend the money elsewhere. This week I gave in and bought something new.<\/p>\n

I took one of my sons with me and he happily browsed the John Lewis<\/a> technology department whilst I was suit shopping. He thinks I spent a lot of money though and suggested I get a blazer with some M&S trousers like his school uniform for a fraction of the price! Welcome to the world of work, son!<\/p>\n

Whilst he was browsing the technology, I spotted this:<\/p>\n

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What on earth is the Windows Premium Collection? pic.twitter.com\/J0H1doxg8y<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) October 23, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Windows Premium collection appears to be Windows 10, running on a selection of higher-end PCs (Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre, etc.). First time I\u2019d heard of it though\u2026<\/p>\n

Administration<\/h3>\n

I spent a good chunk of my week off working through an administration backlog at home. Ultimately that results in a lot of scanning (on my Canon ImageFormula P-215 desktop scanner), some shredding and a little bit of filing (for those few documents that I do retain in paper form).<\/p>\n

After hunting around for PDF editing tools (ideally command line) to remove some pages I didn’t need inside some existing PDF files, I found this comment on the MacRumors forums<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cPreview does all of this quite well, fyi.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sure enough: open the PDF in MacOS Preview; delete the extra pages; save. Job done.<\/p>\n

Karting, photography and train travel<\/h3>\n

My youngest son wanted to go to a friend\u2019s go-karting party this week whilst my wife and eldest were heading down to Dorset for a few days. No problem, he could stay at home with me whilst I did some of my admin and then we\u2019d follow on by train.<\/p>\n

The karting inspired me to get my Nikon D700 out again. It may be big and heavy but I love the control of the DLSR experience and the results. I\u2019ve tried some pro apps on my iPhone (like 645 Pro<\/a>) but it\u2019s just not the same!<\/p>\n

\"_DSC7044\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Afterwards, the train journey to Dorset gave my son and I a mini-adventure (bus, train, tube, another train) to join the rest of the family – and with a Family and Friends railcard<\/a> it was less than \u00a330!<\/p>\n

Walking<\/h3>\n

Last Friday was a gorgeous day – almost no wind and bright sunshine didn\u2019t seem like late-October! My family took the chance to go for a walk along the South West Coastal Path from Swanage to Studland (for a pub lunch).<\/p>\n

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October coastal walk! pic.twitter.com\/G1rkFaccE6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) October 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n