Trivial Observations _Health & Fitness

Basil 01 blog 02 notes 03 earmarks 04 river 05 #100DaysToOffload Trivial Observations 100 Days August 3, 2020 100 Days to offload. Completed it, mate.Sort of. I don’t really feel like I finished the challenge properly. I have been limping home from just past the halfway mark.Walked to the finish I had hoped that I’d be able to get by with short diary posts filling out between larger more fleshed out posts of greater interest to me. I didn’t really achieve that for the whole way. A bit like a someone with ok fitness that tries to run a marathon without training and walks the 2nd half. Read more Three Day Weekend August 2, 2020 I feel like I’ve written this blog posts before but I took a day off to extend my weekend and made a point of doing very little on all three days. It was exactly what I needed. I hope I don’t feel like I’ll need it again come the end of the week.Trash movies and beer Aside from the small bike ride I mostly either sat in the garden or watched rubbish movies. Read more Cones and Chaos August 1, 2020 A little cycle today. We took the easy route to Wylam and back. A flat 40km. We had a nice surprise, we bumped into Teemo out on his walk, he greeted us enthusiastically before barking at us when he realised we weren’t getting off our bikes. That was definitely day made for Mrs Basil.Road changes Gateshead council have put out a lot of cones and a closed some roads as many have for social distancing. Read more Mad Dogs and Englishmen July 31, 2020 Summer was on a Friday this year, so I took the day off work and sat in my garden with the dog.It was too hot to venture out with him without a lot of care and attention and I just wanted a relaxing day. So in the garden we stayed. I drank beer and fed the dog watermelon. It was good.Doing nothing Mrs Basil decided to take the day off too, but as ever, was soon confused by the notion of not doing anything. Read more Adulting July 30, 2020 It’s coming up to the end of year 1 as a homeowner.Which means it’s switching and renewal time.Media My “introductory offer” from virgin media is up so they sent me an email saying that, if I was happy on my package, I could do nothing and my bill would only go up £50 per month.If I wanted something else I could go online to the offers section to see what else I could do. Read more Another Hugely Unproductive Day Behind Me July 29, 2020 Another day where I did not a lot. Working in isolation on small tasks seems to cause me issues.Constant switching When starting the next thing, procrastination kicks in every time. I’ll think about one problem for a little, get to a hard part, abandon for another problem instead. Repeat until I’ve lost an hour. Male a coffee.Feel like I need to do some menial labor for a while. Cleanse the palate. Read more Insert Infrastructure Joke Here July 28, 2020 In an amusing, yet highly predictable, turn of events the government website for signing up to the bike repair voucher scheme is on its arse.How to build your own DDoS I imagine the Energy Saving Trust isn’t really used to more than 3 people visiting it’s website at the same time.They probably thought the website people would make sure it could handle it before they knew what ‘it’ was. Read more Build It and they Will... Complain, Probably July 27, 2020 Lots of cycling announcements from the government today. I’m going to file all of it under good news.Would I like it to go bigger and further, sure. Are there some token gestures in there rather than real big plans, sure. Is it all talk and no action at present from a bunch of truth twisters, sure is.But I’m not going to let perfect, or even great, be the enemies of good. Read more Ranger from the North July 26, 2020 Once again a week that lasts 1,000 years and a weekend that lasts 10 minutes is behind me.The main development being that I got my welcome pack for my new volunteer role with Sustrans so I guess I’m officially a Sustrans Ranger. Although I still have some training / induction stuff to complete. Read more Droning On July 25, 2020 Mrs Basil is currently struggling to get sorted out with a drone flying license.License You do a course and a test, which mostly covers your legal responsibilities and restrictions, and you log X hours of flight time.But let me tell you, finding a place where you are permitted to fly is one hell of a challenge.Searching for the promised land So the next few days we will be scouring maps for publicly accessible land isn’t in a built up area, that isn’t a no fly area and isn’t SSSI designated, which around these parts, doesn’t leave you with much. Read more Low Key July 24, 2020 A low key end to the week.Work was an admin day. Bit of cards after work, a little beer and a little reading.Spent some of the day gobsmacked once again at how deranged the US President is but then decided not to think about it for to long.No football or dog hunting to report for a change. Read more Fear City July 23, 2020 I watched the first 2 episodes of Fear City, the Netflix documentary about the FBI Rico case to take down the 5 New York crime families.I started watching it because the story interests me and I’ll probably continue to watch it for this reason.That said, I feel the program could be a lot better. It feels a little bit haphazard from a storytelling perspective, rather over produced, and quite drawn out. Read more In Your Head July 22, 2020 Another reminder, yet again, of how much of elite sport is won and lost in the head.Then Leeds United utterly crumbled under pressure last year. As their lead wore away to 3 points. Needing 7 points from their last 3 games, they got only 1.While trying to keep a grasp on their last hope, a calamitous 20 minutes saw to it that all was lost.And now This year could so easily have gone the same way but for a few moments relieving the pressure. Read more Waiting July 21, 2020 Today was a bit of a bummer. A failed meeting with potential dog and hours spent in hospital. Thankfully they were unrelatedWaiting game The date with the dog did not go well. The dog was much larger, much younger and even less trained than described.So even though part time dog Teemo didn’t particularly get on with the dog, it wouldn’t have worked for us anyway.I will say that the photos they took do not do him justice and he was one of the sweetest most handsome dogs I’ve ever seen. Read more Going to See a Man About a Dog July 20, 2020 Finally, after umpteen applications, Mrs Basil and I have an appointment to go and meet a dog.This dog is at the Dog’s Trust so Mrs Basil and I will be heading down their with Teemo, our part time dog, in the hope that we all get along.First date First of all, I hope the dog takes to us. Secondly, I hope the dog isn’t too big and too unruly for us. Read more Back to Dog Minding July 19, 2020 Carrying on the dog theme. Late last night we received a very last minute request to look after Teemo the West Highland Terrier for 2 night.We agreed, because we love having him around, but we knew what was coming.Restless night The first few times we ever took care of Teemo over night, and again the first few nights in our new house he was extremely restless and fidgety overnight. Read more A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Lockdown July 18, 2020 Mrs Basil and I were ramping up our search for a dog right when Covid rocked up.Lockdown put the breaks on the search but now the rescue centres are slowly opening up again.Lockdown Pastimes There were shortages of baking consumables, DIY good, exercise equipment, and bicycles as people took up hobbies or ways to pass the time in lockdown.Now it seems people want dogs.Lockdown Companions An employee at one of the centres said they are all very concerned about the surge of interest they are getting in adopting. Read more At Least Until the World Stops Going Round July 17, 2020 I was 19 years old when I started waiting for this day.I’ve drink and am drank. On any normal year I’d probably be outside the stadium right now. But it isn’t, so I’m not.All Leeds Aren’t We.Marching on Together. Read more The Sixteen Year Madness July 16, 2020 I’d been pondering and hoping to write something a bit more thoughtful around this, about sporting highs and lows, elation and anxiety, but I have struggled to make any inroads.The big sleep It’s been 16 long and annoying years since Leeds United went stumbling out of the English Premier League like a football club impersonation of Frank Spencer.After a few false dawn’s and final hurdle stumbles sprinkled in amongst the years of dreary nothingness and calamity, maybe, just maybe, they are finally back. Read more People Have Gone Around the Bend July 15, 2020 That’s my only observation of the day. Literally everything is now turned into a battle. An Us Vs Them.Everything is politicised.Crikey, it’s exhausting. Even ignoring it takes conscious effort. The amount of people who are vindictive, thick as mince, or both amazes me everyday.Was it always like this? Maybe it was and I was just better at ignoring it. Read more Nature is God July 14, 2020 Returning to the book I mentioned previously. A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton. For the most part it is a brief introduction to various philosophers throughout history and their thoughts on existence and God, perception and reality.Most philosophy books I’ve read in the past have been political in nature. Questions about who gets what and says who?For this reason, famous ideas about God and the like have mostly past me by. Read more My neverending stack of half read books July 13, 2020 After pointing out my unwavering procrastination when faced with small fixable problems, here’s another character flaw for you.I have a tremendous ability to just stop reading a book that I’m allegedly enjoying.Self loathing I can forgive myself to some extent for not wanting to read. For getting a book and never getting around to it. For starting a book and abandoning it for not liking it.Enjoying a book and just stopping, I hate myself for it and I can’t explain it, but I do this over and over. Read more Another 60 Kilometres to Santiago July 12, 2020 Mrs Basil wanted to go on another ride the chip away at her virtual pilgrimage. So we headed out at around 9am on a loop that took us out to the Derwent Valley.The land of oak and iron The name Derwent comes from the old Brittonic meaning Oak Walk. This means that there are rather quite a few Derwents scattered across the country.This Derwent was one of the iron epicenters of the country, as high quality imported ore from Scandinavia had easy passage up the Tyne, and coal was obviously abundant. Read more Just Fix It July 11, 2020 I finally fixed the garden gate.A trip down the road to Toolstation. £8 for a pair of gate hinges. An hour out of my day.That’s all it took.A daily annoyance Both hinges had corroded and one had almost snapped, the floor clearance was nonexistent and the latch would stick.Opening the damn thing, especially with bags or a bike in tow was a real pain in arse. Read more Mopidy and Spotify July 10, 2020 After a few months of belt tightening I allowed myself to restart my Spotify subscription. This meant I could finally see if I could get ncmpcpp (stupid name) to play music from spotify.I’d already setup mopidy and configured the mpd and spotify plugins but hadn’t been able to test the connection.It kind of just worked So, although I did have issues getting mopidy set up originally (I think pulseaudio / permission issues). Read more ¡LEEDS, CARAJO! July 9, 2020 Tonight there was a 30 minute long filler program on between football matches. It was a fairly run of the mil documentary about the Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa.The kind of program that is only watched by fans of the subject matter that is cheap and easy to churn out.In this case, that’s me, and I’d just watched Leeds win 5-0, so I watched it.It was perfectly fine. Read more To Grandmothers July 8, 2020 The very moment the hairdressers were allowed to open, my grandmother was in there.8am. First in the chair. She’s always been very gung-ho and definitely the Don of the family so having family members tell her what she can and can’t do during lockdown has been interesting.Childhood memories I don’t remember too much from my early childhood about family members.I remember that my uncle David took me to my first football match. Read more Micropub Revisited July 7, 2020 After making a comment on the fediverse about how my #100DaysToOffload streak would have come to an end if it wasn’t for being able to use micropub to post from my phone. I was asked about my setup and if I’d written about it.This led me to 2 observations. My original post about setting it up was an incoherent ramble and that I’d never gotten around to implementing paging on my blog. Read more Sun Arise July 6, 2020 Mrs Basil is waking up at 3am to go and film the sunrise at the coast. So, fingers crossed it’s a good one.She asked me if I’d like to join her, I had to glance up from what I was doing to double check that she wasn’t joking.Reader, I will not be going.Daydreaming I spent a chunk of the evening daydreaming about the renovations we want to make to the house. Read more Growing Pains July 5, 2020 The main challenge we are having with the garden at the moment is how big everything is getting.Inhospitable weather The wildflowers have almost all capsized under the weight of all the rain of the last week.The potatoes are only just still standing after the rain and the gale force winds. I only recently read that Maris Piper should be avoided for windy areas due to their height so… Good to know. Read more Once more unto the breach July 4, 2020 Today was a stay indoors sort of day.There was a lot of football going on and I watched plenty of it along with a very distressing documentary on Netflix called Athlete A.Horrible story It was a well made program but difficult to recommend since it’s such a horrible story of the abuse suffered by the girls in US gymnastics program.The worst of all is it seemed to barley scratch the surface. Read more Head Down July 3, 2020 I followed through on my plan to make a conscious effort to sit my arse down to work first thing and do nothing except concentrate on my main task.I did ok for the most part. Got distracted a few times, but not too much or for long. Got more done today than the rest of the week put together.Working soundtrack I got a coffee, put my headphones on, and listened to brain. Read more Then I Took an Arrow to the Knee July 2, 2020 Today was a bit manic at work. Tomorrow I will attempt to sit down and smash out 3 hours solid work before getting distracted by auxiliary tasks and the wider world. You know, like how the pros do it, or something.Bought some furniture I had been looking for a blanket box for a while and finally got my hands on one. Socially distanced buying and selling is tricky.She had tried her best by wiping down the whole thing with antibacterial wipes (my confidence is low that this has any effect on a virus but I know nothing). Read more Sports Sports Sports July 1, 2020 Beer, junk food, and football. That was my evening, and it was good.I watched 2 good matches in the top 4 race. There were goals and controversial incidents and it was excellent. Most enjoyable football viewing since lockdown easing.Leeds shenanigans I’m still watching Leeds’ progress through my fingers and my confidence is currently 50%.One typically stupid development is the situation around one of their strikers.Signed in January on a 6 month loan with a permanent fee agreed in the event promotion is achieved. Read more Procrastinator-at-Large June 30, 2020 Days of late have been spent only half concentrating on work and pondering the things I could be tinkering with instead.Evenings have been spent not doing any of those things. It would be folly, however, to suggest this is a new skill. I’ve been a world class procrastinator for as long as I can remember.Mrs Basil insists I am subdued. Perhaps she is correct. Read more Sustrans Ranger June 29, 2020 Not much going on today, bit of a comedown after a decent weekend. Incredibly dull day at work. Struggling with boredom, motivation / giving a fuck, but at least I still have a means to pay my mortgage which is more than can be said of a lot of folk.One slight development is I received my welcome / induction email from Sustrans, so should be a volunteer ranger by the end of lockdown, whenever that is and whatever that looks like. Read more Didn't Electrocute Myself June 28, 2020 I had a productive Sunday. Well, after my obligatory lie in until 10am.Walked down to Screwfix with Mrs Basil to get an LED batten light and some electric cable, because this nonsense just couldn’t continue.I seem to have done it right As ever with these things, I don’t really know what I’m doing so it’s remarkable I’m not dead.Now I have a relatively well organised cellar with some space to move around and work. Read more Order Out of Chaos June 27, 2020 Sorting out my cellar is coming along.After hanging my bikes from the beams (and shoving the robot behind the door) I have moved the timber slats that were acting as a partition wall across a few feet and assembled a workbench to run along it.Same space, more access There was an enormous table down there but it was difficult to move around and just ended up as a dumping ground, now I have one wall of worktop and shelving that I can actually access. Read more The Storm That Never Was June 26, 2020 After getting up early (relatively) in order to squeeze in a bike ride before the early afternoon rain and mid-afternoon lightening storm. The poor excuse for a storm passed us by.Mrs Basil always scoffs at British thunderstorms, she’s right, they are usually not much of anything.A Coastal Loop The ride was decent. The first 40km was on ok cycle paths along to, and then up, the coast.The last 20 wasn’t great, nasty roads and paths and 2 incidents. Read more And I Wonder, Still I Wonder, Who'll Stop the Rain June 25, 2020 Mrs Basil and I had planned to go on a ride this weekend but the forecast can be summarized ‘pissing it down while the sun is up’.As a workaround, I’ve thrown in a last minute morning off work, and I’m going to drag her round a 60km coastal loop before the forecast thunder storm hits in the early afternoon. It will be by far the longest ride she’s done. Read more To the Beach June 24, 2020 Took the afternoon off and went with Mrs Basil to the beach. We had to try and pick a place that is nice and open and wouldn’t be crawling with people so we went with Low Hauxley. Not the most idyllic beach around, but it fit the criteria well.Mrs Basil adores the sea. It calms her nerves and relaxes her in a way that I think the pub does for me. Read more Well Hung June 23, 2020 Toward the end of the afternoon, out of the blue, I decided I’d had enough of our disorganised heap of a cellar.I ordered some cheap shelving and workbench space which should be arriving at the weekend and pondered how best to store the 3 bikes. Given the space is only 180cm high, hoisting them up would achieve nothing. Hanging them parallel to the wall individually would take over the entire space and hanging them on the same hook would be a faff and difficult for Mrs Basil to get to hers on her own. Read more UFO in the garden June 22, 2020 Most days when I’m looking around the garden I’ll see stuff and I’ve no idea what they are. Thankfully the internet exists and I can usually find out with a reasonable degree of certainty rather quickly. Be it the bird call app I’ve blogged about before or webapps that attempt to id plants and insects from a photo.I love how much easier it is these days. I remember when I was a kid I would always get frustrated by / become bored with something because I didn’t know something and had no means to discover the answer. Read more Wild Flowers June 21, 2020 Today was spent outside. Well, I watched Leeds United do a Leeds United, then the day was spent outside.After cleaning the bikes, attention turned to harvesting our early potato crop. We dug out the 6 plants and the yield is now drying in the cellar. I’ve no idea if this is a good return or not.Happy with the growth Next job was to get the shears out and stop the lawn encroaching on my wild flower bed. Read more Pinch Flat June 20, 2020 Today I took Mrs Basil for a bike ride. Just 30km, but as with most rides here, plenty of ups and downs due to zig-zagging the valley sides.I planned the route before we set off and it was difficult, trying to find a loop that stayed within a certain distance, only had so many tough inclines, and didn’t hit any intimidating roads.No car? Fuck you Frankly, it was impossible, and I found myself getting more and more angry at the state of the infrastructure available to casual cyclists. Read more Precautionary Measures June 19, 2020 The first weekend of lockdown football in England is upon us.Ignoring how awful it is watching stadium sports in silence and the cringe worthy lengths people are going to in order to soften the blow. From the artificial atmosphere, to the zoom call watch-alongs and the big screen fan cams.There are some things that made me laugh.Bailing water from a sinking ship Maybe these things were being done because they wanted to be seen taking precautions and perceptions matter. Read more Test Subject June 18, 2020 A quiet and lazy day. Work was spent writing tests to expose all the bugs on my list to fix next week. Easy work.Testing the optics I was able to see if my old camera was up to its new job of garden bird photography when a Jay paid a visit.It isn’t a huge zoom on the lens but it’s better than nothing and the auto-focus isn’t great but it’s certainly better than I could do. Read more Men made it, do not forget that June 17, 2020 What’s the quietest game in the world? 10 Pin Bowling. You can hear a pin drop. I was reminded of this Christmas cracker joke tonight when watching the first post-lockdown Premier League football. These days all sports are the quietest sports and it’s awful.Forgive the sports chat but watch me pivot like a god-damn pro.The machine stops There was an incident in the first game. The ball went in the goal, only just, but go in it did. Read more I Came in Here for the Special Offer, a Guaranteed Personality June 16, 2020 Nothing much of note passed through my mind today while I wasn’t at work. I dug out my old Nikon and the battery charged. There’s a small mark on the inside of the zoom lens but nothing to worry my intended use.Who the fuck camps overnight to get into Primark? The main thing that caught my attention today was the apparent need for everyone to go and buy socks. I tried to walk my way to understanding. Read more A Poorly Papped Pair of Peckers June 15, 2020 Today a pair of great spotted woodpeckers appeared in one of the trees in out neighbours garden. So I attempted to take picture. It did not go well.Then, for extra comedy attempted to photograph them trough the lens of my binoculars, without any real success.I had seen a male woodpecker once or twice earlier in the year but, though you can see from these images, this appears to be a female and juvenile. Read more Trivial Observations Content Basil Design by Max Böck - CC BY 4.0 Contact [email protected] Social Fediverse