A week in the life of Tom

Have been feeling a weird urge to design something lately. This was what I came up with. Open to ideas for things to do next.

Click through to see full size.

Addendum to key: PHOTOSHOP – 2 HOURS.

Monday, March 15th, 2010 | Posted in Boredom, Life | 2 Comments »

Calea Zacatechichi acquired

In my recent Dreaming post, I mentioned reading about Calea Zacatechichi. I managed to track down someone selling a cutting on TradeMe, so decided to buy it and have a crack at growing it. It arrived last week, and is now growing in a pot in my back yard.

Hopefully in a few months it will be big enough to get some leaves from it and have a go at making some tea. I’ve read (apparently un-exaggerated) accounts from people who have tried it that say it is the most bitter thing they have ever tasted, and that they struggled to get through a cup. This could be interesting. Will post an update when the time comes.

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Life | No Comments »

Writing

Continuing in the interests vein… Something that I have hated for much of my life, and that I had little success with early on, was writing. I almost failed high school English on several occasions, and throughout high school and university, I had a passionate dislike for essays and other formal documents. I have always been a grammar/spelling nerd, but my ability to form a coherent sentence/paragraph/essay has been lacking. It is somewhat ironic, then, that I now enjoy the odd bit of informal writing. Case in point, this blog (the place where the majority of this writing now ends up).

Much of my writing is technical, be it discussing or ranting on some technique or technology. Additionally though, I think that as my understanding of the language has increased, so has my interest in being able to express my thoughts to others in a comprehensible and succinct manner. They say that practice makes perfect, and so I find myself using my writing as a test bench for exploring expression of thoughts and feelings just as much as a means of communicating technical information.

Along the same lines, I have found that writing can often help me break down a situation and make sense of my emotions. Occasionally something will happen in my life that turns me into a giant ball of untamed and incomprehensible emotion. By attempting to put my feelings into words in a way that is understandable, I can come to terms with said emotions, and work out their root cause. In this way, writing has become quite an important tool that I can put to use on a personal level.

My writing is still very much a work in progress, and hopefully through this blog and other outlets, it’s something that I will continue to work on and improve throughout my lifetime.

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | Posted in Life | No Comments »

Coding: a not-so-brief history

Since it seems that February is “interests month” on the blog, I figured I’d continue the trend and write about an interest that has been with me since the very beginning, and that currently forms a large part of my life. That interest is computers and programming. Disclaimer: This is going to be a very long, nerdy post. Most of it will probably be gibberish if you don’t know much about programming. You have been warned.

(more…)

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 | Posted in Code, Life | No Comments »

Rediscovering dance

… Dance music, that is. For most of my life I have had a strong ear for dance music. I would sit in front of my stereo for hours on end with the radio going in order to hit record on a tape deck at just the right time to get such gems as Robert Miles – Children and Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams captured for my listening pleasure. I actually listened to a few of my tapes a few years back, and one of them literally had Children on it 4 times in a row. That’s dedication right there.

Since then, I’ve gone through lots of dance music listening phases, usually centering round one particular genre at a time. In roughly chronological order, there has been:

(Among others…) In each case, there is a period where I listen to nothing but that genre, and then eventually get a bit bored/tired of it and stray back into my wider collection for a while. Dubstep has been the latest genre to re-ignite my interest in dance music. It’s a fast developing genre, that is really starting to come into its own. It reminds me of when I originally got into drum and bass, with a similar sound that is somehow still fresh and interesting.

I think my passion for dance music largely centres around its ability to take me to another place for a while. It provides me a sort of escapism, if you will. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of turning up the volume on a stomping tune and closing your eyes for a minute or two to let it wash over you and push everything else out. Pure, unadulterated music indulgence. Love it.

Monday, February 15th, 2010 | Posted in Life | 2 Comments »

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