Some reflections following a Freakonomics podcast episode[1] I just listened to and a Read.Write.as blog post[2] I just read. Something that puzzled and frustrated me in my five fantastic years in the US was the tendency of some (not all) Republicans to use Western European countries (particularly Nordic) as examples of Socialism. This was usually when talking about Democrats suggesting higher taxes and/or funding social policies to reign in perceived market failures and decrease inequalities – as an example Obamacare = socialised healthcare = Socialism.
Tonight my baby daughter worked out she could slap her hands against the surface of the water in the bath and make big, noisy splashes. What fun! What mess! Water all over the floor! I was going to post about something else but the simple joy of this eclipses other topics and is sending her tired parents to bed with smiles on our faces. We did manage to film a little of it on The Canadian's phone so it'll be a memory we can keep revisiting.
I've seen a few posts about the mysterious Gemini space, a lightweight, markdown-like section of the online multiverse using a protocol somewhere between the internet we all know and Gopher (which I'd not heard of either). There are https proxies to access it but where's the fun in that? Last night with the babe and The Canadian asleep, I gathered up my courage and set forth to explore!
I found a great podcast episode called “Building a thriving economy for people within our planetary boundaries” as part of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's podcast series on “The Circular Economy”. The episode features an interview with Kate Raworth who explains her concept of Doughnut Economics and how it is now being applied at city-scale by Amsterdam. Kate is wonderfully erudite and compelling, and I urge you to listen to the episode if you have a spare 40 mins. You may not agree with everything in it, or feel that it is unrealistic but it is always refreshing and inspiring to hear people with passion speak eloquently about what motivates them.
Pulled myself out of bed this morning to get the little one ready for nursery. Normally The Canadian does this (she's much better at mornings) but it was another night of interrupted sleep and feedings. Since I was up, I pulled on my running gear and after dropping off the babe, the wife and I went for our first 5k run together since 2016. Damn, that felt good!
Work, life and the weather got in the way of starting Week 6 of my Couch to 5k adventure. However, my first longer continuous run (20 min) at the end of Week 5 had gone well and I was feeling restless so I went out and ran a 5k on Friday 5th instead in just under 30 mins – wahoo!
(Shout out to Inquiry with the title of this post!) So, Weeks 4 and 5 now complete of the Couch to 5k! Finally got to do what felt like a decent chunk of running for the last workout of Week 5 – 20 mins continuous pounding of the back alleys and quieter roads of the neighbourhood with a few decent inclines thrown in for good measure.
As much as I love drinking Thornbridge's wonderful <0.5% Zero Five Pale Ale, sometimes a little variety is in order. So as a treat to myself I used a little birthday money to go crazy at drydrinker.com and buy the beers in the photo above. When combined with a few I picked up from the local Roath Bottle Shop, this means I now have twenty different “spacer beers” in stock. Twenty!
Happy Birthday to Me! Birthday 43! A strange one with this pandemic. No celebratory drinks in the pub or even a work day off since it falls on a Sunday. Still, a few nice cards through the post, a bottle of Islay whisky from some close friends, a good run, a birthday haircut from my wife, a few calls with friends and family, and a takeaway dinner will do nicely!
