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posted by Mark Stringer @ 15:59
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Agile Lab - Training, Coaching and Consultancy
Friday, 26 August 2011
Down on the Beach (virtually Chris Rea free)
I did have a perfect day at the beach. It was a long drive down a dirt road. One of the first times ever I was grateful to be in a four by four in Greece, where the main reason as far as I can see for owning an 'Off Road' vehicle is the alarming number of times that you will find yourself driving/parking/drunkenly straying onto the pavement in Athens. As with everywhere we've been so far on Astypalaea it was windy, but it was hot at the same time giving the beach the feeling that you were sitting in a hand dryer. After an initial blatant row with a couple (actually just with the woman, the guy was cool with us sharing his shade) over a grass-thatched umbrella, we retreated to a tree further up the beach. There was a beach bar, playing endless Reggae (is this some kind of international law?) and a spirited barman who was actually polite and efficient. But my perception of the place changed entirely when I got in the water. The water was wonderfully warm and sloped off to deep very quickly. What's more there were rocks that you could climb up and dive into deep water. I suppose that was the most important thing. The blissful experience of repeatedly diving into clear water without fear of going too deep, without fear of hitting the bottom. Even though I didn't have goggles, the view through the blue water of rocks and weeds and sunlight through the water was strangely relaxing. As if there was some immense satisfaction that came from finally being in a scene that might be in an advert or a James Bond film. Sooner than I would have liked, my arms got too tired to lift me out of the water to let me climb the rocks to dive in again for another perfect Bond/advert moment. I sat under our uncontested tree and allowed myself to be dried by the hand-drier wind. And sipped sodas (no way can I drink alcohol in this dessicating heat) server up by the spirited barman who looked like the singer in Captain Hook. I suppose it was an 'If you're drinking Bacardi' kind of bar. Has any other advert ever so perfectly written its own parody? There were scantily-clad women barely in bikinis and men with hairy chests. Actually not so much the chests, but the faces. Many of them were sporting Chris Rea beards. It flickered at the back of my mind that at some point the reggae might stop and... No it's too awful to contemplate. I'd already been scarred by the experience of seeing the caldera in Satorini to the soundtrack of "Road to Hell." Many of the Greek men might have been the west midlands dirge-smith. Middle-age spread had started early and many seemed to be reassuringly flabby. A fair few sported tantalising moobs. Despite the perfect water, everybody seemed in a bad mood. Maybe it was the hot wind, maybe was that annoying feeling that after such a precipitous daredevil ride on a moped, you could expect Vatses beach on the tiny island of Astypalaea to yourself, maybe the women in the bikinis felt they deserved better that moob-toting Rea-beardies. Maybe it was the realisation that the beach had made it into a German guide book meaning that it was only matter of time before those weirdest of tourists, the French Swiss started defending sections of the beach with elaborate layouts of towels, building of cairns and the occasional alarming flash of mahogany testicles. But skidding our way back up the "off-roaders' wet dream pass" (this aint no technological breakdown...), I found myself singing gently to myself 'Pearly Dew Drops Drops' by the Cocteau Twins. It had been a dreamy day and that is the dreamiest song my subconscious knows, down on the beach.
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Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 09:05
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Thursday, 25 August 2011
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Friday, 19 August 2011
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Open for business/oligarchs, closed for education, self advancement, social equality
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8664414/Boris-Johnson-tells-George-Osborne-to-cut-National-Insurance-and-50p-tax.html Two or three weeks ago Boris Johnson was campaigning for tax cuts. He seemed to understand that certain kinds of policy moves send certain messages. And I whole-heartedly agree.Several weeks later and he and all his Conservative colleagues are denying that policy changes such as changes to tuition fees, changes to the housing benefit system, changes the benefit rules for disabled and sick people send any kind of message at all that might be interpreted and induce despair, looting, rioting and "simple criminality." To me the tripling of tuition fees said this: if you're not super-rich or super-brainy then fuck off.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 22:08
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This kind of thing is never an issue in software development. No. Never ever.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 21:09
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Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Nothing to do with the #londonriots this. NOTHING AT ALL 4yrs in jail for anyone who says it is.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 22:54
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Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Monday, 15 August 2011
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Friday, 12 August 2011
Sippenhaft - Cameron borrowing from the Arab Dictator Playbook - and from the Nazis
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sippenhaft Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 17:16
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Even though he occasionally bullies old men...
I felt that, and I had a mum who loved me, a dad who told me that nothing was beyond my reach, an education, a grant from Essex council (to train as an actor of all things!!!) and several charities that gave me money for maintenance. I shudder to think how disenfranchised I would have felt if I had been deprived of that long list of privileges.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 11:21
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AKADAY110811pt2
OK, so this is AKADAY110811pt2. It's interesting to be reading “The Inner Game of Tennis” and trying to get though my day. It starts to show up so clearly how not being in the moment can really fuck you up. When I went out of the house this morning it was raining, so I got wet. And so I was standing at the bus stop – having not spoken to the girl who was at the bus stop because I was annoyed because I was wet. And then when I got on the bus. Blam!!! not enough money on my Oyster card. And this made me furious because I would have had enough credit if it hadn't cost me 20 pounds to get from Highgate to Ealing Broadway and back. I was absolutle furious. I was fantasizing about screaming “CUNT” at some of the employees at the station. You see, I had to abandon my plan of going to Muswell Hill on the bus and give up and go to the station (actually, as it turns out, I did have five pounds in my wallet, I could have gone to the newsagents). See, if I'd actually regrouped and concentrated, I could have been on the next bus. But no, I was storming off to the tube station, fantasizing about shouting “CUNT” at people.
I'm in the Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road – in the Nero there. Do you know how much pussy there is around here? At 10 o'clock in the morning? I'm realising that I could turn today into a loyalty card day. It would be great to do 10 approaches today. And I have come out, nearly well-dressed for a loyalty card day. Apart from the shoes. I'm seriously contemplating buying some instant shoe-shine and doing something about the shoes, they're so bad. Maybe a better idea would be to just by some nicer shoes – certainly, that's what Nadeem would advocate. Anyway, oops, you see, distracted from talking about being distracted. I remember reading a copy of wired magazine a long time ago that pointed out that we were in an attention economy. And with the world as it is – riots, mobile phones, hacking scandals. It seems to get harder and harder to concentrate. But also, with the world as it is, it seems to be more and more important to be able to concentrate – whilst at the same time keeping an eye on the periphery. Focal and peripheral vision is just as important. But I wonder if the advent of ADHD/ADD is really highlighting the way that the world has changed. Concentration is more at a premium than it was even 20 years ago. Hence all the deploring of children who lack concentration. And so I think it is worth investigating things like meditation as a way of increasing concentration. Lets face it, I should be writing my book on digital project management right now.
I'm not feeling very clever this morning – letting myself get upset about the riots. Remember, the worlds is as it is. The universe is unfolding just as it should. And if this is a difficult truth to deal with, then perhaps some extra time and focus can be spent on dealing with it.
I'm not too old. It's not too late. I can make my life better for me and those around me, far better than I can possibly imagine.
I think Timothy Gallwey's take on positive thinking is really interesting – that it's really as bad as negative thinking. Both of them are obsession with the model than with the reality. The truth is that reality is a hideous curates egg. And the only way to with it's curates egginess is to pay attention to it. Maybe the clue is in the language. You do have to pay attention. But then again – maybe that's just monkey mind fucking with me. “Ooh pay!!! I have to pay for this? That sounds like hard work.” The truth of course is that if you can pay attention just a little bit, you can learn all sorts of things. As Pete says (God, I feel so bad about not going down to Brighton to see Pete) “Look, listen and learn.” That is extremely good advice. The thing is, it's really easy to read a book like “the inner game of tennis.” It's so much harder to put the recommendations of the books into practice. In a way AKADAY is one way of doing that. It says “whatever else is happening in your life, corral your thoughts enough to sit down and write 1000 words.”
And that's why “Writing Down the Bones” is such a good book – because it says “Just go ahead and write, worry about what you've written later.” Fuck me, the state of the pussy in here. Do you think if I could actually concentrate properly on just one thing I would be much more successful? One thing is sure, if I were more successful at concentrating I would be much more successful at concentrating. One of the things that I realised from reading Robert Anton Wilson's books is that there isn't really much chance of dealing with another consciousness (i.e. the consciousness of being rich or of being massively successful with women) if I can't really deal with the reality that I'm currently in. I wanted to write about the riots. I wanted to write the introduction to my book. I haven't done either. There is this thing that if I talk too much about my book I won't actually do it. I wish I had this kind of time everyday for two or three months. But isn't that just the exact opposite of what I've just been saying? Part of being in the moment is not making excuses. Maybe I need a goal. Maybe if I say that by the end of September – no, fuck the end of September, by the time I go away on Holiday in 11 days time I'll have 10,000 words of “Managing Digital Projects” and I'll have filled in the outline that Richard sent me. This means that every day between now and then I need to write 1000 words but it isn't 1000 words of this kind of free-form writing down the bones stuff, it's 1000 words about Manage Digital Projects. OK, here goes.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 05:46
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Thursday, 11 August 2011
Anybody else thinking (#londonriots) #cameronfail
Restricting social networking: illegal - but hey why did we sign that pesky European treaty anyway, knee-jerk, impossible to police (unless we turn into China) and completely against any notion of free speech.
Stopping benefits and evicting from council accommodation: illegal (that pesky European treaty again), arbitrary (if you live in private accommodation, you're punished less?) and impossible to implement (what are you going to do with their children? Throw them out in the street penniless as well? What if they live with their Grandma is she on the kerb with a hastily gather bundle too?). Oh and such a successful way of preventing rioting, because a gang of penniless homeless people with a known history of criminality would make a desired decorative feature of any high street or residential neighbourhood.
If this really is the best response we can come up with as a society I'm thinking maybe we deserved the rioting.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 17:53
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That Cameron speech in full...
It isn't the cuts in policing (dial 999 all you like, nobody's coming)
It isn't the massive hike in tuition fees (only super rich and the super brainy get a future)
It isn't the changes to housing benefit (only the super rich get to live in London)
It isn't that changes to mobility allowance (if you're not on life support, you've gotta work in Argos for minimum wage)
IT IS SOCIAL MEDIA - STOP FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AND YOU STOP THE RIOTS!!!
Sweet fucking Jesus Christ. These are really our brightest and best?
posted by Mark Stringer @ 17:16
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Monday, 8 August 2011
Yup #londonriots
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sclbrHqFbzu1X9Rqiqhn_YA/view.m?id=15&gid=.../2011/aug/08/context-london-riots&cat=commentisfree Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 17:10
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I have found...
I have found that when players break their habitual patterns, they can greatly extend the limits of their own style and explore subdued aspects of their personality. Timothy Gallwey - The Inner Game of Tennis
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Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 07:32
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Saturday, 6 August 2011
Even if you are returning the serve of an average player...
Even if you are returning the serve of an average player you will have only about 1 second [to return a tennis serve]. Just to hit the ball is clearly a remarkable feat; to return i with consistency and accuracy is a mind-boggling achievement. Yet it is not uncommon. The truth is that everyone who inhabits a human body possesses a remarkable creation. In light of this, it seems inappropriate to call our bodies derogatory names.
The Inner Game of Tennis - Timothy Gallwey
http://t.co/1F4BOk7
posted by Mark Stringer @ 15:08
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Uncomfortable without a standard of right and wrong...
Uncomfortable without a standard of right and wrong, the judgemental mind makes up standards of its own. Meanwhile the attention is taken off what is and placed on the process of trying to do things right.The Inner Game of Tennis - Timothy Gallway
http://t.co/Miquh1q
http://t.co/Miquh1q
posted by Mark Stringer @ 11:48
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I can't describe...
I can't describe how good I felt at that moment, or why. Tears even began to come to my eyes. I had learned and he had learned but there was no one there to take the credit. There was only the glimmer of a realisation that we were both participating in a wonderful process. The key that unlocked Jack's new backhand - which was really there all the time just waiting to be let out - was that in the instant he stopped trying to change his backhand, he saw it as it was. [...] When the mind is free of any thought or judgment it is free and acts like a perfect mirror. Then and only then can we know things as they are. Timothy Gallwey - The Inner Game of Tennis
http://t.co/IK6MXnd
http://t.co/IK6MXnd
posted by Mark Stringer @ 11:29
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Judgment begins...
Judgment begins when the serve is labelled 'bad' and causes interference with one's playing when a reaction of anger frustration or discouragement follows. If the judgement process could be stopped with the naming of the event as bad, and there were no further ego reactions, then the interference would be minimal. But judgmental labels usually lead to emotional reactions and then to tightness, trying too hard, self-condemnation, etc. This process can be slowed by using descriptive but nonjudgmental words to describe the events you see.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 10:29
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When asked to give up making judgments...
When asked to give up making judgments about one's game, the judgmental mind normally protests, 'But if I can't hit a backhand inside the court to save my life, do you expect me to ignore my faults and pretend my game is fine?' Be clear about this: letting go of judgements does not mean ignoring errors. It simply means seeing events as they are and not adding anything to them. Timothy Gallwey http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0330295136/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1312625370&sr=8-1
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 10:20
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It is interesting to see how the judgemental mind...
It is interesting to see how the judgmental mind extends itself. It may begin by complaining 'What a lousy serve,' then extend to 'I'm serving badly today.' After a few more 'bad' serves, the judgement may become further extended to 'I have a terrible serve.' Then 'I'm a lousy tennis player,' and finally 'I'm no good.' First the mind judges the event, then groups events, then identifies with the combined event, finally judges itself. As a result, what usually happens is that these self-judgements become self-fulfilling prophecies. Timothy Gallwey - The Inner Game of Tennis http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0330295136/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1312625370&sr=8-1
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 10:15
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Thursday, 4 August 2011
On occasion...
On occasion you will not be able to determine the question easily just by thinking through the introduction. In that case, look at the material you intend to include in the body. Whenever you have a set of points you want to make, you want to make them because you think the reader should know them. Why should he know them? Only because they answer a question. Why would that question have arisen? Because of his situation. So that by working backwards, you can invent a plausible introduction to give your question a logical provenance. Barbara Minto - The Pyramid Principle
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
posted by Mark Stringer @ 07:59
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Wednesday, 3 August 2011
On Duncan Bannatyne, justice, anarchy and oligarchy
Like Duncan Bannatyne, we all want to protect our family.
But if we were all allowed to make violent threats, backed up by promises of money, as Bannatyne did yesterday the world would be a more, rather than a less dangerous place. For how are we to know that the victims of Bannatyne's appeal forarm breaking won't be innocent members of our own family?
The challenge is to make the world more just, which in turn will make it safer. In our attempts to do that, the power of oligarchs like Bannatyne can appear to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
posted by Mark Stringer @ 07:42
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