Thursday, October 18

 

 

I answered Arlene Goldbard as soon as I got to work with some suggested dates for our online discussions. She emailed me back almost straight away (she must have been up late) and we had a date set. She also sent me an e-book and some links to articles which I downloaded, and will read over the weekend.

I then listened through to the podcast that Sophie and I recorded yesterday. I had worried that the sound quality would prevent me editing it. Or at least, make it not worth editing. Happily this feeling proved incorrect. I edited out some glitches and lay down the soundscape under the discussion (which had the effect of minimising the consequences of the occasional vocal flanging). I mixed the soundscape louder this time, and sent a copy to Sohie to ask her opinion.

I spent the rest of the morning preparing for today’s CMS class. I need not have bothered since most of the students who attended wanted to go through Tuesday’s class again.

Towards the end of the session Tuesday’s session repeated itself. As most of the students began to pack up to leave someone asked a question that sparked a sudden interest among a small number who stayed behind to pursue the solution.

An hour later we had a fully-functioning ten lines of php that did exactly what the questioner had asked. It received a list of all the categories in the website, randomised it, and displayed one post from this category under a headline saying Hot post from the XYZ category. I realised that this doubled as preparation for next week’s session since I can turn this into a function and then a widget next week, building upon what they have just learned.

It had rained heavily while all this went on although fortunately the rain stopped when it came time to leave for home.

Tuesday evening I sent almost two hours sweeping up leaves in the garden and the drive. Yesterday I spent over an hour sweeping up more of next door’s oak leaves from the garden. Tonight I arrived home to see the whole garden carpeted with leaves. The rain had made them too wet to rake.

At 21:00 I look at the plastic flowers hanging from the chandelier in the kitchen and photograph them. I play with the photograph in Pixelmator. Depending on how I treat the image I can highlight or hide their artificiality. I produce an example of each option and then combine elements of the two to make a third image.

I will then decide to withdraw from both the conferences I have this November: the one in Tampere and the one in Hamburg. They will both feel like diversions from the projects that need my attention.

I will decide to concentrate on those instead for the rest of the year.