I guess I'd better check in and say Happy New Year and all that. One of the reasons for my recent absence from this blog is the shear quantity of stuff going on that I can't talk about right now. Mostly work stuff and mostly good (in fact some of it is very exciting indeed) but there is a little bad stuff as well (also work). Lets just say I'm having one or two difficulties coping with the public sector and the different value it places on actually achieving stuff compared say to the private sector. Hopefully I will be able to write about all of this stuff sooner or later.
Year end (or year start as I have let it become) has traditionally been a time for review so I guess I can manage a quick review as well. Standout new things last year: Gabriel (my son obviously) arrived in July, moving down south has worked out pretty well and has been a welcome change of scene, flickr has provided (and continues to provide) lots of fun, my new powerbook and for the most part working at the library.
Music wise: Jandek, Will Oldham, Nurse with Wound, Coil despite the sad death of Jhonn Balance are all standouts and have received a lot of play on my mp3 player. Reading is harder: I have read so many books its hard to remember what I read this year and what I read some other time. I do have to mention Mr Norell and Jonathan Strange though. This is one of the most pleasurable reads I have had for some time. More Jane Austen than Lord of the Rings; it immerses you in an alternative England where magic exists filled with details characters and an eminently readable story.
This has been my favourite Christmas and New year for quite some time. Primarily because it has been very relaxing and I did very little except hang out with my family. Milo was big enough to appreciate it this year too and had an absolute whale of a time as well.
Posted by Mark at January 4, 2005 06:22 PMI can well imagine your bewilderment at the Public Sector's approach to getting stuff done (which is often, basically, not to consider it an urgent priority). I'm in an area where there is higher emphasis on results, but I can't help thinking that an organised private firm, in a perfect world, would do it better.
Posted by: Richard Wright at January 5, 2005 10:07 AM