Weeknote 0019

• The esteemed Phil Gyford, Esq. wrote something nice about these weeknotes: frankly I had no idea anyone—least of all him—was reading.
  • Even though we’ve moved in the same circles for over two decades, I’ve met Phil (I think) only once. My epilepsy brain loses memories for extended periods but this one resurfaced recently. It was at the Conway Hall: London’s very own museum of uncomfortable seating. He’d made the mistake of standing in the foyer in plain view, and I collared him. Who is this guy, he must have thought, and why is he strangersplaining all the cool stuff I’ve made back to me? He was gracious.
  • Phil has made many excellent things, including the Ooh! Directory of old-school blogs. The one I’d submitted dies this week, because the hosting company has make an unreasonable price increase and I’ve been too disorganised to move it away in time. Plus, I opted for WordPress, which I feared would be a mistake. Surely it can’t still be as bad as it used to be, I thought. But, of course, it is. So doing.digital will come back, all flat-file like this one is, although probably not using Publii either. I do like Publii but it’s quite common for me not to be at the machine upon which it’s installed, and it won’t install on any other device in my care.
  • I initially missed this because Panelbear, which I used to gather a hit-count on this and other sites, was killed off at the end of last month to try and migrate to whatever bloated, overpriced thing took it over. So I did migrate, but to another nice simple, low-cost one. I then forgot the name of it. Fortunately a lovely someone spotted Mr Gyford’s kind words and emailed me about it. And that’s why we internet.
• I bought a jetwash and I regret waiting until middle-age to do it.
  • Young people are under so much pressure to be young. And while they should make mistakes and travel and try stuff and savour the moment, they should also buy a jetwash.
  • Mine is bristling with toys. The paving around this horrible rented house has never looked better. Having cleaned it and then brushed coarse sand between the blocks, it’s a higher-standard job than our lousy landlord really deserves: he who still hasn’t replaced the fence panels that blew away two winters ago.
• I’ve been ill this week. It’s probably the commonest of colds or perhaps a mild fever, but since Covid even the most minor things seem to wipe me out. So I’ve spent a few days sweating and being rubbish at Mariokart. Have you played Mariokart online? It’s a great way to remind yourself, no matter how good you think you are, that you can’t beat an international swarm of tweens*.

_{* I saw International Swarm of Tweens at Glastonbury once, before they were mainstream. Their earlier stuff was better.}