Wednesday 18th February, 2009 @ 22:21
Normally I despise these things but I found this a fairly interesting Facebook meme to be going round at the moment.
Rules: Once you’ve been “tagged”, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be “tagged” (on Facebook). You have to “tag” the person who “tagged” you. If I “tagged” you, it’s because I want to know more about you. (I’ve only “tagged” people on Facebook).
- I’ve been seeing my girlfriend (Lindsay) since we were both at school. She is amazing and I’m a very, very lucky man.
- I treat life like a software problem. I’m convinced there must be some algorithm for “solving” all the world’s problems.
- I became a Christian at 17 but wasn’t raised going to church.
- I love dogs and hate cats. I want to train all the world’s dogs to eat the world’s cats.
- I exfoliate and moisturise. I am/will be mocked for this but don’t care because my skin is awesome.
- If I ever couldn’t be a software engineer any more I’d become a full-time bass player.
- I have my nipple pierced, resulting in the nickname “Nipples” at school. Most people called me that rather than my name, including a fair few of the teachers.
- Cycling has been my main method of transport for about 10 years so I have an strong dislike of bus drivers and people who beep their horn.
- Deus Ex is my favourite computer game. It is incredible and and you should play it even if you don’t play games. It is a work of art.
- I hate tea and coffee.
- I think of myself as Scottish before British.
- I constantly wish I had enough time to try and help everyone through all their problems.
- I look forward to being married but fear becoming a parent too young.
- Sometimes when I meet random people on nights out I like to convince them I have a really bizarre job. Last time was a paramedic for domestic pets.
- I was one interview away from joining the British Army’s Infantry.
- I have landed a plane. (In real life, not just in a computer game.)
- I think Babylon 5 is possibly the best piece of TV or film ever made and if you disagree then you are wrong.
- I can’t cry and haven’t done so for over three years. This slightly worries me.
- I care very little what random new people think of me unless I’m in a situation like an interview or my good impression means a lot to my coworker/friend/girlfriend/family member.
- I’ve known I was going to work with computers since primary school.
- I think if you are not Scottish you shouldn’t be allowed to wear a kilt (possibly by law).
- My music collection contains almost no female artists, probably because most of it is progressive rock.
- One of the most endearing things someone can do to me is take the piss out of me.
- I relish all criticism as one of my goals in life is to improve myself as much as possible in every area.
- I generally hate romantic comedies unless they have John Cusack in them and then I irrationally love them.
Posted in My Life, Random
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Monday 9th February, 2009 @ 23:27
Being a software engineer I feel the need to optimise the crap out of everything. I’m that guy that does the washing up at the same time as he’s cooking, who reads while vacuuming and generally just tries to multi-task as much as possible to make maximum use of my brain at all times. As a result I take the same sort of approach to my relationship with my girlfriend of 6 1/2 years, trying to always become a better boyfriend, improve my communication and help her whenever I can.
As a result of this I’ve taken to sporadically reading relationship-help books and books about the differences between men and women psychologically. The most recent of these was recommended to me by a good female friend; the classic Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
.
The book basically uses the model of two species from different planets interactions to represent the stereotyped (the author admits this) but often valid problems in the interactions between men and women, focusing this book on those in romantic relationships.
I think a lot of the points that John Gray makes are fairly apt, about how men and women respond to their negative emotions (men tend to want to be by themselves, women tend to want a sympathetic ear but not to get solutions to their problems). We didn’t find this particularly revelatory; after a relationship as long as ours you tend to work these things out for yourself.
What I found interesting was that instead of challenging the fact that neither of these slightly extreme reactions should actually be challenged and improved upon (encouraging men to become more open and women to be more pragmatic when upset) John Gray instead seems to imply that you should just learn to accept that a few days a month (his rough estimate) your partner will act irrationally and selfishly and you just need to let them do that to get it out of their system.
I’m pretty glad I didn’t read this at the beginning of our relationship or I think my girlfriend and I would have developed some fairly destructive attitudes towards dealing with our differences. I think understanding these are a key element in improving a damaged relationship or knowing how to better communicate with your partner but I think blind adherence to John Gray’s advice could actually be fairly damaging for a relationship that doesn’t already have problems.
I’d probably recommend reading this book if you are having problems communicating with your partner but if you are happy and both of you are sharing your feelings and honestly and openly dealing with issues in your relationship I’d say it’s perhaps one to miss. Regardless of your camp I’d personally recommend from following his advice to the letter and perhaps strive for a great relationship all the time and moving beyond your biological impulses to try and become a better partner.
Posted in My Life, Random
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Saturday 7th February, 2009 @ 02:47
Sorry to post this but it was too amusing not to share.
In Obama’s autobiography he quotes a friend who used to swear a lot. Obama read’s the audiobook version of his own book.
Hilarity results here.
(I’m not saying swearing is good/bad or that Obama is therefore good/bad because of this. However I’m still childish enough that this makes me giggle like an idiot…)
Posted in Politics, Random
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Monday 2nd February, 2009 @ 19:05
Came across a really interesting blog on the web the other day called Naked Generations. It’s a company-run blog for a for-profit company, but I must say it’s definitely one of the most interesting blogs I read (out of over a hundred).
Apparently I’m a member of Generation Y as I was born in 1984. As I’ve been working in the last few years, especially in my time at BT, I’ve found myself having a very different attitude to my older coworkers. I’ve sometimes felt that maybe I’m just a “rebel” and need to learn to conform, but reading this blog has been a bit of a wake-up call in helping me to realise why I do some of the things I do and how I can be better motivated.
I’d say it’s a must-read if you are either in Generation Y yourself, or you are a manager who has staff from Generation Y working for you and want to understand how to keep them well motivated.
If you want to find out even more about this stuff, the company behind the blog Naked Generations does consultancy and have worked with some pretty big names already including the British government.
Check it out!
Posted in Random
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