This week I’ve been struggling to focus but still moved a few things forwards. I also kept bumping up against some bizarre (non) efforts at “digital transformation”, courtesy of Standard Life (abrdn), Costco and the UK Government.
This week’s highlights included:
- Adapting David Clark and Sophie Marshall’s “Simple Stack” diagram for the purposes of my team at risual. I hope to republish soon in blog format as it’s licenced under Creative Commons.
- Discovering a blog post in which Oliver Burkeman (@OliverBurkeman) explains that it’s OK to just get 3-4 hours of solid work done, and “don’t worry id the the rest of the day is characterised by the usual scattered chaos”.
- Reading this post by Corey Quinn (@QuinnyPig) about multi-cloud strategies and why they are generally not a great idea.
- Changing my display name to remove all the vowels because apparently that’s how digital transformation is done these days:
Oh god please hire some people who understand that digital is just how most people live their lives now and not removal of vowels https://t.co/rnoTDWYA4u
— Jess Brammar (@jessbrammar) April 26, 2021
- Getting back on the Microsoft certification wagon and booking exam DP-900 (Microsoft Azure data fundamentals) for next week.
- Joining the Environmental Sustainability group at risual.
- Despairing over school communications:
Only a school could communicate like this: message sent to parents' email (using @IRISParentMail) with a .DOCX (Microsoft Word) attachment which, assuming you have the necessary software to read it, is a letter informing that the school will be posting an FAQ on its website ????
— mrk wlsn dgtl (@markwilsonit) April 30, 2021
- Feeling about a hundred and four years old as I saw this BBC Archive footage about “The Information Superhighway”.
- Visiting a shopping centre! I picked my moment: 18:30 on a Friday is a) quiet and b) free parking in Central Milton Keynes. I was quickly in and out of Next and John Lewis with minimal human contact…
- Discovering that Microsoft Edge can automatically detect coupon codes for websites.
- Buying myself a Keep Cup, as Milton Keynes Council keep rejecting the Vegware ones when I drop them in the compost waste:
This is a "completely compostable" @vegware cup… yet @MKCouncil have started pulling them out of my garden/food waste and leaving them behind… pic.twitter.com/0xbIDBG2tT
— mrk wlsn dgtl (@markwilsonit) April 20, 2021
- Realising that digital transformation hasn’t reached Costco UK yet – and no membership card means no entry and no shopping:
Almost all transactions I make these days use a digital wallet (one exception is the local market). Unfortunately, I just went to @CostcoUK and only had my phone with me ????. No membership card ? and no ID to get a replacement card means no shopping ?? #DigitalTransformation
— mrk wlsn dgtl (@markwilsonit) April 30, 2021
- To be fair, it’s not reached parts of UK Government either if this is their idea of digital signatures.
Looking ahead to the (long) weekend, I have no races to take the eldest teenager to and the weather ins’t looking wonderful. So, just the usual Youth Cycle Coaching on Saturday and, hopefully, some relaxing and pottering at “geek stuff” in the Man Cave…
This week in photos
No Insta’ from me yet this week (maybe there will be over the long weekend) so here’s a Line of Duty meme instead:
Just putting this here so I know where it is next time I need to use it in a group chat ? #jesusmaryandjosephandtheweedonkey pic.twitter.com/5AeljOy7Q0
— Rich Bishop ? (@richbishop) April 26, 2021