Author Archives: essiep

Be more happier!

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9C, light wind,rain till hometime.
CA-16 miles.
Dark lanes route. Started with an amusing incident. Crossing a junction, the car opposite pulled forward at the same time. But, he turned right, in front of me. I called out “Indicate!” then as he drove away, shouted “YOU SHOULD BE MORE HAPPIER!”.
I was more happier until I met a dangerous driver.
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This ride was in question all afternoon, the heavy rain seemed non-stop. It cleared in time, so I took the 16 mile lane route. Even with wet, black roads, the visibility was good enough.
It seems that these lights are holding their charge better as the week wore on. Could it be that the training period that new batteries need should be done with batteries that have been left in storage all summer?

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Dark.

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6~14ºC, clear, no wind. CA:22 miles.
Do you tell-off drivers who take pointless risks. I do. Today, two were texting as they drove. And another had a spiral notebook on the steering wheel which she wrote in as she drove along. I shouted at that one. PUT it down! … then…Thankyou!
Ever the teacher…
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Teaching kids: a bunch of year 9 kids about storage media in today’s Computing class. We talked of durability and ways they can get damaged. One way that they didn’t anticipate was DVDs can be spoiled by bright sunlight, especially the recordable ones. So, I told them it would be fine if you put them where the sun doesn’t shine. I didn’t mean to!

Some got it and felt the need to explain to the rest.

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Dark, single-track lanes.

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11ºC,cold, dry and clear.
First ride though those narrow lanes I have explored recently. It felt like a test, to find out whether view are safe in the dark. Tonight, they were. As long as there is no ice or slippery mud, then it should work well enough.
It’s great to see so little traffic.
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Jodrell bank

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12ºC, heavy rain.
Day out at Jodrell Bank as a birthday outing for the 10 year old.
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The dish was parked upright, probably because of the heavy rain that beat down all day.
The youngsters loved it, though view were the kind of kids who would be receptive to this kind of thing. In my view, the shop could be better stocked with books suitable for adults. They put on talks all day, mainly for kids but we adults got to ask questions too.
I bet the Cheshire cyclists use their cafe all the time. What a fine cafe it is too. I had the best goat’s cheese wrap I can remember.
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A most satisfying day.

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12ºC, 3/5 cloud, mod W.
CA:36 miles.
Jobs done– marking while Dave measured the staircase; replacement part for the clock-radio arrived; paint some outside door-frames; go cycling, and enjoy feeling recovered.
Every holiday is the same- feel semi-ill with tiredness for days on end, then come to life mid-week.
Even the bike rode in a more sprightly manner. Those two hours yesterday carefully cleaning the derailler gave sweet, almost silent gear changes. The sun shone.

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Hawthorn berries are made of ruby.

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Hurry, rest, there isn’t much time.

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16ºC, sunny with wind.
Big storm coming: Sunday night, gales, Monday heavy rain.

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Film: Sightseers. Serial killer goes on holiday in a caravan. This is like Mike Leigh with casual murder. Beautifully shot and rendered on Bluray. And funny too. There is plenty written about this film, I don’t need to repeat here but I am still impressed by the quality of hidef on Bluray. Colour depth and shadow detail are dramatically clearer. The extra resolution is secondary in my opinion.

My holiday to-do list is far too long for a one-week holiday. The marking bag is heavy this year, but I will try.

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Skyphone.

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15°C, wet morning, sun afternoon. Shorts weather.
CD, Skyphone– I confess, at the start, that I don’t really know how to review a CD. So all I can do, is make a recommendation. Currently, there only exist two CDs from this Danish trio; Avellaneda and the one currently in my CD player- Fabula.
The sound is woven from interlocking synths and percussion things to make complex of sweet harmonies and little sounds. The little sounds have caught me. It reminds me of the ever wonderful Fred Frith. This adds harmony and rhythm to Frith’s sometimes dissonant layering.
Music like this I can work to and listen to exclusively. In other words, it works in the back-ground and bears close listening while doing nothing else.
Would you like to know what category to put this CD in? I don’t know- that seems to be a question that youngsters are more concerned with than I am.. Look under S then.

Fabula

Fabula

Will this do as a music review?

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Over the top.

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12°C, rain,
I hit a car this morning. It pulled out, in front of me by a hotel near work. Traffic was slow and I was overtaking on the right at low speed. A car pulled out of the hotel and drove right at me. I rode at only ~9mph, but couldn’t stop in time to avoid landing on the car’s bonnet. In that split second, something snapped inside and I banged my fist  down on the windscreen and mentioned something about French connection UK. For a millisecond, part of me wanted the glass to break.
With the adrenaline up, I got up and rode on to continue my journey. Not the textbook action, I admit.
No injury apart from a tiny graze on my forearm.
Confusing, but at least the guy woke up.

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Workload

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15ºC heavy showers,
I teach 17 groups which vary in size from 28 down to 12 kids. Most classes come in 16s. In all that makes 265 pupils, each of whom is supposed to receive one homework a week. For me, that makes fifty pieces to mark each day. That doesn’t count half-term projects that also need a grade, comment and associated paperwork. Every pupil is supposed to receive personalized learning, special needs for many and I am expected to know them all by name. Any advice?

It can’t be done can it?.

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Absurdly wet

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16ºC, heavy rain.
Will this ever end? The world will be washed away eventually. I blame the comets, they brought it all here originally during the second heavy bombardment.
This weather causes steamed up glasses when I stop at traffic  lights, or out hiking it makes map-reading difficult. Maybe I should just have laser eye-surgery and have nothing to complain about.
Rainfall like this is said to continue all week. My needs are simple.

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