another long day >> pretty much just this view

I know I am making a fuss about a dental procedure I had yesterday which in the scheme of things was pretty small and routine but I have spent the day today feeling swollen and absolutely rubbish. I had some surf writing to finish for tomorrows deadline which I did at the same time as watching the beijing olympics. so the only real view I had all day was the one below sitting at home with my mac balanced on the arm of the sofa. I am hoping for a good nights sleep tonight if the painkillers last.

its all about go2 today >>

sorry but I had to mention go2 again today. 

just longer than a year ago I received an email from rachel from the then yet to be published magazine (to be based in south east cornwall) asking me to think about writing a piece about surfing (my other passion) to be included a new lifestyle & listings magazine. I did write something and subsiquently managed to write an article for every issue over the year. in that time the magazine has become a very well read and informative addition to the published media in the area as well as online. am not pretending that it is because of my articles by any means as there is so much more interesting stuff in it. viv, rachel, matt and the production team are consistantly responsible for producing a quality free magazine. I just hope that the magazine continues to grow and becomes even more well read, and hope that I can continue to write for them. 

happy birthday go2. 

Go2 february - march issue 2008

just thought I would give an extra plug to Go2 magazine, not simply because I write a surfing column for them & have done since the launch in may 2007. but it is a good magazine and if you live in cornwall you can pick up a copy for free at most newsagents, music shops,surf shops as well as supermarkets, if not just go to the Go2 web site and read it online.

a little self indulgent >> more france stuff

yes I know you are probably a bored of france but it is one of those days, it has been sunny and warm. so late this afternoon we got the camping stuff out to make sure it was all ok and pitched the two tents we are taking in the front garden.
I know we are not going to france for over a week but carol is getting excited, she still only has a few shifts left.
I am on summer break but still have to write the september's surfing article for Go2 magazine, before we go as it has to go to press early-mid august. the august issue is out and a good one .
I am also playing around with another project a complete re-design of an academic web site, the deadline is september so still early, and I am still thinking about it.

any way these three pictures will hopefully sum up a part of our next surf trip to south west france (basque country).

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it's back to pencils >> davo

as usual it was a chance message that led me to the blogs / website that I am introducing to you through dgthekneelo today. I really never know what I will be writing about form each day to the next. that is what makes stuff so interesting and fresh.

I knew that I was not crazy when I detailed the things like to always have with me in a blog I wrote a while ago 'found a nice pencil'.

troy worman's blog 'orbit now' was the starting place leading me to pencil revolutions and finally on to dave's mechanical pencils.
now this site is a real work of passion I have to say I spent far too long reading it earlier

nothing to do with the blogs mentioned but check out davo, a new concept is instant blogging that I have started, with the idea that snippets or section of conversations that seem interesting. at the moment it is very early and the only person set up to update is me, but if things work out I would like to open it up to anyone. Have a look and leave your thoughts.

good books >> a paper full sunday

I normally (and today was no different) fill my home and my head with newspapers most days but especially on sunday. newspapers are full of so much to see, or look at. I think there is a big difference, we have a choice as to what we look at.

two publications caught my eye today, whilst the howies summer catalogue is not a sunday publication I had put it aside to look at today, well worth it simply because as usual the design and production is in my opinion very good. the website is a joy to navigate as far as I am concerned.













the observer book of the weather (free with the observer today) is not just a good well designed informative book but it even quotes from far from the madding crowd (the joys of spring) thomas hardy, so it will bound to find a place on this blog.

bathroom again >> the man came back

I really have to apologise for the obsessive bathroom stuff it is just it has been something that has been bugging me for months. I should have done it really but I was and still are having major treatment on my shoulder and can't really lift stuff at the moment. (even though I did have a little game of rugby the other day).
I/we are so fussy about the look of things at home. it took a few weeks just to decide the colour of the tiles.
so out side of work where heaps is going on, it is very important for me to have other design colour problems to think about in a but is a respectful way as in world context it really is not that important.


I have had some very sad personal news in the last 24 for hours so writing about the design of a bathroom does seem futile, however I still do it.
as that is the way I get through stuff I suppose and it is important.

I really like the colour of the tiles and they haven't even been grouted or cleaned yet when the white grout goes on it will look stunning.

Still loads to do though as the new toilet an shower are yet to be put in.

surfing >> left >> right >> goofy?

the picture below was taken this time last year by moby it is of south fistral, newquay cornwall. for me is is very close to the perfect wave except for one thing the wave is a right.
now that might sound strange to those of you who don't surf but clean waves don't section (fold over in one go) they peel. when the wave peels it breaks from left to right or right to left.
so that will mean a right breaks from left to right if you are surfing the wave, and a left breaks from right to left if you are surfing it.

surfers come in two types (in general) a natural footer stands with their left foot forward, and usually like surfing rights whereas a goofy footer stands with his right foot forward and usually like surfing lefts.
normally there is a direct correlation between being
left or right handed and being a natural footer (right handed) and goofy footer (left handed). of course there will always be exceptions.
again I also prefer surfing lefts, but I am right handed!

well I am now, as a child I was one of those who was actively encouraged to write with my right hand and I was shouted at by teachers constantly told not be 'cack handed' so I practiced and practiced eventually making my self very able to write with at first either hand and then a bit later better with my write hand. the unfortunately side effect it gave me I think was that I developed a bad stammer, through primary school I would be so keen to express my knowledge I would often stand up and say, I,I,I,I,I,I,I, it's 25 sir. to much amusement from the class.

of course that is not how you would wish to be at school but I was lucky I never got really upset by it and by the age of 16 I had pretty much learnt (with help) to slow down and speak clearly though even now I still stammer on rare occasions, but I don't see it as a major problem.

if any thing being forced to write with my right hand gave be an advantage I think, as when ever I tried a new sport or activity I could use either hand, then decide which I would prefer to use. so now I play cricket left handed, baseball either, football either, rugby either, surfing I favour lefts but can surf either, I wont go on!

I will come back to this subject another day 'as usual I am going on too long'.
I even got a lovely email yesterday from the editor of the magazine I write about surfing for. apologising as with all the summer events to be listed they would be needling more space so could I limit my piece to between 1000-1500 words. I wonder if that would have happened if I had been allowed to write left handed.

surfing >> moby picture >> Go2

I don't want to turn this blog an extension of my surf web site surf98, but I have to include this picture as I like its composition so much.
it is not a picture I took myself rather a picture I would have liked to have taken. my man on the north coast 'moby' took it this morning it was amongst a few pictures he set to be included in the forecast page of the site. the fence is the border of the golf course at fistral beach, newquay, cornwall. so the picture is taken from a good distance away.

what looks like a black dot is a surfer waiting for a set wave to take, gives the waves a scale.
whilst on the surfing subject I have to say I have been surprised at the positive comment already for the first article in the new magazine I mentioned in yesterdays post Go2. I am sure that a few will have bad things to say but that goes with the territory when you write you views down in ink!

sorry for another short blog today but I seem to be extraordinarily busy at the moment (this is a good thing).

grass seed >> frog >> Go2

just a quick post tonight, as it was wet and raining this evening I thought it would be a good time to get some grass seed on the parts of the front garden that are worn. while I was spreading (in the rain) the seed with an open hand the frog literally jumped into it. I only had a short time to take a picture before I let it go in the next door garden.

please accept this has nothing to do with all things french that I have been talking about in previous posts, just a coincidence.

I for the first time saw the my surfing column in the new cornish based 'Go2' lifestyle magazine. it was strange to see it as although it had been very slightly edited. it was only the last section that had been left out just because it was a self contained story and I was over my 2000 words any way. nice to see work in real print.

Go2. A new FREE magazine that enables you to GO2 do what you want in Cornwall and Plymouth.
Coverage of the best in art and entertainment.

meetings >> designing >> what do you use?

I apologise for the rambling nature and poor grammar of this post. perhaps I should have planned it in pencil first?

I have just come out of that (two hours plus) meeting I mentioned in yesterdays blog, it was very productive that is not something I can always say.

during the meeting I was struck by they different way the people involved chose to record their thoughts or used to bring their ideas to the meeting. taking in to consideration the make-up of the meeting, it included two people from an ICT (information communication technology) background, two from a design technology background (with four with a science background for the first half of the meeting) then ending with a longer discussion of design technology at the end. all the people present would by the nature of their work and qualifications would generally be thought of as academics.

I always take my filofax making sure I have got fresh plain paper and lined paper in, all but two had paper based forms of writing either with a pencil or a pen. only one had a pda (personal digital organiser) and one had nothing at all, I felt jealous that I didn't have the courage to not bring anything but myself, surely it is showing extraordinary confidence or that they couldn't care at all. knowing the person I have to say the former is the truth.

I thought more, with the assembled at the meeting all of whom work on computers every day, and all being computer/technology literate. why did no one bring a laptop? why did only one use a pda? and how is it the tool of choice for most a pencil?

then I thought more the one person using the pda is probably at least 15-20 years younger than the rest of us who where writing. the only one in the same age bracket as pda man was the person who didn't bring anything but his thoughts. I know others around the table have pda's and all have laptops of some description. I have a pda (i-paq) in fact I have had two, I gave one to carol and now I use the other as a sat-nav. I tried to use the first one I bought instead of the filofax after about 6 months I stopped I could just not get on with it I felt it made me think far too slowly, I was becoming bound by the software.

If I am trying to put an idea down visually I will always now start with a piece of paper (nearly always A3). even when it is for a web idea's or something with a digital outcome. this was not always the case up until a couple of years ago I would design totally on screen but I started to find that the ideas were being driven by the software and I started to design to the software specifications which became very limiting.
I would be interested to hear if I am the only one who works like this? do you design directly on your mac or (pc). do you still use a pencil and paper? is it an age thing? when I learnt to write we used paper and pencils then ink-pens when we went to the junior school! it would be nice to hear from you, if you have managed to get to the end of this!?!

thinking >> it's just words

I spend hours and hours keeping up to date with both (ICT/enterprise) educational thinking as well as current business practice.
I worked in the real world as a designer, and a retailer before hiding away in the comfortable world of education! (well perhaps not that comfortable but for different reasons).
but I find myself spending more and more time reading only half the book, the first couple of pages of an academic paper or a .pdf document only to get bored at the point when I realise that so much of the stuff I am reading is probably just common sense wrapped up in a well designed cover, perhaps by some-one who hasn't even read the book, or 'just words' telling me the same thing.

whether it is web usability or information architecture, even planning for business success through a multi layer intranet. I have say that some stuff I have seen and read lately simply is just not very good, that said I am still a great fan of jakob neilsen and the useit web site.

I keep thinking about what my photography lecturer (in the late 70's) said to me when I was trying to measure to perfection where I was going to put my lovely art school 'black and white photo', using a really clean stainless steel ruler and my finest mechanical pencil spending ages and then finding that it still looked a bit wonky. I also remember feeling a certain amount of horror as he took the photo away from me and picked up a new clean piece of mounting board and with out measuring it at all put it in exactly the right place, saying "if it looks right it is right", but then it's just words, or is it common sense?

surf-time >> even if there is no surf

strange how having some-one around who is keen to find out about something that you are obsessed with. gabriel my 13 year old son is staying with us for the school easter break and he has started to become interested in surfing not through any major influence form me I have purposely kept away from pushing any of my children in any particular direction. (though obviously if I go on about stuff enough things rub off, gabes also has a rather nice mechanical pencil).
He has spent the last day and a bit asking question after question about when I started surfing and what I did when I was in Spain or France and how big was the biggest wave I have ever surfed, to be honest I love it but I have also got to get the surf article written for the new magazine only got about 700 words I need a minimum of 2000, they are hoping for more.

I relented and did something I prefer not to do with my children (sticking them in front of the TV). I put on some surfing videos from the era of surfing that I grew up with so that I could get on with writing but I ended up watching the films with gabes, and I spent most of the time talking through them he didn't seem to mind.
so I haven't done anything except spent some really good time with him watching 'old school' surfing videos. that isn't a bad way to spend and evening.

I love the way the surfing film became influential as far as lighting, colour and concept, being outdoors, often not telling a story, even creating such quality/inventiveness from pretty much always limited funds.
the surf movie was not often under funded because there wasn't the corporate sponsorship seen so often on the 00's. films were often made by surf obsessed hobbyists, and even some successful surfers would pay for a film to be made with the winnings of a surf contest, including them of course.
the visual impact of the all films we watched tonight was incredible considering they were made more than 35 years ago! it was really nice to see surf films without product placement and sponsors logo stuck all over the place. two stand out as classics crystal voyager and the morning of the earth I fully understand they are not to every ones taste but if you are involved in surfing they are must.

shame really I would have liked to gone surfing tomorrow but the ocean has already decided for us as currently cornwall is not getting any surf and is unlikely to get any before the weekend, but hey that is the way of surfing and part of its attraction. not like football were you all arrange to meet at a certain time and have a game, surfing has its own unique way you surf when the ocean says, I like that, I really like that.

sunshine >> good to see gabes >> a bit like summer

it felt like summer today as we drove across cornwall on a trip to sort out some quite important stuff, we were running late as I had all off a sudden started working on the surfing article this morning (has to be done by the 5th) and carol was waiting for the post.
then over to dhl in north cornwall to pick up a new body glove wetsuit courtesy of surfgirl magazine for carol.
then back down to the city (in devon) for me to sort out my broadband account with orange and pick up a new phone. sorry people but its a blackberry I know probably more than half the people reading this will be waiting for the i-phone (from apple) to reach the uk, but I have to think about the service I use and what I need.
in cornwall if I want to get information from the beach by email I need a phone that I can do that with. I know that blackberry work predominantly with a windows user in mind and the rim technologies are again set to work with microsoft. I got the 8100 so a small phone, and to my eyes at least a nice looking phone, be interesting to see if it is any good?


the indulgence of the day was another visit to mcdonalds for the second time this year, it was my son ben (8) who wanted to go. I was surprised that they accommodated my strange dietary needs, I am vegetarian and don't eat cheese anymore, as you can see from the picture it looks a little odd but it tasted fine, I just can't help fueling the all these american monsters.

then towards evening we went to met gabes another of my sons from his coach journey. he had been on a coach since 9 in the morning and had pretty much seen the whole of the south coast of the uk on route to cornwall. all things considered it was a successful day. that's better much better.

writing stuff down

for a long time I considered writing lists was an excuse for not doing it (thinking that the fact you had written it down was sort of doing it) so I never wrote lists.
over time perhaps my thinking changed or my memory has become less good or more likely I have more to remember.
so for the last few years I have written (scribbled) stuff down in my filofax. things that are happening that day or plans for the next day pretty normal way of working really and as close to lists as I have ever got (normally without comment so not really a diary).
I have never succumbed to the to do culture that is too contrived for me.
I tend judge my life by how much scribble there is. as I look back through the scribble of the last few days (first photo). I can see that my week was pretty busy but this weekend (second photo) and the beginning of next week is not, as defined by the lack of scribble (scribble = good) and that makes me worry. I still like to have too much to finish another 80's throw back perhaps. luckily I have the surfing article to get done (third photo). I am sure by tuesday my pages will be full of scribble again.

busy week > > new challenges

this week seemed to rush by can't believe that it is friday already.
something new I have been asked to write for a monthly magazine that is being launched at the end of the april. so I have to deliver/email my copy by thursday next, I was sort of hinting at it on yesterday's blog but things were confirmed today.
have to say that I am happy to get involved, all being well I will be writing a monthly column, making sure to add my thoughts on surfing, the surf scene in the UK and surfers (of all types). I will be sure to plug the magazine when it comes out provided that they don't cut or over edit me!
I didn't add this site yesterday so it's here today, good surf photos find your wave well worth looking at.









thought I would sneak the magazine logo in to my blog, hopefully it won't get me in to trouble.

back to today, earlier in the week I mentioned meetings and today was a day of meetings and many short conversations. I have no idea why but I found it extremely hard to engage myself in any of them.
not because I didn't think they were worthy, because they where. one faculty meeting was very productive indeed, very interesting, and working towards what I believe in. I couldn't get in to any of it. maybe it was because I am simply too tired.
so think I will get myself off to bed.

too texty >> more images >> surf sites

I have realised the last few blogs have become a bit 'wordy' I don't mean in a precocious way just too much text to get a real feel perhaps?

on the back of some lengthy email conversations I had today with the deputy editor of a soon to be launched extreme sports/lifestyle cornwall based magazine. surfing and surf literature, writing have been foremost in my thoughts. further still I have to think a bit about a surf related proposal on offer?

until then I thought a much better way to end the day was to give you a brief tour around some good surf related websites, using and containing some great images as well as good writing. check their websites for more.

from left to right surfgirl, a1surf, kneeboard surfing uk, and bottom kneeboard surfing usa.

found a nice pencil >> what do you always carry with you?

a few weeks ago my friend davidthedesigner posted on his blog a picture of his favourite pen a 20 year old rotring. at the time I wanted to respond with a picture of a muji pencil (silver, right) that I thought was my favourite, but at the time couldn't find it. in a way I am pleased that I didn't because the fact that I couldn't find meant that I wasn't really using it. it wasn't very comfortable to write with but it looked so good. since then I have found the bic mechanical pencil in the photo (below black/silver) which I have now replaced as my favourite. it is a budget mechanical pencil but it is just so nice to use and it looks good as well.

I got to thinking in this world of technology and digital applications why is it that I still am excited about a cheap mechanical pencil?
I have a pda, and a mobile phone that is with me almost all the time.
I thought about what I always carry with me whether working or not. I consider the glasses I wear when needed a piece of clothing, as I do my watch (as these are a given rather than considered). I though it would be interesting to find what others cannot be separated from.
I have to add that my real job is that of an ICT & enterprise teacher so I work with computers (& students) all day. with so much of my work automated it would be easy to not write anything by hand.
I could probably have one flash drive with me (as some colleagues do) and still be able to function well in my job, moving between different computers.

the picture (bottom) shows what goes with me everywhere. my filofax (I did use a pda every day for a year or so but I really missed writing on paper), the bic mechanical pencil, a 1GB flash memory drive, for documents and animations, presentations etc, and a 2GB flash memory drive for images and video.
now I realise no matter how much technology I have around me I still want to be able to write with a pencil on paper sometimes. that's why I will alway carry one with me, along with filofax (for me an 80's throwback) and my 'geek sticks'.

what do you carry with you every day?