# The Isolation

> Again, these are personal weeknotes. I know most of you come here for the work tidbits, so sorry about that.

> Last updated: 2020-03-16

Again, these are personal weeknotes. I know most of you come here for the work tidbits, so sorry about that.

- Being locked up for 3 days was quite hard, so by Saturday (7th) I really wanted to get out of the house. The problem was that coincided with my body's excessive mucus production, making it hard to hide the fact I was ill in public. By chance, I happened to find the perfect cover: spicy phở. Everyone sniffs and coughs when eating hot, spicy soup. (Does you good too.)
- Wandered down alongside the Thames. I love it there and used to walk it a lot when I lived close to [St Nicholas church in Deptford](https://boroughphotos.org/lewisham/st-nicholas-church-deptford-47/). Never often made it past the [Cutty Sark pub](https://www.cuttysarkse10.co.uk), though, and I've been missing out.
- The highlight was Richard Wilson's [_A Slice of Reality_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Slice_of_Reality), especially eerie because a radio was playing inside the ship, though I could have sworn that no one was aboard. It reminded me of passages in _Doggerland_, the book I was reading a few weeks ago.
- Not fancying reading more of _Lean UX_ on a Sunday, I hunted out a podcast about naval history but couldn't find anything to suit. So instead I tried to find one about Greenwich's naval history. There was a 30-minute show on BBC Sounds but nothing else. It mentioned Samuel Pepys though, and I remembered I hadn't read his diary yet.
- Anyway, I'm now 330-odd chapters through the audiobook. I'm still quite surprised that his diary is where I ended up after seeking out a podcast about Britain's adventures on the sea, but low and behold he's actually on a ship now. So maybe it was the right thing.
- Mad to think that there wasn't really a ruling monarch in 1660. Looking forward to hearing how he deals with the plague too, as people have already made comparisons between that and [our own epidemic](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cyz0z8w0ydwt/coronavirus-outbreak). 
- My new speakers arrived on Friday (6th) and I've been enjoying them an awful lot. Much more fidelty, the frequencies are treated properly, and there's elements to songs I hadn't picked up on before.
- Monday evening (9th) served up a treat: Ashley Henry live-scored scenes from space at the Royal Observatory. They called it ['space jams'](https://www.rmg.co.uk/see-do/exhibitions-events/space-jams-royal-observatory-feat-ashley-henry-live-scored-planetarium-experience). It was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it a lot, though at times the visuals weren't quantised with the music. Maybe it'd work better if the music were properly arranged rather than improvised.
- I booked tickets for [Livity Sound at Mick's Garage](https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1399212) but it'll probably get cancelled...which is a shame as Peverelist B2B Pinch is just 😙👌
- Went to see Moses Boyd at Electric Brixton on Thursday (12th), and I dunno if I've _ever_ seen a drummer lead a band like that. Also, I don't know if it's fair to call him a jazz musician, feels like it boxes him in too much. Yes, it's inspired by jazz but he plays with influences from electronic music so much. The lighting was rad too.
- Fell into an internet hole looking at the history of civil defence in the UK. It's quite amazing.

## Bookmarks

- [Your Colleagues Don’t Read Anything You Write. Here Are 8 Ways to Change That.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/smarter-living/your-colleagues-dont-read-anything-you-write-here-are-8-ways-to-change-that.html), 8 mins
- [You've found yourself leading a remote design team](https://markboulton.co.uk/journal/found-yourself-leading-a-remote-design-team/), 3 mins
- [Theory, practice, praxis and framing.](https://medium.com/@blangry/theory-practice-praxis-and-framing-a71a867ccd09), 4 mins
- [Chasing The Perfect Loop](https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3627), 11 mins
- ['Only five people know I make tunes'](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/oct/26/urban), 6 mins
- [GDS Retrospective #2: tools for making & communities](http://blog.memespring.co.uk/2017/04/16/gds-retrospective-2-tools-for-making-communities/), 3 mins
- [GDS Retrospective #3: professions and design](http://blog.memespring.co.uk/2017/07/01/gds-retrospective-3-teams/), 3 mins
- [GDS Retrospective #4: transformation and mental health](http://blog.memespring.co.uk/2017/07/01/gds-retrospective-4/), 3 mins
- [GDS Retrospective #5: things that have changed](http://blog.memespring.co.uk/2017/07/02/gds-retrospective-5-things-that-have-changed/), 3 mins
- [The Fast and Slow of Design](https://markboulton.co.uk/journal/the-fast-and-slow-of-design), 9 mins
- [Nothing can change](https://medium.com/@SimonFParker/nothing-can-change-f20bd6dbc60d), 4 mins
- [Has coronavirus killed off Manchester's Spice supply? Drug experts say it might NOT be good news](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/coronavirus-killed-manchesters-spice-supply-17868719), 4 mins
- [Psychologists Explain How To Stop Overthinking Everything](https://medium.com/kaizen-habits/psychologists-explain-how-to-stop-overthinking-everything-e527962a393), 6 mins
- [Inside Dominic Cummings’s coronavirus meeting with big tech](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/dominic-cummings-coronavirus-big-tech), 3 mins