Mutterings - Feb 28

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Stupid :: Boy! (Dad's Army?)
2. Delete :: This (C++ or hiding traces?)
3. Morning :: has Broken
4. Disassemble :: Decode (as in disassemble a program)
5. Schedule :: Tight
6. Required :: Field (too much form filling)
7. Denied :: Access
8. Calendar :: Julian
9. Wind :: Up!
10. Eyeliner :: Pencil

Mutterings - Feb 18

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Cancellation :: Penalty
2. Suspect :: Interview
3. Fireplace :: Dogs
4. Spring :: Zebedee (magic roundabout strikes...)
5. Commute :: Retire
6. Places :: Recalls (to recognise..)
7. Fraud :: Electoral
8. Adoption :: Meeting (probably political)
9. Election :: Vote
10. Moving day :: Packing cases

Mutterings - Feb 8

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Hurry! :: Late!
2. Dumb :: -o
3. Fudge :: Nut
4. Sturdy :: Theology (I had supervisions with John Sturdy from Gonville and Caius when reading theology)
5. Printing :: Press
6. Itch :: Scratch
7. Creaks :: Bow
8. Paste :: Cut
9. Waste of time :: Country Walk (well according to some - not me!)
10. Let down :: Betray

Mutterings - Jan 30

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Doubled :: Fugue (well double really!)
2. Choreography :: a points!
3. Surprising :: Result
4. Punched :: Card (ancient IT..)
5. Followers :: Twitter
6. Stunts :: Fall
7. Comics :: Daily
8. Elaborate :: Deceit
9. Fumbling :: Climbing
10. Period :: .

Mutterings - Jan 8

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Bias :: Die (a single cube with numbers ;))
2. Boxing :: Day
3. Kennedy :: Dead (occasional pop culture references here..)
4. Podcast :: Music
5. Myth :: Greek
6. Movie :: Star
7. Building :: Empire State (don't think I'd seen the next line?)
8. State :: Galleon - a Joyce Grenfell connection
9. Hotel :: 3 star
10. Book :: Lyrics

1. Scrabble :: Domino (at one point we had cats called Domino and Scrabble)
2. Gin :: Forest
3. Problems :: Emotional (Maths..)
4. Agreement :: (Hand) Shake
5. Superior :: Lake
6. Cough :: Syrup
7. Resolved :: Cadence
8. Joy :: Peace
9. Beginning :: End (of the)
10. Plan :: Map

Retired!

Oh, have I retired! That stage of life was completed at the end of last month ending two and a half years of happy employment at Codethink.

There was bread and cheese followed by a trip to Beatnitz - which had recently opened under Codethink's office. Once I get past Christmas I will (I hope) have a better idea of where things will go next!

Mutterings - Dec 23

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Planned :: Attack
2. Constant :: Gradient
3. Solution :: Clear (chemistry rather than mathematics!)
4. Whine :: Cat
5. Everything :: Meaning of ...42
6. Stick :: Brown (what's brown and sticky...)
7. Measured :: Response
8. Faith :: Constant!
9. People :: Responses
10. Restaurant :: Menu

Mutterings - Dec 21

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Podcast :: Feed
2. Newspaper :: Column
3. Standing :: Room (only!)
4. I don’t know :: Gnosis
5. Hooked :: Angling
6. Height :: Bar
7. Comical :: Situation
8. Couple :: Odd
9. River :: Bank
10. Surprising :: Result

Mutterings - Dec 13

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Podcast :: Music
2. Literally :: Misuse
3. Scratch :: Buffer ( the default emacs situation)
4. Voltage :: High
5. Intense :: Spark
6. Chapped :: Lips
7. Attention :: Seeking
8. Morning :: Glory
9. Exhaustion :: Collapse
10. Mentor :: Software

Mutterings - Dec 7

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Notification :: Emailed
2. Promise :: Keeper
3. Tailor :: Spy (leaping a few in the le Carre sequence)
4. Laughter :: Hysterical
5. Sneeze :: Gesundheit!
6. Forgotten :: (they fly forgotten..) Dream
7. Job :: Employment
8. Shift :: Night (or maybe Red - thinking of the Alan Garner novel set near here..)
9. Criticism :: Just
10. Holiday :: Long

Mutterings - Nov 25

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Hack :: Space
2. Unimpressed :: Sniffy
3. Garden :: Shed
4. Saliva :: Drool
5. Ache :: Back
6. Elect :: Gevernment
7. Format :: A4
8. Temper :: Iron
9. Snail :: Horns
10. Holidays :: Walks!

Tiles

I wanted to have a photo of the new Codethink work offices before I retire at the end of this month to link with this posting back from 2009 of TNEI's offices in Newcastle. Here's the Dale St offices

Green and white used to be very much the fashion, I think I remember similar tiling being present in the Cussons offices in North Manchester where I worked on a project back in 1977?

Mutterings - Nov 17

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Notification :: Email
2. Vote :: early, vote often!
3. Simmer :: Rage
4. Biology :: Textbook
5. Constant :: Planck
6. Nail :: Hammer (I wonder if my previous answer was the mental link of the compiler to 'nail'!?)
7. Filter :: Coffee
8. Curls :: Innocent
9. Sensation :: Pop
10. Strap :: -On (errrmm!)

Mutterings - Nov 4

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Persistence :: Dogged
2. Access :: all areas
3. Pulp :: Fiction
4. Sincere :: Greetings
5. Dog :: Follow
6. Restriction :: Choke
7. Drilling :: Quake ( contentious fracking has recently started in the North west)
8. Pony :: Red (Copland..)
9. Monday morning :: Feeling
10. Retirement :: Nearly there!!! - see the announcement here!

Non-disclosure agreements

As non-disclosure agreements are in the news I thought posting one might add a little information to the discussion. This is an extract from one I was pressured into signing in 2009.

4. The terms of this Agreement are confidential and shall not be disclosed by either party to any third party except:-
4.1 in the case of the Employee his immediate family, provided such person agrees to maintain confidentiality; or
4.2 in either case for the purposes of taking professional advice in relation to this Agreement provided the professional adviser is bound by a duty of confidence; or
4.3 in compliance with any legal obligation to disclose, for example to HM Revenue and Customs or the Compensation Recovery Unit.
5. The parties agree and undertake (in consideration of their mutual promises to that effect) that neither will make or publish any derogatory or disparaging statement or do anything in relation to the other, which is intended to or which might be expected to damage or lower their respective reputations.

You'll see that I shouldn't be posting this (clearly!) but as the other party broke the terms of this (para 5 above) in a private briefing to ex-colleagues the day after it was signed I'm not unduly bothered!

Mutterings - Oct 23

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Bitter :: Herbs (Passover)
2. Sister :: Brother
3. Health :: Service
4. Weekly :: Timesheet (not going to be many more of these for me?!)
5. Theory :: Relativity
6. Innocent :: Pope
7. Bar :: Barrister
8. Conditional :: if () ...
9. Basement :: Department store
10. Rehab :: Drugs

catching up again...

1. Peaceful :: Vista
2. Halloween :: nearly birthday!
3. Wave :: o/ (IRC..)
4. Always :: Present
5. Blow out :: Straw
6. Rumors :: Nasty
7. Family :: Commit
8. Unwanted :: Approach
9. Love :: Actually
10. Cubicle :: Work (but never had one inflicted on me)

Mutterings - Oct 10

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Unexpected :: Arrival
2. Register :: Fast (a computing connection)
3. Argument :: Parameter (ditto!)
4. Calendar :: Mayan
5. Breakfast :: Croissant
6. Crossed :: Purposes
7. Sticker :: Laptop (my work one has a few!)
8. Simplistic :: Wrong (but what do I know!)
9. Jingle :: Bells! (a bit early..but advertising is prob not UK common parlance)
10. Cornerstone :: Faith (1 Peter in New Testament)

Granada and Málaga

My line manager is Spanish and I've had a standing invite to go and work at his house in Málaga for a few days and this year once the hot weather had mostly receded, Beth and I took up the kind offer. We flew initially to Granada and had a couple of days with a trip round the Alhambra and then a bus ride to Málaga and some work. Though it wasn't without enjoying the beach side location and the chiringuitos (restaurants along the shore). Some warm weather away from the rain that week - and some serious unrushed conversations. The photo album is here and there were the sardines..

- lots of great memories from both parts of the trip.

Mutterings - Sep 30

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Secure :: https
2. Untamed :: Lion
3. Private :: Parts (I'm hoping this is C++!!)
4. Blue :: Bottle
5. Total :: Crash
6. Scrunch :: Biscuit (biting into?)
7. Supply :: Power
8. Ill-fitting :: Trousers (mine are a lot better these days!)
9. Aches :: Shoulder (and various other places I threw myself out of bed a few days ago - in a nightmare)
10. Warranty :: Time limited (money trap..)

Mutterings - Sep 23

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Frustration :: Scream
2. Lame :: Limp (also audio converter!)
3. Hungry :: Scavenge
4. Activity :: Monitor
5. Miss :: Hit (I fear that's Juke Box Jury..)
6. Butter :: Ram (too much crossword solving)
7. Creative :: Mind
8. Edited :: Second chance
9. Heat :: Seal
10. Insistent :: Ache