Friday Roundup for 27 July 2012

My weekly check in of where I’m at.

 Body and Mind

Getting back into the running routine slowly is helping me focus on making time for it, without having to worry so much about pushing myself physically. That’s turning out to be a good combination, as trying to improve on both fronts simultaneously often doesn’t work for me. Next week kicks up to five days a week, so I’m hoping to carry my momentum through.

Sadly, this week hasn’t been as good for me on the “getting eight hours of sleep” front, but I have been doing a much better job of being aware of my mental energy and managing my expectations appropriately. 

 Friends and Family

Between Adam and Diana’s going-away party, Pint Night, both Dying Kingdoms and SCA fighter practices, and crashing Gwen’s knitting circle last night, it’s been pretty social week for me. Replace the going-away party with a trip to LA for a DK tabletop game and add a weekend of board gaming, and this coming week looks much the same.

 Create

Last Saturday’s Spontaneous Broadway show at the VIC was one of the most satisfying improv experiences I’ve ever been a part of. This weekend is a Dying Kingdoms tabletop game that’s at a critical point in the current story arc, so that’s been occupying a lot of my mind. Not much else has gotten done, though I did push out another Paulcast episode. I’ve got another fiction recording that I really should take care of on Sunday, so that should tide me over.

 Absorb

Things I’ve read:
*  What To Make of Finnegan’s Wake?
* I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar
* Castrating Daniel Tosh
* Rituals, Mechanisms, Habits, and Traditions To Ensure An Uncluttered Home
* Maximizing Shareholder Value: The Dumbest Idea in the World
* New Programming Jargon

Podcast episodes:
* Resilience Strategies For a Volatile World
* The Power of the Introvert In Your Office
* Purple Reign

The soundtrack of the week:
* Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club
* Original Broadway Cast, Camelot
* Octarium, Octarium

 Professional

This week’s book club was on the latter half of C++ Coding Standards, which started to get a little arcane even for me. Carol and Ryan summed up much of it as “if you’re tempted to be clever in this way, don’t.” It did point out which areas of the language are still unclear to us, and where we need to spend a little more study. We also spent a little time each day TDDing the Bowling Game, which really paid off today when we refactored the heck out of it at the end. Deliberate practice is your friend.

 The Weekend

Wine tasting and Olympics opening ceremony tonight, DK game tomorrow, and fighter practice on Sunday. 

That’s my week and weekend. Yours?