But what if I don't like spam?

No, not a link to Monty Python but to a (or should that be an [I am never quite sure]) hilarious and gorgeously written post by Steve, for more info check this out - SPAM

have fun

In the air tonight*

One thing I have heard several times is that Milton Keynes has its own smell. Whilst this could be a USP¹ in many a marketing strategy, I want it to be said here and now that I don't believe this to be true. Milton Keynes does not smell!

However, several times a year there is a smell to Milton Keynes.

Let me introduce you to the CMF. Now the CMF hails from beyond the west side of Milton Keynes and is infamous. You see, despite what you were all thinking CMF stands for the Chicken Manure Farmer. Every so often, when the air is ripe right, Milton Keynes is covered by the acrid smell from a freshly spread farm, the CMF's farm. His use of chicken manure may help his plants grow to GM proportions but it also means that most of MK has its windows closed. Whilst this is good, with regard to global warming and reduced heating bills, it does mean that many would be thieves find takings lower than normal.

*This isn't a plug for the former drummer, turned frontman, turned solo artist of Genesis, although if you really want to you can check him out here In your ears tonight
¹Unique Selling Point for all those who haven't been to the BS school of marketing

Qumana

Well hopefully you'll be able to see that I am also trying out Qumana. And I suppose I should also have said that the previous post - which I have just copied within Qumana and then been unabel to post into here, so one down so far. However, can't say I tried that with Windows Writer.

Still we'll see if this gets posted and then give them both something a little harder to do.

Powered by Qumana

Windows Live Writer (Beta)

Now I have been looking for an offline blog writer for a while, not sure if this will work but I'm going to give it a go. We'll see what happens.

Obsessive Star Trek book compulsion

I have realised that I am very obsessive in some of my behaviour. Well actually in a lot of my behaviour, but that is by the by, I am talking about something specific here and now.

We have been trying to de-junk our lives a la life laundry, yeah OK the programme was on in 2002 and I am only now starting to clear things out. Well the clearing has been going on for a while so I’m not that bad. Anyway, part of the clearing has involved getting rid of any old paperbacks or other books that I have either read and don’t want to keep or that are just no good.

So I made two piles one for books to read and then get rid of and another to simply get rid of (the theoretical third pile of books I want to keep were already on the shelves). This is where I discovered my obsessive behaviour; I was virtually unable to put any books into the ‘get rid of’ pile. This has left me with a pile of ‘Star Trek’ novels to read and then get rid of. Even though these novels aren’t the best stories ever written, by a long shot, I seem unable to simply bin them – I have to read them first. Still I am almost onto the last couple now having read the vast majority I had.

Roll on September when I should be near the end of this trek (sorry couldn’t resist the pun) and can look forward to reading something with a little more depth again.

Could it be true?

For the first time ever I am about to go on holiday from work without piles and piles of stuff left undone. I have one more week to go and I have finished all the major jobs that needed doing. I have one pile of commissioning to do next week and that is it, however even s quarter of that is already done.

The rest of my time can be spent being creative with a couple of other projects I am working on, getting them up to speed and coming up with formats and content ideas - which is the part of the job I really like.

I would like to take credit for such organisation but I must admit that it is all down to Mr David Allen and his Getting things done book. His concepts and ideas have really helped and turned this procrastinating, unorganised creative type into a... well let's just say more organised. To go along nicely with GTD I have also been aided by the ideas and templates from the people at D-I-Y planner, although I still use lots of digital devices and online Web 2.0 applications (that's another story soon to be told) I have moved to pen and paper for my main planning... I may even be moving toward a simple notepad in the near future, I'll let you know.

So if you have a little trouble organising yourself then the above two links come highly recommended.