Journal

Here are a bunch of great tips and resources for creating charts and graphs, condensed into a 6-minute read.

It’d be interesting to look at the key recommendations in this article and compare our web-based charts at work against them.

This retelling of an incredible story featuring unbelievable examples of human skill, endurance and hope is the best TV programme I’ve watched in years.

Growing up, I recall my Dad often used the old Scots phrase mony a mickle maks a muckle and I’ve always loved it. It’s about the value of taking care of the little things because if you keep it up you get something bigger.

It’s true, and here’s a good example. Over the last six months I’ve made lots of small changes to my life and I’m feeling an overall benefit.

When chatting with a consellor in January about some bouts of low mood and mental fatigue, I described one symptom as a strange sense of disconnection. And while the recent lockdowns during the pandemic were obvious contributors to that, they didn’t feel like the full story.

Pitchfork’s review of Jeff Mills’ seminal mixtape is the best-written and most enjoyable music article I’ve read in years. The mixtape in question is also very close to my heart.

Had a great catch-up with my friend Doug last night. We went for dinner at Gaga in the west end, where co-owner Mark (who we know well from years gone by) gave us a warm welcome and a complimentary cocktail on our arrival – cheers Mark! Food-wise, small plates were the order of the day so we tried fried chicken, prawn toast, sweetcorn fritters, lamb curry and more. Gaga has a great atmosphere and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

From there it was onto a nearby pub we both know and love, The Thornwood Bar. There, another well-kent face, Scott, served us and also passed on his latest obscure techno tips (always welcome).

Over a few hours we had the chance to talk family, music and life and I’m feeling all the better for it.

Had a lovely catch-up with Gayle over lunch while in Edinburgh for work today. We went to Maki and Ramen and I had tonkotsu (broth, egg and noodles) with some vegetable gyoza. It was all pretty tasty.

Gayle and I have been friends since university back in the nineties. Having only exchanged texts of late without seeing each other, a catch-up in person was long overdue.

It was great to hear that she is happy, her business ticking along nicely and that she’s keeping her mind occupied with wider side and societal interests as always. Gavin is recovering well from a recent health scare and mostly back to normal. Her mum, who I’ve met several times, is moving from Glasgow to close by in Edinburgh and that sounds like a sensible move all round, albeit it’ll require adjustment. The kids are doing great and still full of energy.

They now have a wee dog too, although I can’t remember its name or breed. I do however remember Gayle’s horror story about their previous pet guinea pigs and some foxes in the night. The only way they could console the kids is with the introduction of a wee dog!

Loved catching up and hopefully the next one will include Clair and Gavin and we’ll eat out somewhere nice.

Whitney Lewis covers four accessibility considerations for implementing forms: autofill, error messaging, date fields and auto-formatting fields.

Clair and I just had a brilliant night at our friend’s 40th. It was held in the upstairs function room (The Old Burnt Barns) at Lynch’s Bar on London Road, Glasgow – just next to the Barras market. I didn’t know the venue before but it’s great – cool interior and loads of space.

It was a tonic to see so many familiar faces. I worked with Andy at Bright Signals a few years back and lots of the crew were in attendance including Pete, Woody, Oli B and Andrew M.

Among my music buddies present were Jamie T, the Radio Magnetic stalwarts Dougal P, Vic and Davie, and lots of the Stirling crew – Robert, Jamie, Julie, Ciaran, Matt. Always great to catch up.

We also got to spend time with Martin E and Izzie. I even made new friends, including Wendy T. While I was complimenting her on not leaving the dancefloor we realised we could count not only Andy but also Gav S from Edinburgh among our mutual friends.

I also really enjoyed the chance to DJ again, especially alongside folks like Craigy Moog and Ragnar. I played two sets. One at the start where I played records like Komiko, Dayton, A Certain Ratio’s Constant Curve and Krush’s House Arrest. There was one pretty comical moment. Asked around 8pm by Andy’s sister to play Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday while they brought out the birthday cake, I had to tell them I couldn’t… because all the DJs had been warned explicitly by Andy not to play it! She gave me a weary look that said “Yep, that sounds like Andy” and we found another way.

In my second set, a back-to-back with Ragnar, I played Mr K’s edit of Thelma Houston, Southern Freeez (much to Robert’s delight), Sylvester and closed with one of my all-time favourite house records, Mike Delgado’s Jazz Works.

At the end we shared a cab with Ragnar and Solveig for a brief nightcap at Andy’s place, but even still managed to get home at a reasonable time (despite Martin and Izzie’s best attempts to steal our taxi). I’d managed to exercise a few senseible tactics, like starting with non-alcoholic drinks, and that served me well on the night and the next day.

Cracking night, and Andy seemed to really enjoy it. Here’s to your health and happiness, chief.

Last weekend was pretty dull and rainy in Glasgow but Clair and I visited a bunch of great local places to keep the spirits up.