The Digest 22/09/25
Writing
Last week, my much awaited desk finally arrived.
Already, one reader has found themselves configuring their dream desk on the site. Sorry! I myself have made another order - for more accessories, both for my desk and my bedside table.
Walking
Deb and I walked 10k on Tuesday, and then a longer 14k on Sunday morning. The resurgence of the summer makes these walks hard going, but we are only four weeks away from the Cancer Care 100 now. Hopefully, the weather will relent a little for the actual challenge, and this hot-weather training will have made the autumn walking feel easier.
Hosting
We've had visitors this week. Three of them. Roberto and Franco, my wife's nephews leave us today, with their Mum, Adele, staying on for a while longer. They've been wonderful guests, and we've all laughed every day. Predictably, I've eaten too much, and washed everything down with lashings of ginger* beer. So, I'm going spartan these next weeks, upping the training and cutting out the drinking to get that little bit fitter for the walk itself.
Travelling
I have a quick trip coming up, a week in Blighty working and visiting, so this week I'll be looking out clothes appropriate for UK October weather that also fits my slightly reduced frame. I'm also trying to work out whether to take my Windows laptop or Linux machine. I'm doing a presentation on Powerpoint - so the Surface laptop is probably favourite.
Reading
Podcast partner, Justin, has been sharing autumnal thoughts.
Isaac Saul has been writing movingly on the assassination of Charlie Kirk over at Tangle, and taking a look is worth your time. I'd never heard of Kirk before his horrific assassination. I guess I'm not the target demographic, and not using social media, I never had his thoughts thrust in my face by an algorithm.
Violence has no place in our society. It should not happen. Those using this man's death to further their own agendas should hang their heads in shame. Whether on the left or the right, this event is a damning inditement of people stoking division, outrage and argument. For all the differences between people, there are many more things that bind us together. We must focus on being united against violence, against poverty, starvation and against hatred.
I am getting increasingly tired hearing people tell me that social is a cesspool. That it's awful.
STOP USING IT then!
Suspend your accounts for 30 days. At the end of the thirty days, delete your account. I promise you, you will feel all the better for it. Here's the hard bit. I mean ALL the platforms. The ones you dislike AND the ones you like. The fact that a platform is showing you lots of things you agree with is just as insidious and dangerous as the platform feeding you things hate. It's two sides of the same coin.
All the platforms persist because people can't quite bring themselves to leave. Just do it. It's liberating.
Have a cracking week, and be nice to each other.
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*Not Really.