Some things which seem impossible turn out to be easy.
Without thinking for too long about it these are two examples of things that seemed impossible to me at first glance, but then turned out to be easy when I actually got over the angst and did them:
(1) Playing legato thirds on the piano. Same fingering in both hands.
(2) Asking the lady at the shop (first AMT and then PRET) to put my coffee in my mug.
The idea of blogging every day, for me, seems to be a formidable task. Something that might be impossible to keep up. BUT I have not actually ever tried it. Motivated by the discussion that is going on in the London Bloggers Forum, I am going to give it a go for the next week.
Wish me luck!!
I care!
I look forward to all your extra posts.
Isn’t it annoying that AMT have taken away that little cabin on platform 1 because of the building works? The AMT outlet on the main platform just can’t cope with the demand. I get in to work at 8 am but there are always long queues compared with before. Do you think they will bring the platform 1 cabin back when the building work is done?
Thanks Maxine.
Will do my best to make them interesting.
I really hope that they do bring the platform 1 cabin back. Queuing at the main outlet is unpleasant and I always feel a bit flustered by the time I get to the front of the queue as there is so much activity around.
This last week, though, I have been getting my coffee at lunchtime at PRET. I decided to have a little holiday from the canteen so have been trying different sandwiches and soups. Am not really sure what I am going to do next week yet. :)
AMT are gone from all Network Rail stations.
Maxine – I’m new to blogging, so maybe in the honeymoon period, but I find I post practically every day not so much by making it a routine/chore but simply when something strikes me (often walking the dog) I make the effort to zap it into the blog, rather than let it float away on the mental ether.
Well, I suppose that we are lucky to have the one (AMT) that we have got then!
Blogging: Unfortunately, on doing a quick google search, most of my ideas either turn out to be crap (e.g. Does getting a Nobel Peace prize decrease your life expectancy?) or to have been “better thought out” by other people (e.g. my ideas regarding time and time-travel). This week will just be an exercise to see whether I can produce something every day that I am happy with. Bear in mind that I am relatively “new to writing” and you, Brian, have a lot of experience at generating and developing ideas, and writing prolificly. :)
For those of you that have not done so already, you MUST go to Brian’s website!
Thanks, Bronwen – I’m also good at calling people by the wrong name…
OK then, you’ll try to write every day, and we will try to comment every day too! ;) You can be sure it’s even harder to write non-crappy comments.
As for caring… I’ve been thinking a bit about this. Some people say that people just like to write blogs, and not to read. Can the easiness of publishing a text of yours in a blog end up reducing the quality of your text, since you don’t have to convince an editor?... Now the challenge is not to publish anymore, but to actually atract readers!...
How many fine scientists are not listened to because they lack the rhetoric to persuade the public? (yes, that is my current excuse :) ) Oh, the contemporary ailings of the soul…
I like your metaphor of how to play the score.
Nicolau: It IS weird that we can just publish anything. I had to come up with a whole bunch of rules for myself to ensure that this “blogging every day” would be “meaningful”.
I like to be part of the conversations on other people’s blogs, but agree that it can be difficult/intimidating as it is such a public environment. It is fine (even endearing) for me to get muddled between cathodes and anodes when chatting over lunch, but it would be humiliating to get it wrong on some grown-up’s blog!
Perhaps there is a niche for a course to teach scientists how to communicate to “the public” that their ideas are worthwhile. (Perhaps it already exists…)
Andrew: I remember that you are also a pianist!! On the off-chance that the fingering is new to you (probably not): if you want to do this fingering in other keys, you would often “start” with 2,3. I was very surprised that it worked so well and it has made such a difference for the Mozart sonatas especially.