Random Acts…

Thinking today about “doing good” it strikes me there is little financial gain on offer to businesses to do inherent good without some kind of quid pro quo; and I’m reflecting on an old tweet from a usability and user experience chap:

If organisations will never do good (as there’s no business case) or won’t do good until there’s scale for gov funding: perhaps doing good needs to be a side hustle in projects by individuals #SmallGoods pic.twitter.com/czV5WKlpPV

— Alastair Somerville (@Acuity_Design) February 9, 2018

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Interesting Times

Not, I regret, a review of the fine Discworld novel of the same title, but a reflection upon 2020. Since taking a job where my personal opinions could have an impact on my professional standing, I consciously moved away from regular blog posting and I miss writing for whoever will actually read this.

But as 2020 draws to a fevered close, I am reminded of the apocryphal Three Curses: “May you live in interesting times”; “May you come to the attention of important people”; and of course “May you find what you’re looking for.”

Asgard Rises!

Only days ago I was left bereft with the news that Vince and the wonderful community of gamers that is Asgard were to depart our Town Centre, and their future was deeply uncertain.

Tonight, wonderful news!

Check yourself

Today, The Rotary Club of Walsall is holding a Health Awareness Day in conjunction with the NHS and Stroke Association. You can pop in at The Crossing, any time between 10am and 3pm.

Last year local businessman Dave Gill stopped me in the street, and asked me to get checked. Only blood sugar, blood pressure, and BMI.

Ragnarok

I was very unhappy today to hear that local stalwart and all-round good egg Vince is shutting up shop. Truly, Ragnarok has come to Asgard.

I’m sad to see this day dawn. Asgard and Vince in particular gave me the confidence to launch two successful Kickstarter campaigns and to explore the joy of creating games. My latest game is in development and even has a dwarven theme in honour of the Asgard mascot.

In the outpouring of emotion and support for Asgard, its communities of gamers and wider customer base, it’s important to note a couple of key things.

The “Lottery Test”

I have been encouraged in recent weeks to apply the “Lottery Test” to things I undertake in everyday life. The test is simple. Were I to win the the lottery and be free of financial worries, would I continue doing the things that occupy my week?

Watch!

In a fit of barely concealed astonishment it occurred to me recently I have no idea where to buy a really good cheap watch. Argos, it seems, still has a decent line in basics. But whereas I used to nip along to see what was in the shop window of Steve’s or drop by Tesco on a quiet afternoon, there seems to be fewer independent shops than ever and all of the watches in Tesco have bling on them. I’m allergic to bling.

All I wanted was a basic watch to tell the time with. Everything else a watch might do I can use my phone for. I just want a timepiece.

Fortunately, Argos came up trumps.

Except the strap’s a bit tight.

 

 

Giant Dwarves and other minor errors

A couple of weeks ago I ordered pieces for a game I have recently invented in conjunction with Vince Connolly at Asgard Games in Walsall.

2017 Dates

That time of year again…. we’re organising dates for Ales Beers and Carols, and I’m trying to find another new tune for While Shepherds Watched…

Long Hot Summer

Greetings. Again, apologies for the lack of updates in recent times, but things have been busy and conitue to be busy and frankly there’s not a lot of time to write.

Also, to both of my regular readers (Hi Dad!), some of the events recounted here will be familiar because you may have been there at the time.