💿 I couldn’t resist this.

Our youngest boy starts secondary school for the first time today. The eldest is back on Monday. Feels like another step towards normal life. I have my fingers and toes crossed that it lasts and we don’t find them both back at home in a state of lockdown again.

A virtual version of Ami Baio’s You Think You Know Me card game would be brilliant for a social team meeting over videoconference. We played it on holiday with friends a couple of years ago and loved it.

Since Strava dropped support for heart rate monitors I’ve been trying to find an iOS app to track my run data that syncs/uploads to Strava. All seem to struggle with HRM accuracy. TrainerRoad tracks HR great on the bike, so I know it’s not a hardware problem. What do people use?

Had Brightwell Aerials install Ethernet from my router, over my house roof and down to my garden office today. Excellent job. I’ve gone from having 8Mbps download ‘if the door is open and nobody is downloading an Xbox update’ to over 200Mbps. It’s like Christmas has come early.

Sticker seen in Berkhamsted High Street.

Misty morning.

I’d never heard of British Camp until yesterday. Such an odd name. Such a magnificent place.

Used Strava’s ‘suggested route’ for a run in the countryside this morning. There were footpaths but they seemed seldom used, so it turned into a mini jungle adventure. Finally gave up and backtracked when I entered a field and found a bunch of hungry cows running towards me.

Opportunity to feature in a childhood comic strip.

Genius use of an old phone box. Already located in a convenient spot for most people in the village.

I’ve been trying out Readwise to re-surface my Kindle highlights. It’s good, but it still feels like a poor cousin to the Readmill experience.

I think of this passage often when I feel annoyed, particularly at the kids. The annoyance is mine to control and not their fault.

Boys movie night. The kids wanted to watch something scary. It’s difficult with a 13 and 11 year-old to get the right level of scariness. Tried Village Of The Damned (1960) which was quaint, weird but not much more. We rolled right into Cloverfield (2008) which they both loved.

Grotesque shopping trolley sculpture.

I heard a good idea that it would be great to have COVID-19 data on the weather report like we do UV levels or air quality, so you know what precaution to take when out and about. But based on this analysis of the UK’s test and trace, this is a total pipe dream.

Hopped on the turbo trainer for my usual Saturday morning session and found that I can’t shift gears. Our local bike shop has a backlog of a month, so it looks like I’m going to be a runner for the next four weeks.

In the days before kids and smartphones, my wife and I once ventured out of London with nothing more than the Time Out Book of Country Walks to guide us, and had a fab day. Amazed to discover that these are now all online and up-to-date. I want to print one out and wander again.

Last week it was so hot in the UK, with the odd thunderstorm and downpour, it felt as though we had suddenly turned into Singapore. I even started to get weird new visitors to my office that I had never seen before.