Weeknotes #002: Planning
What I did in the 3rd week of September 2020.
Work
Consensus on direction built last week, we planned the specifics. By mid-week finally had specific tech cards we can write code for. I ended spending time on our round 2 of user testing. Making notes for the team and considering what was said. Again, love this process. Looking forward to being back to code next week.
Also some horizon scanning on threats, mitigations. So many ways to give someone a bad day via the web.
A lot going on outside of the team. Our annual all staff meeting, with a big conversation about what’s next for GDS. A lot to think about. I attended line management training on Monday. I have no line reports right now, but I’m enjoying reading and thinking about how to do it well. Would be good to pitch in there if the opportunity arises.
Otherwise
Jobs, jobs, friends. Lots of DIY, gardening and house admin going on. Will need to do more next week. Will make a lot of things better when it’s done, but messy and occasionally boring whilst its going on. Getting out to see friends is a great escape when you’ve made a mess of your home.
Read
Books:
Articles:
… More articles than usual this week, less of everything else.
- Microsoft declares its underwater data center test was a success
- The Bizarre Story of Britain’s Last Great Auk
- Covid-19 brings with it some good for certain European cities – but not Dublin
- If ICO won’t regulate the law, it must reboot itself
- Chemical that shouldn’t be there spotted in Venus’ atmosphere
- The Corn of the Future Is Hundreds of Years Old and Makes Its Own Mucus
- How emoji use can reinforce racist white supremacy
- ‘If Emojis can be flirty they can also be racist: A guide to understanding “the unbearable whiteness of emoji” (Roxane Gay)’
- Old, Good Database Design
- Description of the database normalization basics
- How to map Nature in OpenStreetMap: approaches, issues, and a proposed Key to tags
- From Mapping Trees to Tree Trails: some thoughts
- Things I Learned to Become a Senior Software Engineer
- When you browse Instagram and find former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s passport number
- Operation Luigi
- The rise and fall of Pret a Manger
- Julia Lopez speech at techUK’s ‘Building the Smarter State’ Conference
I particularly enjoyed the mango.pdf.zone stuff. Hillarious, educational, surprisingly humane.
Listened to
Mostly weekly news / politics. Nothing particularly stand out this week.
Thinking about
- Compost
- What’s next for GDS
- Mapping agriculture, and environment
- Threats on the internet