Alasdair Craig

The week of Sep 10, 2018 – Sep 16, 2018

Work confrontation…

Monday: Gym session. Watched a few C++ Catch2 tutorials on YouTube.

Tuesday: I didn’t handle a work confrontation well. I came off worse than I should have. Left me feeling disappointed in myself.

Body corporate trustee meeting.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Grocery shopping for mom and a little time spent there. Watched old Friends episodes.

Thursday: Side project coding: experimenting with Catch2 test driven development.

Friday: A little side project coding. Finished watching Ozark season 2.

Saturday: A busy morning. Photographs for drivers license renewal. Grocery shopping. Lunch with mom at Vintage India. Gym, quite a tough session. Reading.

Sunday: Cooking, lunch with my godparents and mom. Took them to see mom’s new flat. Chores.

My work week was divided into: 20% install building, 40% testing, 40% bug fixing.

Podcasts listened to this week: WoodTalk; NPR How I Built This; Inside Line F1; BBC Books & Authors; NYT Book Review;

The week of Sep 3, 2018 – Sep 9, 2018

Loving the new season of Ozark, reminds me a lot of Breaking Bad…

Monday: Squash with Dawie. Admin, reading.

Tuesday: Finished reading Steinhoff: Inside SA’s Biggest Corporate Crash by James-Brent Styan.
Steinhoff inside SA’s biggest corporate crash by James-Brent Styan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eye-opening, easy to read.

Wednesday: Grocery shopping, quick visit to mom’s to drop things off. Watched an Ozark episode.

Thursday: Poker with the boys, I came fourth.

Friday: Not feeling 100%, didn’t attend the OpenBook event I booked for. Stayed home and watched Ozark instead.

Saturday: Recycling dropoff, library visit, OpenBook festival talk at the Fugard Theatre. Bought a couple of books at the same time. Haircut with Lynne. Slow afternoon, watched more Ozark. Charity author dinner event at The Cape Town Club. Uberred there and back.

Sunday: Slow morning, grocery shopping. Lunch with mom at Blowfish restaurant. Walked around Rondebosch Common for a little exercise. Chores, watched more Ozark.

Work week was divided into: 40% bug fixing, 60% testing.

Podcasts listened to this week: TWIT #681; Inside Line F1; Code Newbie; Making It #181; BBC Books & Authors

The week of Aug 27, 2018 – Sep 2, 2018

Voorkamerfees…

Monday: Gym, reading, started Netflix series Narcos.

Tuesday: Took on a new responsibility at work – doing the builds for new installs. Reading, Watched another Narcos episode.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Robert is in town and organised a nice group get-together at Devils Peak, Welgemoed. Nice to see faces from way back when.

Thursday: VKF travel planning. Evening weekend reading, really enjoying current book.

Friday: Slow evening mostly reading.

Saturday: Voorkamerfest 2018. A nice day out in Darling with Helga, Julia and Anneke. Breakfast at the west coast farm store, lunch at the festival, afternoon coffee and cake at Brig’s Barn.

The shows we saw were:

1. One lady’s Jewish history with a little Performance art;
2. Telling stories through fast modern African dance;
3. Opera from UCT students;
4. Afrikaans poet and pianist;
5. Songs of Shakespearesung by Graeme Weir, with guitar accompaniment byJono Tait;
6. Blaq Pearl, life story told through poetry and song.

Finished reading Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow.
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The best murder mystery / courtroom drama I’ve read. Gripping!

Sunday: Gym, grocery shopping. Lunch with mom at the Brasserie, Tokai. Watched the Italian grand Prix – it was two years ago that I was there. Chores. Started watching the second series of Ozark on Netflix.

My work week was divided into: 40% new work, 40% testing, 20% building a release.

Podcasts listened to this week: CppCast, CppChat, .NET Rocks, NPR What It Takes, TWIT.

The week of Aug 20, 2018 – Aug 26, 2018

Staying away from midweek carbs, sugar and beer….

Monday: Gym: super circuit. After work library visit and grocery shopping at the waterfront.

Tuesday: After work gym session. Quiz night in Lakeside. Fun, despite not expecting it to be

Wednesday: Tough gym session with Johnny. Briefly Visited mom. Chores. Reading.

Thursday: Side project coding. Reading.

Friday: Booked tickets for the Cure concert next year March. Grocery shopping, side project coding, Netflix watching.

Saturday: A little limited tools woodworking. Took mom to get acquainted with the route she must drive later next week. Lunch at Cafe Magnifico. Finished reading A Good Man in Africa, by William Boyd. Dinner with David at Col’cachio, Cavendish Square – really good non-pasta chicken dish.
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My second William Boyd book. The first I gave 5 stars to, and was enthusiastic to try another. Unfortunately it didn’t grab me. I’ll still try others.

Sunday: Gym, lunch with mom, first coat of varnish on the stove top cover. Watched the Belgium F1 race. Chores, admin. Caught up with Greig by phone. Reading.

My work week was divided into: 70% testing, 30% bug fixing.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR What It Takes; BBC Books & Authors; Cpp Chat; Making It;

The week of Aug 13, 2018 – Aug 19, 2018

Relocation on my mind…

Monday: Missed gym because of boring but pressing office IT issues. Watched TV.

Tuesday: I’ve been asked to relocate to the Netherlands to help with my company’s international expansion. Is a difficult thing to be asked to do. After-work gym. Watched more of the Netflix Vietnam War documentary.

Wednesday: Took mom for follow-up cardiologist appointment. This ended up being a non-event due to her fitness levels not accommodating an increased heart rate test.

Thursday: Indian takeaway from Punjab Express. Hauled out my unused laptop and did it’s updates. Finished reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A guy goes up a river to fetch another guy. I think. The rest was lost on me.

Friday: Briefly caught up with Julia. Some side project work. Finished watching the Vietnam War documentary.

Pretty much decided I’ve got no real desire to relocate anywhere.

Saturday: Unsuccessfully tried fixing a hot water tap washer. Problems with my geyser. A little limited tools woodwork project. Lunch with mom at Van Hunks. Grocery shopping.

Sunday: Full morning if cooking. Made a beef, leek and Guinness pie. Last family lunch before Tracy and family return to the Netherlands. Walked around Harfield and lower Kenilworth. Chores, watched Minority Report.

My work week was divided into: 60% testing, 20% new work, 10% bug fixing, 10% IT.

Podcasts listened to this week: Software Engineering Radio #333; NYT Book Review; Making It #177; CppChat.

The week of Aug 6, 2018 – Aug 12, 2018

Caught up with friends and family…

Monday: Played squash with Dawie. Finished reading Dancing the Death Drill by Fred Khumalo.
Dancing the Death Drill by Fred Khumalo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Easy to read and fast-paced.

Tuesday: Don’t remember.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. After work drinks with Greig and Paul at Pakalolo in Hout Bay, and had dinner at a nice Italian place: Casareccio Cucina. Goodfellas home.

Thursday: Public holiday. Nice catch-up with Tracy out here on holiday. Grocery shopping. Watched another Vietnam War documentary episode.

Friday: Leave day. Cooked roast chicken lunch. Nice family reunion. Afternoon monopoly game.

Saturday: Built a better pedal bin enclosure for my new kitchen cabinet. Visited mom who’s battling with walking. A little rental maintenance work: replaced a lock. Dinner with Paul at The Brasserie, Tokai. Always seem to have good food there.

Sunday: Didn’t sleep well. Lunch with mom at Eaglevlei, as part of giving her car a battery recharge drive – good value for money Sunday buffet, but inattentive service and limited menu. Watched TV: old Friends episodes and Vietnam War documentary.

My work week was divided into: 100% testing

Podcasts listened to this week: Software Engineering Radio; NPR What It Takes;

The week of Jul 30, 2018 – Aug 5, 2018

Pretty dull to tell the truth…

Monday: Gym, wasted the evening.

Tuesday: Body corporate trustee meeting.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Visited mom for some paperwork. Admin, chores.

Thursday: Poker with the boys, and amazingly I came second!

Friday: Tracy’s Cape Town holiday had a disastrous start with them forgetting my niece’s birthday certificates, so they missed the inbound flight. Learnt that codeeval closed down. Pity. Wasted the evening on the net.

Saturday: Donated blood #91. Hung pictures on the wall for mom, and other tasks needing running around. Lunch at Ou Meul, Pinelands. Slow evening.

Sunday: Cooked pea and ham soup. Mom came over for lunch. We collected the wheelchair from Cynthia. Chores, admin. Watched another episode of the Netflix Vietnam War documentary.

My work week was divided into: 100% testing

Podcasts listened to this week: Software Engineering Radio; NYT Book Review; How I Built This; CppChat

The week of Jul 23, 2018 – Jul 29, 2018

Unproductive, but relaxed…

Monday: Gym session. Frustration with blown headlight on my car where I can’t get the old one out. Planning a limited tools woodwork project. Reading.

Tuesday: Fixed the headlights. After work gym. Reading.

Wednesday: Grocery shopping, visit to mom’s, finished reading The White Nile, by Alan Moorehead.
The White Nile by Alan Moorehead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Non-fiction but reads like an adventure saga. Well illustrated and makes good use of maps contemporary to the current chapter. Quite wonderful.

Thursday: Library visit, pizza at Perseverence Tavern.

Friday: Nice catch up with neighbor Trish. Prepared everything for installing the upper kitchen cabinet. Watched episode 2 of the Vietnam War documentary.

Saturday: Haircut. Installed the kitchen cabinet, pleased with it. Bank admin with mom at Canal Walk. Lunch with mom at Cafe Magnifico. Takeaway dunkin-donuts. Wasted the evening on the net.

Sunday: Cooked a nice pork curry for lunch. Mom and Barbs came round. Watched the Hungary grand Prix with Barbs. Admin, reading.

My work week was divided into: 50% testing, 40% bug fixing, 10% side project.

Podcasts listened to this week: CppCast; Makin It; NYT Book Review;

The week of Jul 16, 2018 – Jul 22, 2018

Feeling relaxed…

Monday: Gym, reading, side project coding.

Tuesday: Went to the Labia to see Molly’s Game. Pretty good movie.

Wednesday: Grocery shopping, quick visit to mom’s, she’s struggling with everything. Finished reading The Days of Abandonment, by Elena Ferrante.
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Powerful and devastating. I can imagine everything about it to be true and realistic, which is why it’s disturbing: a portrayal of how vulnerable a person can be to mental instability.

Thursday: Drinks with Greig at Toad in the Village. Great catching up with him. Reading.

Friday: Enjoying a side project reading WKT into a tree for parsing. After work drinks with colleagues. Watched an episode of a Vietnam war documentary.

Saturday: Brunch with mom at exclusive books, waterfront. Climbed Elsie’s Peak with Julia, Helga and Rose. Thai World takeout, reading.

Sunday: Grocery shopping, admin for mom, unsuccessful attempt at registering her for internet banking, the Absa registering procedure is poor, cooked a small lunch. Coffee and cake at Cafeen. Watched the German formula 1 race, a beer at Rascals, chores, reading.

My work week was divided into: 60% testing, 20% bug fixing, 20% side project

Podcasts listened to this week: Making It, CppCast, Inside Line.

The week of Jul 9, 2018 – Jul 15, 2018

Enjoying doing a bit of building in the garage again…

Monday: Early morning, help mom get admitted into hospital for the second angiogram. Half day at work. Evening visiting hours.

Tuesday: Collected mom from hospital. Seemed to have been a success. Dropped her at home.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny, grocery shopping. YouTube watching.

Thursday: Dropped off a few things at mom’s. Planning a kitchen cupboard upgrade. Interesting local site diycupboards.com.

Friday: Grocery shopping. Some side project coding. Reading.

Saturday: Completed the assembly of the kitchen cabinet. Installed the hinges, legs and top and fitted it together with a cupboard pedalbin. More side project coding.

Sunday: Finished reading The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien. Lunch with mom at McPherson’s. Finished assembling the upper kitchen cabinet. Installation will have to wait till next weekend. Reading.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Individual stories, loosely connected, about the author’s war experiences without commenting on war itself. I can see why it’s well regarded.

My work week was divided into: 40% testing, 40% bug fixing, 10% new work, 10% documentation.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR How I Built This; Making It; CppCast; Tim Ferriss; CppChat