2016

Ok, it’s the end of the year. I’ve got a cold. I hate having colds - they attack me particularly badly, and I get all gross and covered in tissues and snot, and all I want to do is sit around and eat ice-cream and… Hang on. … Ok. Ice cream. Better.

So, 2016. One of those years when lots of things happen. We started the year in London. I spent a couple of days back at my old university in Warwick on a management course. I came back to work all charged up and ready to fix everything. Didn’t manage to fix everything of course. Some things are more complicated than that. But we made progress.

In happy news, the brewery opened and Randy is successfully producing excellent beers. It makes me very happy to have invested in a real tangible company, making high quality product. The brewery has become my local establishment, for my rare evenings off.

We had another baby! We make very good babies. This proves that the first was not a fluke. They are not easy to make or maintain, but are a great investment.

One thing Twitter did this year was change their leave policy. Now, both parents can take 20 weeks paid leave in the first year. That’s been absolutely incredible. Not only has it helped maintain my wife’s sanity through the early months, it has helped my five-year-old feel like he’s not been usurped. This time is probably the most time I will ever have with my family. It has been amazing, and I’m very thankful to Twitter for their support. In November, I clocked 6 years with them. Best place I’ve ever worked.

Britain voted to leave Europe. That was something of a surprise, but also kindof understandable. It doesn’t mean the country is full of racists, it just means the politicians have failed to connect with the electorate. Most Brits don’t vote for their European representative (MEP), nor have any idea who they are or what they do. When votes became inconvenient (see Lisbon treaty), the politicians simply avoided them. It is no surprise to me that voters felt disenfranchised. I hope they figure something out that works better.

America voted to elect Trump. That was something of a surprise. It doesn’t mean the country is full of racists, it just means these politicians have failed to connect with the electorate too. There’s an anti-establishment vibe. I’m not as pessimistic about this one as other people are, because a) I felt the way you feel now about Bush winning in 2004 and the world didn’t end then (ok, hundreds of thousands of people died, but the world didn’t end); and b) I don’t think Trump (whose opinions are unknown and variable) is as bad as many republicans (whose opinions are known and repugnant). We literally have no idea how this will go.

I talk about this stuff occasionally on Twitter or this blog and never really make my positions clear. I’m happy to correct bullshit from either side (tbh lies about Trump are as annoying as lies about Clinton), and maybe that causes confusion, so here are my stances: Democrat(US)/Labour(UK) but not as far as the communist hippy crowd. I believe in universal healthcare, but I’m not opinionated about implementation. I support LGBTQ rights. I support diversity in all its forms, and acknowledge that I need to do more. I want more women in tech. I'm against bullying, online and offline. I think immigration is a complex issue without simple solutions, but I think employers looking for H1Bs should be required to provide US scholarships. I support public transport, but I love my truck too. I believe there are no gods. I'm pro-choice in the first two trimesters. I prefer Chrome to Safari, but I'm not entirely sure why. I'm enjoying craft beers, and bored with wine. I like vegetables, because they're what my food eats. I think Snowden should be exonerated, and I think Manning should only be released due to mistreatment before trial. I think gun control is a good idea when the laws make sense. I don't understand term limits for the presidency, because hey, why not choose the best person for the job?

Ok, I think that's enough.

Oh, we bought a house. I love it. It's old and knobbly and makes no sense, just like us. It's perfect. We have deer and turkeys and squirrels and trees and grass.

We went to Tahoe for Christmas. The drive was terrible and we all got the flu. So, yeah, Merry Christmas.

I ran a half-marathon! But I hadn't done any training at all, and it pissed it down all the way, and there was a big hill so I had to walk a bit, well a lot really. It wasn't much fun.

I have been going to the gym a bit. Hopefully I'll keep this going into the new year as I go back to work. It's been good to stretch out.

Last year I got wisdom teeth done. This year, gum grafts. They're really not fun. They tear a strip of gum off the top of your mouth and stitch it onto your teeth. Bleah. And there will be more of that to look forward to next year.

I watched the entirety of Friends. I'm not sure if this is a worthy accomplishment, but when you're feeding the baby for 30mins every 2 or 3 hours, you need something to watch. I also developed a thrombotic hemorrhoid by sitting on my arse all day, which was not fun.

And I think that's the year.

Next year, get back to work. Do something awesome.

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Or if you had any comments, you could find me on Threads.

Published 1 January 2017