No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.
- max lucado

May be I would go further. Everyone must do aomething

Something good for them
Something good for others
Something good for the world

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I was graded at Aikido last week. It was a nerve racking experiece. i didn't really have a clue whether what i had prepared was on the mark or not, it was all a bit of a mystery.

I went first so that watching other people wouldn't make me lose what bit of confidence I had left. The actual grading flashed by in a bit of a whirl. Felt disappointed at my lack of form, sliding and finese but releaved at not having messed anything up too badly.

This week I got the certificate. It wasn't a big ceronomy or anything, just tagged on to the end of the evening but as I went up to receive it from Sensei I was overcome with emotion.

May be it was just being knacked from a hard work out session, or lack of blood sugar, but something stirred in me about not going to my degree graduation. There was a kind validation, relief, acceptance that i hadn't releasied that I had craved.

All this from a grading from white belt to white belt. Expect waterworks if I ever make it to a coloured belt!

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I got Gordon Browns letter today, and I was impressed.

He sounded like a leader. Especially when compared with David Cameran's letter which sounded pleading and petty, Gordon put forward some clear hopes and vision and said that it would be hard work. Good on him.

Hopefully our local candidates will follow suit and stop making most of their letters about over parties.

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The runnings been going pretty well, still at my goal of two a week.

Jan 13 - 4.33km in 25mins

Jan 18 - 4.4km in 25mins

Jan 20 - 5km in 30mins

Jan 22 - 5.18km in 30mins

I've improved a bit quicker than at first hoped. 30 mins feels hard going.

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4.16km in 25mins

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Wasn't too bad.

Ran for 20 minutes and covered 3.2km.

It felt like a bit of a slog at the time but don't feel too bad now.

Some friends of mine are doing a 10km in early March. Wondering whether to join them....

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The terms high and low in relationship to pitch are arbitrary. How cool is that?

In the west we call the notes which have a slower rate of vibration Low, and those with a faster rate High.

Which actually seems pretty obvious. I could have rewritten the sentence as

In the west we call the notes which have a lower rate of vibration Low, and those with a higher rate High.

But back in the day the Greeks talked about pitch the other way around.

Cool huh!

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Gonna aim to run roughly twice a week and read at least a book a month

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May it be a great day of seeing people you love.

I'm beginning to turn my mind towards what comes next in this new decade.

What new habits do I want to create, what old ones do I want to destroy and all that kinda thing.

hmmm

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Haven't written for a while. I've had my head down doing loads of work.

Done a number of runs. Each time feels a bit better.

3.93km in 21.37mins

3.01km in 20.28mins

3.22km in 20.19mins

Got a long way to go to do 10km in under 50mins.

Enjoying listening to music while running. It's also helping me think while programming!

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I did my second run yesterday, 2.9km in 20:55mins. I felt a lot better during the run but realised even in the first week I've failed one of my targets. I don't think I'll make three runs this week.

Will hopfeully do better next week.

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I've decided to start running again. I've tried this running thing a number of times, and never made it stick. I've twice run the 10k in London but never trained for it properly so it was a struggle, and stopped running within a week after.

This time last year I started running with a friend, but after a couple of runs my back "went" again and I dropped out, I started again in the new year, but got busy.

Excuses excuses!

So.... in order to combat my persistant ability to not persist in running I'm make it public.

My aims:

• I aim to run at least 3 times a week.
• I aim to start small - 15 mins each run at the start
• I will blog my runs.

I'm a member at a gym so I'll blog my times and distances.

First run: 1.9km in 16mins

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I love fireworks. They sum up an incredible about of creativity in small beautiful explosions.

Luton's 2009 fireworks evening was great, 20 minutes of ooohs and arhs.

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I can't remember names, but I never forget a face....

How many times have you heard someone say that at a party, at a meeting, or even just down the pub? How many times have you said "I'm sorry, What's your name again? I'm just really band with names.".

Wouldn't it be great if we never had to use such phrases?

How would you feel knowing that you could remember peoples names? This blog is all about how we can learn this important skill. It's easier than you'd think.

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"The only different between those who do and those who don't, is that those who do, do, and those who don't, dont."

As I heard those words come out of my mouth I practically heard something click into to place in my thinking. I was talking to a group of motivated young adults about changing the world, and someone asked about why do few people actually do anything. I had answered without pausing to think, and those words have stayed with me.
 

This blog in my attempt at documenting parts of my journey, some thoughts, observations and hopefully somethings I've learnt a long the way, as I become a person who does.

I become fully self employed April 2009 and since then I've had the privilage to work with some people who not only "do" amazing things, but who also "be" amazing too. I feel privilaged to be able to learn from them, and hope I can share a bit of their stories as well.

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My slow journey of getting to know Africa has continued with a 6 day trip to Kampala, Uganda.

I went to visit two friends who moved out last September to work with street boys in Kampala. They are incredible and their work is too. Joe and Jess work for Retrak (click here for more info) managing a centre for the boys to have the street loved out of them but another part of their work is the incredible Thursday feeding at the Tigers club in Kampala.

The team run a game of football on a nearby pitch and then invite all the street boys who gather to watch to come and eat, which they do.

I wish I could show you a video of what goes on there, but I don't have permission yet. Imgaine then, if you will, a long line of boys in clothes of various states of quality looking hungerly at the 3 massive pans of food as they are being carried in to the yard. Someone starts singing and the gang of drummers start pounding away and a song later the food is generously (a plate full big enough to satisfy me) dished up and each boy finds a place to sit and eat in (relative) peace.

It's a really beautiful sight. No arguing, no fights, just thankful eating. These same boys are then offered the chance to come daily to the learning centre to make a start (or try to catch up) with their schooling - for free.

The Tigers club is a wonderful place, and I got to give the drums a bash with the kids too. I got them to sing a song and i played one of my beats which was quickly picked up. They then played me what they would have played instead. Their was much more african than mine!

More stories from my short trip coming soon...

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14.25 tonnes to be exact! That is one heavy footprint.

I have finally worked out my carbon footprint at a transition town workshop. I would like to say it was a good evening, which it was, but I left with my pride broken and a big task ahead.

We used a simplified system that covered the carbon emissions under the sections of house, car, public transport, flights, food, goods and services and governmental services.

These are my figures:
House: 5100kg
Car: 3450kg
Flights: 1300kg
Food: 1300kg
Goods and services: 1500kg
Governmental services: 1000kg

Total: 14250kg

As I said in a previous post I thought I'd come out pretty low. I walk to work, I don't buy many clothes, my last holiday was camping, and we don't have central heating so I wasn't expecting it to be so high.

Let me put those 14250kg in to perspective for you.

The average carbon footprint for some one in Britain is around 12500kg.

If everyone in the world had an equal footprint that the world could cope with our individual footprint would need to be 1500kg.

My footprint suddenly seems very large indeed.

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The guardian have started an inititative called 10:10.
The point? To reduce our carbon emissions by 10 per cent in the year 2010. Simple and achievable and a good start towards the targets that we as a country reduce our emission by 60% by 2050.

Even though I feel pretty confident that my starting footprint isn't that bad any way. I walk to work most days, we don't have central heating, our last holiday was camping and I'm not that extravegent in my life style. I do feel like there are some things That I should be doing which would cut my 10%.

My plan?
Firstly to change my electricity providers to good energy.
Secondly a bit less meat
Thirdly cut out sone trips in the car

Simple huh.

I recently did my carbon footprint. I'll be posting my findings soon. Watch this space

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I recently found out I'm 6'1"
It's official. I was in a nursery today and they had a thing that measures heights.
I'm disappointed, I've always thought I was 6'2".  Mentally losing a whole inch in the blink of an eye is pretty hard to take.
In a photo of myself in the evening of the same day I saw just how thin my arms are.

So I start this new blog shorter and weaker than I thought but with great hope that I can be disciplined and write regularly.
I plan to write around a couple of different themes, including changing the world, a group of people who I call "those who do",  10:10, and random thoughts.

I was once challenged that people who think and ponder things should share their thinking. I'm never sure if I'd count my thoughts as worthy of sharing but maybe, hopefully as I learn to think deeper and articulate clearer I'llgain some clairty and inspire and encourage others in the process.

Please do leave comments, thoughts, questions, and links.
 

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