Tag Archives: Personal

Song: Follow Me

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Music by J. Rodrigo, lyrics by H. Kretzmer/H. Shaper
Ediciones Joaquin Rodrigo, Madrid

Follow me to a land across the shining sea
Waiting beyond the world we have known
Beyond the world the dream could be
And the joy we have tasted.

Follow me along the road that only love can see
Rising above the fun years of the night
Into the light beyond the tears
And all the years we have wasted.

Follow me to a distant land this mountain high
Where all the music that we always kept inside will fill the sky
Singing in the silent swerve a heart is free
While the world goes on turning and turning
Turning and falling.

Follow me to a distant land this mountain high
Where all the music that we always kept inside will fill the sky
Singing in the silent swerve a heart is free
While the world goes on turning and turning
Turning and falling

Follow me...
Follow me...

 

The Human Seasons

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Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
    There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
    Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
He has his Summer, when luxuriously
    Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming high
    Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
    He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness--to let fair things
    Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
Or else he would forego his mortal nature. 

                   by John Keats

Whatever while the thought comes over me

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Whatever while the thought comes over me
That I may not again
Behold that lady whom I mourn for now,
About my heart my mind brings constantly
So much of extreme pain
That I say, Soul of mine, who stayest thou?
Truly the anguish, soul, that we must bow
Beneath, until we win out of this life,
Gives me full oft a fear that trembleth:
So that I call on Death
Even as on Sleep one calleth after strife,
Saying, Come unto me. Life showeth grim
And bare; and if one dies, I envy him,
 
For ever, among all my sighs which burn,
There is a piteous speech
That clamors upon death continually:
Yea, unto him doth my whole spirit turn
Since first his hand did reach
My lady's life with most foul cruelty.
But from the height of woman's fairness she,
Going up from us with the joy we had,
Grew perfectly and spiritually fair;
That so she treads even there
A light of Love which makes the Angels glad,
And even unto their subtle minds can bring
A certain awe of profound marveling.


                                  by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

Alan joins the Talis Platform Advisory Group

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Last week Alan agreed to join our Talis Platform Advisory Group. Here’s the official announcement over on our Nodalities blog.

I was over-the-moon when I discovered that Alan had agreed to join our advisory group, I wasn’t sure whether he would due to his other commitments but after spending a wonderful weekend with him and his wife Fiona up in Kendall following HCI 2007 (some pics), I knew that there was so much he could help us with. We spent a long time talking about some of the work we’re doing here at Talis and Alan kept offering me his insight, and sharing his ideas with me and it became apparent that he could offer our team a unique perspective which is something they all seem to agree with … it was Paul, one of our resident evangelists (all round nice guy … and the keeper Cadbury’s Creme Eggs), who suggested asking Alan to join the group.

Alan has been more than just a wonderful friend to me over the years, he’s been a mentor, a muse, a confidant, in many ways he’s been like a father to me … the idea of collaborating with him again to build something special, like we did at aQtive, feels inspirational … 🙂

Whilst were on the subject of inspiration …. consider for a moment who the other members of the advisory group are …

That’s a pretty special group of people each of whom brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that will be invaluable in helping us grow the platform, they’ll tell us when they think we’re right or tell us when they think were making mistakes. I know were all looking forward to working with them.

House by the side of the Road

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Watching the story of Hiumara Kenshin got me thinking a lot about atonement and also forgiveness. I really hate it when I get all introspective but that’s a whole different story. However whenever I do think about atonement or forgiveness I try to remind myself of this wonderful poem by Samuel Walter Foss … I’m not sure if the sentiment is one I’m ready to try to live by but I guess it’s something to aspire towards … 

      House by the side of the Road
                    by
            Samuel Walter Foss

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

The Reaper

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Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of today?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again!

Whate'er the theme, the maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;
I listened, motionless and still;
And as I mounted up the hill
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

                   by William Wordsworth

Great weekend with my buddies from {TWR}

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For those of you who don’t know I’ve been an active member of a FPS Gaming team for over four years: Team Wolfenstein Resource. We play IdSoftware’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein, its follow up Wolfenstein : Enemy Territory and the soon to be released Enemy Territory : Quake Wars. Over the course of the last four years I’ve gotten to know some of my team mates very well and formed some wonderful friendships. The team has members in the UK, all over mainland Europe and in the US. Our members aren’t as active as they once were but were still proud of the fact that we haven’t lost a competitive match in almost two years!

Two of my friends Wim ( along with his gf Julia ) and Alan came to visit me this weekend, and we all had a wonderful time just catching up and chatting.

I guess the three of us started off as guys who played for the same team but we became very good friends, we try to get together fairly regularly away from the computers to just hang out, eat, drink and be merry I guess. The team has had some interesting events, we had an official LAN party in Port Jervis, New York a couple of years ago, followed up by a looong sight seeing weekend in Belgium where close to twenty of us descended on a lovely little town called Ghent. We followed that up eight months later with another great weekend in Oxford, where Matt and I entertained the others with our laughable attempts at punting! Then earlier this year we had another big weekend in Bristol, were we hooked up with friends from another team and spent the weekend touring some of the sites in the south and bowling … a lot …. badly! :p

We don’t actually play as often as we used to so it’s important to us try to get together regularly, Wim and Alan have both been wonderful friends over the last few years ( and Matt and Dom but they’re in the US so we don’t meet up as often as we’d like). There have certainly been times when things haven’t been going so well, I recall when I was laid up in hospital and both Wim and Alan would call me up and try to cheer me up … or in Alan’s case constantly remind me not to do anything stupid … the old fella get’s very sentimental!

Were currently trying to plan our next expedition I think were going to hit mainland Europe again in October, probably the Netherlands, but where ever it is I know it will be fun. As long as no one brings a Monopoly board with them …. *shudder* ….