Weeknote 8: Cartoon food

As you know, November has come. It's been a chill one and I'm fading a bit so I'll quickly, briefly get through how my last week of October went.

Just reflectin'

It's reflection week again. Some weeks I'll have something that I sink my teeth into but not so much this week. I mostly did issue creation for the coming cycle and a tiny bit of dependency maintenance. I was feeling pretty exhausted from everything on my mind with the DAC audit squad the week prior so I appreciated a lower steaks week.

It's also the week we do retro and planning, both of which I found really useful. We had some frank conversations at retro about how the work's been going and what's been keeping us from getting into the swing of things. Planning felt crisp and efficient. I'm feeling good about the start of next cycle.

Non-work business

That's kinda it for work. Nothing interesting to write about this week on the job. Out of the job though...

On Tuesday I went to see fellow Stoke Newington resident Laura Marling. I don't know Laura's music that well so this was a bit of a cold gig for me going in but it was great. One of the best 'just little me and my little guitar' gigs I've ever been to. It being at Hackney Church did something to the atmosphere as well. I do wish they'd get air con or something in that venue though. I was absolutely baking in there and 2 people fainted!

I've been toying around with V60 coffee as a change from shorter cups from moka pots, which I think suits me better for during the day. Trang also very kindly gave me a few light roast beans from her preferred supplier, Dark Arts. It's very different to what I'm used to and what I thought I preferred, but I enjoyed the fruitiness. My descent resumes.

I've also been watching Delicious in Dungeon, a fantasy anime by the spectacular Trigger about cooperation, expertise and food. Whilst the food is fictional, both in the sense that it's drawn and that the characters are eating fake animals, the beautiful animation of it being prepared hits that same sweet spot of watching cooking. More than that though this series is about having a skill on a team, making an effort to understand your team's skills and planning together towards a common goal. If I was a real dweeb, I'd make a comparison to agile teams and recommend it based on that...

Cool new records

Loads of really great music has been coming out in the tail end of the year and this week I've been chowing down.

Last week I mentioned Cartoon Darkness from Amyl and the Sniffers. It hasn't hit me in quite the same way as their last 2, their last one especially, but that's a tough act to follow. It's still loud, stompy punk music and I still dig it.

Then early this week, Tyler's new record Chromakopia came out. I love this album and think it might be my favorite thing Tyler's done. I really enjoyed Igor and Call Me If You Get Lost but they didn't scratched my brain in the same way Flower Boy did before them. I can't tell exactly what's changed but this really does it for me. A stupendous hip hop album.

And finally, Bodega released Brand on the Run, an extended version of their album from this year. After I saw them live last week I've been listening to that album a lot. I didn't realise it until recently but they actually pulled a Twin Fantasy. This album is a re-recording of a previous iteration of Bodega' first album. That might explain why it feels different and kinda special. Related to that, I've been enjoying this great podcast by the band called ATM: Bodega At This Moment where lead singer Ben talks to band members and friends about each individual track on the record. I can't recommend the podcast or the album enough.