Adrian Phelan
Post 53
Welcome to this week’s post. There should be something for you in here. Enjoy.
Job bit
I’m continuing to network, looking for an ‘in’ wherever there is an Adrian-shaped hole. A big thank you to friends who shared my details on LinkedIn last week. You are superstars.
As well as the substantial hunt, I’m also exploring a little side-project that will keep me out of trouble, but more on that as it develops.
The next few weeks will see changes one way or another, so remember I am as keen as ever to ‘get stuck in’
I’ve added a page to this site with all my work details on it. Please check it out.
As a quick addendum to this, I’ve found out that the library one town away from me opens from 12-4 on Sundays and that is so helpful as an option to go and get the head down on ‘The Lord’s Day’ when everything used to be shut. It was busy as well so maybe the powers that be could consider extending this to more libraries. If you’re reading…
Jobby bit (you’ll see what I did there)
I’ve had my first over 50s health letter this week, for bowel cancer screening. The NHS was straight out of the blocks with this one. This will be the second bodily sample I have sent by post in my lifetime. Little do the post people know what they’re handling. I wish anyone who has ever stolen a tenner from a child’s Christmas card would break into one of these packages instead.
I promise not to do a blog section on it once it’s done but I’ll keep you abreast of what they come for next.
The filim bit
I saw The Social Reckoning on Friday, and I thought it was very good. It is a follow-on from The Social Network, but you don’t have to have seen that to enjoy this one, which follows Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen as she partners with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz to expose the company’s internal documents and secrets.
Now I know we’re all grown-ups but to see the influence Facebook has had on radical thinking – not just on large groups but on individuals – is a bit frightening. Not long after this, Facebook changed its company name to Meta although this will not be among any official reasons.
Any way the casting is good in this one. Jeremy Allen plays Horwitz, Jeremy Strong plays Mark Zuckerberg and of course the star of the show is Mikey Madison as Frances Haugen. There is also a good comedy turn by Betty Gilpin who plays newspaper boss Christina.
This is one you could enjoy on the telly but why wait!
For the climates they are a changing
Staying with things American for a moment, I once spent a summer in New York City on a J1 work visa and occasionally out of nowhere and in no time at all clouds would gather and dump a week’s worth of rain in about 15 minutes. It was quite the spectacle. To whoever might be around at the time I would say, ‘You’d never see rain like this where I live.’ I couldn’t say that now. More often we are getting dumps like that, the most recent being last Thursday.
So I have no doubt that the climate is changing as the years go on. There are often reports that hot summers are not as unusual as we make out, with 1976 always being brought out as an example of a biggy. But the massive dumps of rain over the last few years are enough to convince me, and I do think ‘76 is slowly losing its crown. So do take it serious folks. Play your little part to slow this thing down.
Do Good Well – OCD Awareness Week
I think we can often be flippant about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), associating it with being pig-headed about something. So, OCD Awareness Week I think is the perfect opportunity to learn more about a condition we often jest about.
The campaign itself says it: ‘is a worldwide event that serves to dispel myths about obsessive compulsive disorder, break the stigma around mental illness, and provide education about the disorder and how to support those affected.’
The ask this week is not to donate but to learn a bit more about this condition. There are tons of very useful information on the website to keep you busy.
Goodbye and thanks
As ever, thanks for getting this far. It would seem the blog just won’t go away. Certainly enjoying year 2 so far.
I hope to see some of you next week.
Socially viable
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