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In addition to completing Moon Walking with Einstein, The Pioneer Detectives and significantly denting my copy of The Best American Essays 2014, my 2015 reading has consisted of loads of longform, which I am curating via Pocket. Below are a few of the more interesting pieces that caught my eye this month: 1. Learning to Drive - Adam Gopnik (The New Yorker): What we learn when we learn to drive? … Driving a car more like walking on a sidewalk, [is] full of recognitions and hand waving and early avoidance, tamping down the sudden shocks that the combustion engine is heir to… ...

[ Source] Amidst the hurly burly that was the last quarter of 2014 at work - not helped by the unease set off by sliding oil prices, and questions around the future viability of North Sea oil and gas given lifting costs and taxes - the crazy gang team at work made time out to head across town for a day to reflect on how we’d performed through the year and agree objectives for the 2015. For what it’s worth it was good craic, much better than I expected given the strong personalities within the team, and the sense of simmering conflict, even though it was a tad too reliant on woozy, zen-ish things like sitting in a circle and taking time out to reflect in silence. ...

Scottish-independence-referendum-flags A few months ago, people across the length and breadth of the nation of Scotland went to the polls to answer the question, “Should Scotland be an independent country?” At stake was the very future of the United Kingdom, and Scotland’s place in it. On one hand, the governing Scottish National Party staked its reputation on a ‘Yes’ vote, alongside the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialists under the aegis of Yes Scotland, whilst Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservative Party, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats took a pro-Union Stance under the Better Together banner. ...

Each year, my Christmas party silly season kicks off earlier than the last - this time on the 24th of November - the venue being the soon to close Marcliffe set in the lush woodlands of the Royal Deeside. We are there at the behest of the black and minority ethnic engineering association, for an evening of music, dance, networking and speeches to celebrate the fabulous year they have had of making engineering sexy to BME kids across the ‘shire. My initial response of excitement when news of the gala breaks segues into one of trepidation as the day draws near, the black tie dress code nothing like my far more typical jeans and t-shirt fare. On the day, just before leaving my house, I find out that I have somehow failed to spot the one key fact, arrivals being scheduled for 6.30pm, not the 7pm I have planned for, cue a rushed final phase of preparation and a quick hop into my old banger for the drive across town. I arrive almost forty five minutes late, thanks to a wrong turn and some traffic down Great Western road. In the end, it turns out I really shouldn’t have been that worried, people are still arriving at 8.30pm, african time I guess. The event itself goes well - overly posh food aside - I get to prance and pose for pictures with a few old chums, and a wide range of people; current students, professionals across a range of Engineering professions and a number of industry stalwarts. By the time I sneak off at 11.30pm, there is no doubt in my mind it has been a thoroughly engaging evening. ...

Three main achievements will make 2015 a ‘perfect’ year, to all intents and purposes, viz: Spiritual growth as evidenced by a regular routine of bible study and prayer A new Technical M&C role at an oil and gas operator Getting married The wider goals and targets I’m looking to achieve for the year though, aligned with my personal SWOT analysis and the refocused Life Plan are: Spiritual Achieve 80% Daily Bible Reading and Prayer - explore the Lectio Divina process Average 6 (of 8) church days per month Attend FOL Morning Prayers twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) – 80% target Physical and Health Get fitter – YE target is 15% body fat, weight under 80kg Get blood pressure below 140/90 consistently (explore potassium replacement/ supplements as a quantified self project) Average 6 hours of sleep/day >80% of the time Use the gym 3 times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) – target 80% Track sodium and attempt to bring within recommended limits Social and People: Track B contact time (Target > 1 hour per day); track completions in Habit List Host a hangout for my 2015 birthday (Aberdeen) Drag my London Blogger peeps today for a meal over summer 2015 (CaramelD, Simeon, NoLimit, ToniAnni, Aloted, MizKeji) Maintain weekly phone calls home to Dad Career & Work Become staff M&C Engineer at an O&G Operator; Attend monthly industry working group meetings – target 80% of months with a meeting (one of ICorr, IMarEST or AFBE) – track in Habit List Deliver Work Projects TI Anomaly Risk Review TI Vibration Fatigue Strategy and Implementation ECE Project Procedure Updates - Integrity Risk Screening (PoF Guidance, DAF Risk Assessment) MU Integrity Management - Inspections and Topside Pressure System Integrity Financial: Save 30% of net earnings, Reduce total spend; 2015 YE target of £35k Grow net worth by 50% (total - investments + savings + pension growth,+ assets, etc) Rebalance net worth and elements; buy a house, build ISA back up to 10k, invest excess in index funds Mental and Personal Development: Deliver on a 25 book reading plan (Aim to cover Christian Classics, Literary Classics, Popular Fiction, Current Christian & Non-fiction with 5 each per category) Blog here at archive.rustgeek.me at least once a week (Plan is to post something >500 words every Tuesday) Learn to write VBA for Excel and Macros Learn to play a musical instrument - need to decide between the acoustic guitar and the saxophone, target is to present something at eXpressions 2015) Attend Structural Integrity course at Imperial College Causes & Charity: Catch up on my first fruit offering from pay rise in Q1 2013 (as a one time gift if possible at the end of February) Write to Moises and RosieMarie twice each during the year General, Projects and Bucket List Items Complete a modified Whole30 or Ketogenic Diet for an entire month Walk or run 5 miles daily for a month Read 5 Booker Prize Winners (Bucket List) Attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Watch the Ball drop in New York’s Time Square

General 2014 was an emotional wringer of a year, perhaps the most difficult one I’ve ever had, thanks in part to losing H, and O, but also because of difficult transitions at work. All in all, it’s been a largely forgettable year, with spots of delirious joy in between. Here, in each of the seven focus areas undergirding the life plan are a little bit more detailed thoughts on how my 2014 went with a (R)ed, (A)mber or (G)reen indicator. ...

Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth - Warsan Shire The Outsider - Albert Camus Merry Christmas, Alex Cross - James Patterson The Map of Love - Ahdaf Soueif Finally Free: Fighting For Purity with the Power of Grace - Heath Lambert The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How To Change - Charles Duhigg On Writing - Steven King Love At First Click - Laurie Davis The Fault in Our Stars - John Green Everyday is for the thief- Teju Cole On Beauty - Zadie Smith Don’t Tell Mum I work on the Oil Rigs - Paul Carter The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai Frank Sinatra Has A Cold: And Other Essays - Gay Talese Another Man’s War - Barnaby Phillips A Delicate Truth - John le Carré

A review of the goals I set out to achieve in 2014. Learn to drive, buy a car: Completed (Passed driving test in April, bought a car in October- completed) Buy a house: Progressed (Made an unsuccessful offer for a city centre apartment. Waiting on feedback on further developments as winning bid seemed to have fallen through, definitely one to focus on in 2015) Improve professionally: Completed (Certified to API 571 - Advanced Corrosion and Materials in April and NACE Senior Corrosion Technologist in December, wrote API 580 exam, waiting on results in Q1 2015) Find two mentors, meet once a month to catch up and review where I am: Progressed (Held regular meetings with O through the year, met G twice and K once, another action to follow up and KPI through 2015) Travel: Completed (8 London Trips, 2 Manchester ones and an enforced Nigeria trip; failed to complete my Great North American Road Trip for the 35th, one to chase up next year also) Develop a daily practice of prayer, bible study and meditation: Progressed (Bought NIV Devotional Bible and tracked completions in Habit List) Blog for 30 days straight: Completed (Used the Art of Manliness 30 Days to a Better Man challenge as a template) Save minimum of 30% of net earnings, reduce annual spend to pre-2013 levels (£30k): Failed (Car purchase, helps for family and travel to Nigeria made saving especially difficult) Communicate and Engage the people in my life better: Progressed (Call Dad once a week now, need to give B the focus she also needs as we progress,wrote to sponsored children once each and sent a Christmas gift to RosieMarie) Deliver on the 30 book reading plan: Failed (Managed 16 of the 30, should do better) Community Engagement - Church Publications, Tech and Young Adults Group: Completed (Delivered four articles for the publications team and helped with video edits and script delivery for the Broadcasting/ Tech team, c0-sponsored the Young Adults Christmas party) Get fit and lean: Failed (Up to 90kg in weight and measured body fat at 23%; epic fail) All in, there or thereabouts with three clear failures (savings and the reading plan). Clear focus areas for 2015 already standing out then I guess.

&safe=active Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year