Weekend Edition

I missed catching up with you last weekend, so I’ve included some highlights from both this and last week, down below.

But first … recommendations!

One - The Day of the Jackal TV series and Movie.

There's a new TV series version of The Day of the Jackal coming out sometime in the next few weeks.

Which prompted us to watching the 50 year old movie version on Apple TV, and OMG it has aged ... magnificently.

(Consider reading the Roger Ebert review of the movie before watching it.)

Two - Ludwig, the TV Series

I'm enjoying Ludwig, the new comedy crime series staring David Mitchel, partly for the story, but also because it's in Cambridge, England, where I used to work sometimes. Fab wee city.

Coincidentally, fifty-years after acting in The Day of the Jackal, Derek Jacobi, appeared in last week's episode of Ludwig. Impressive.

Three - The ZX Spectrum is being rereleased!

Back when I was a boy ... when my Mum told people I was "on the spectrum" she meant I was in my bedroom programming basic (and Z80 assembler) on my ZX Spectrum!

Forty years later and the new ZX Spectrum is available for pre-order on amazon.co.uk now and will be out before Xmas.

I don't want one, I don't need one, but ... it's only 89 pounds and it even comes with 48 classic games, including manic miner.

Highlights from the last 2-weeks ...

Dulled Imagination

I hope the above cartoon, which Facebook tells me I first shared 10 years ago today, doesn’t cut too close to the bone. If it does, trust me, it’s easier to escape than you think. We’ve all been there.

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

If you’re going to laugh at someone today, it might as well be me ...

A couple of weeks ago I took my 80-year-old Mum out for fish and chips. We sat inside at one of those big shared tables, since it was raining. A very chatty lady in her 70s sat down opposite us and immediately launched into a long conversation. Nice of her,

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Bottlenecked Baristers and Agile Attorneys

I’ve just guested on a fantastic podcast that talks about using Agile tools, techniques and thinking to help lawyers get more done. I know very little about the work lawyers do, but I do know that most of them are chronically busy. They are - to use my language

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Another, less obvious, way to find bottlenecks

Dunedin Airport, tucked away in the deep south of New Zealand, has just introduced a hugging quota at the drop-off zone. Three minutes of hugging per car, max. Presumably, all the hugging needs to (like a prison sentence) be served concurrently, other than sequentially, so that people don’t load

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Smiling Solutions … A Competitive Advantage for Creative Problem Solvers.

I awoke to find a message from Gilbert, my friend in Scotland, in my inbox. He wrote regarding the post I shared yesterday about Dunedin airport’s new 3-minutes-max hugging rule. Gilbert reminded me of two things: 1. Dunedin is the Scottish Gaelic word for Edinburgh (“Fort of Edin” - see

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Bootcamp to Book: Bottleneck Detective & Timer Teams Updates

Hello again! I have almost decided—though I’m not 100% there yet—to turn my Bottleneck Detective Bootcamp into a short‘n’snappy book to sell on Amazon. Short as in 7000 words. Short‘n’snappy … like a baby crocodile 🐊. This isn’t directly about selling and making money—non-fiction books

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching