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Smoked trout… and cheese!
/in Fly Fishing /by Tim LawsonAfter several attempts (see Curing trout for cold smoking) at cold smoking trout, I have at last come up with my preferred approach. The good news is that the cheese is almost as good as the trout so I make time to do that as well.
Read moreCuring trout for cold smoking
/in Fly Fishing /by Tim LawsonHaving completed my first test of the cold smoker and finding the smoked trout too hard and salty, I decided to change the approach a bit and that starts with careful curing.
Read moreTesting the cold smoker
/in Fly Fishing /by Tim LawsonFollowing my previous post on Building a cold smoker for smoking trout, it was time to do the first test smoking. I started with just a couple of fillets to see how it all worked. I cured the trout using some instructions I found online and set up my new smoker.
Read moreBuilding a cold smoker for smoking trout
/in Fly Fishing /by Tim LawsonI have always liked smoked trout, wondered how it is prepared and not come across a cold smoker before. When I started fly fishing a couple of years ago I developed the taste for trout which now features often in our cookery at home.
So, looking for a project to work on during the early 2021 COVID lockdown, I decided to build my own cold smoker. This blog post goes through how I did the build. See other posts for the testing and my views on the end product!
Read moreUsing Obsidian for personal knowledge management
/in Paperless, Technology /by Tim LawsonI have recently been looking at my use of Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) software and in particular to create a curated knowledge base to store articles, bookmarks and notes.
There are three options that have received particular attention from experts in this area recently, Roam Research, Obsidian, and Craft. I decided to try Obsidian and have been populating it with my content and getting used to the syntax.
Obsidian and Markdown
In Obsidian, everything is based on a collection of Markdown files, which means you control your data and can easily get it out of Obsidian if you wish to use other PKM tools in the future.
Markdown is a lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor. Files created in this way can be read on virtually any device and are ‘human readable’ with the markup code. I store my files in a Dropbox folder which Obsidian reads from in order to create searches, edit and tag.
The following screen shot from Obsidian’s web site shows a typical page with the dynamic graph that is built upon internal links between the Markdown files.
Quick Release
Obsidian has a substantial feature set and super-quick release cycle. They provide updates weekly, sometimes multiple times a week. Obsidian’s developers have thus far made an app that gives you all the expected PKM tools: Wiki-style links, backlinks, and graph view.
I will report back on the progress with my Obsidian knowledge base and, in particular, how it plays with other software across my computer.
COVID-19 carpet tiles
/in Business Continuity, Innovation /by Tim LawsonIn the depths of a global pandemic, businesses have had to get ever more innovative with their product development. I love that carpet tile manufacturers have produced these special edition tiles to display reminders on the need for social distancing.
Those that install them need to remember to keep the original to replace it with when better times return!
Dangers of remote working
/in Lifestyle /by Tim LawsonInteresting article on the long term effects of Remote Working.
Recommended reading for Procurement and Supply Chain
/in Cost Reduction /by Tim LawsonI have recently been asked by students of my course ‘Cost Management, Procurement & Tendering‘ for recommendations for further reading on the subjects of procurement and supply chain.
The most comprehensive book on procurement is ‘Procurement and Supply Chain Management‘ by Kenneth Lysons and Brian Farrington. It is now 10th edition and is considered one of the best on the subject. Try to find this edition if you can because it represents the latest thinking on the topic.
Another good one is ‘101 Models of Procurement and Supply Chain Management‘ by Paul Jackson, Barry Crocker and Ray Carter. This contains various management models covering procurement and wider topics. There is not a huge amount of detail against each model but it is a useful reference for each. I would look elsewhere if you are searching for detailed assessments of models because this is designed as high level reference material.
The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) has a good bookshop with various texts, some of which include case studies. A lot of these are to support procurement and supply chain qualifications but make useful reading if you have a general interest in the subjects. See here: https://www.cips.org/learn/books/
Hope this is helpful. See below for Amazon.co.uk links to the books mentioned.
Details of courses referred to in this post:
Importance of computer backups
/in Technology /by Tim LawsonAnyone who is serious about improving their computer backups should read this article by David Sparks aka ‘MacSparky’.
He uses a ‘belt and braces’ approach which guarantees availability of data if the worst happens. I use a similar approach but not as well documented!
www.macsparky.com/blog/2021/1/backup-2021
Best places to work in the UK
/in Management /by Tim LawsonInteresting results in this ‘best place to work’ survey from Glassdoor. Lots of tech companies mentioned. Culture, care and flexible working seem to be the key to success.
www.glassdoor.co.uk/Award/Best-Places-to-Work-UK-LST_KQ0,22.htm