Some reflections on the year gone by.

Actually, this past year a fair amount has been achieved on the model railway layout.

January 2013

31st December 2013

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Listened to in 2013:

Discovering this French Internet radio station with its non-stop playing of electronic lounge music has been a continual source of pleasure.

The old favourites of:

Eels

Hot Chip

Teenage Fanclub

Missy Elliot

The new favourites of:

Golden Teacher

Factory Floor

And the compilations of:

Best concerts:

Performing in a small town square in France - highlight of the year.

Both Eels concerts

Rosy Crucifixion supporting The Fall

Tamla Motown Tribute at the Theatre Royal

Florian Boesch and Malcolm Martineau performing The Miller's Song at the Royal Conservatoire

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Last night's dinner:

A good tip from Clement Freud is to marinade beef (or whatever) in a plastic bag - means you need less marinade.

Beef stew and 2 veg

Ambition for 2014 is to pot roast a chunk of beef a la Clement Freud ie at a very high heat for a very short time. Freud says that you have to be brave to try this; it won't do any harm to try it once.

Meal of the year:

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Most enjoyable books of the year:

The only book I've ever read on a Kindle

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Miscellany:

3 unexpected joys of the past 12 months:

1.

My bongos

2.

A great aperitif

3.

Cycling

Today I stopped this fellow cyclist to take a photograph of the reflection of his jacket on the wet cycle path. Not only did he oblige but he suggested that he should turn back and then cycle past me so that I could get a shot on the move.

Those end of year reflections.

Then went to the 1pm Mass at St Mary's RC Cathedral in Clyde Street.

Peter Howson's painting of St John Ogilvie

The sun came out on the way back.

Mod Podge staining

Darkening up the roof of the church to match better with the dome and the facade.

Mod Podge is a water-based enamel paint that adds a thick translucent coat to card.

I think the colour (a mix of plain and Thicket Podge) is right.

Seems to match with the facade of the church.

The dome in waiting.

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Currently listening to:

Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4.

The guests: Ant and Dec.

Until now, I had never known which is which or who is who.

But apparently, in their official photos, Ant is always on the left - so now I know.

Thoroughly enjoyed the programme: very interesting and quite a decent selection of records.

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Last night's dinner:

Chicken leg in tomato sauce plus boiled rice.

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Currently Reading:

Spent a good hour reading about the weaknesses in the functionalist theory of mind. I have to say, it seemed to me that one was just re-visiting the debates around Descartes.

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Miscellany:

Saw a really excellent independent black and white film this afternoon at the GFT in Glasgow - now converted from two to three cinemas.

A brilliant depiction of a particular era (1980 USA) with convincing acting and dialogue.

I had thought that it might provide some insights into the computational model of the mind that I am puzzling over at the moment - but it didn't.