So ASOS knows me exactly.
They sent me an advert on Facebook and it was for a high shine suit. I had to buy! It’s arriving this week.
The only worry I have is that it says in the reviews “runs small” and “no stretch on the fabric” on the sizing and even though I’m now a 36″ waist it’s a close thing. I’m not a belted 36 (which is my eventual aim).
It might not fit me now, but soon?
As you well know I have a huge penchant for shiny formal wear!
I’ve not worn my leather suit in ages, possibly more than a month.
I had a load of certificates to find on my servers so I was going to be an hour or more – I’d just been for a really long bike ride so I was sweaty as hell too. So I had a quick shower (yes, we have showers at the new units) and I got dressed up in my leather suit.
Yeah I needed it.
I know I’m a narcissistic sod when I’m in leather, but I just feel so confident in my body at the moment. The cycling is really paying off and my shape is changing so much.
I’m sad to report, though, that my weight has pretty much leveled off but the smart scales are showing how the fat level is dropping and the muscle mass is increasing. I was 31% fat and I’m now down at 23% which is a fantastic result.
The fitness kick continues. I’m now over 5 miles on a ride and unlike previous rides I’m now no longer finishing exhausted. It’s amazing how quick your fitness starts to return when you make the demand of your body.
My waist hasn’t shrunk much, but I’ve noticed that the wobbly leftover of my old fat days is no longer as wobbly and my flab on my thighs, similar. I can feel muscles developing all the time and the tone of my calves and thighs improving beyond belief.
Even my weighing scales agree…
A physical week at work also helped though… I’m on three installs at the moment!
So this was week’s Saturday jaunt. A 5 mile run along the Trans Pennine Trail. Not too challenging, however, the thing that can be observed is that my times spent in each exercise area are changing. I’m no longer seeing much in Maximum but I’m getting a nice balance of aerobic and anaerobic which is apparently as it should be for someone of my fitness level and age. Too much in anaerobic and maximum without developing your fitness first can stress the heart and lead to cardiac problems.
As you’ll see though, I’m looking a lot more svelte! These are a 36″ waist trousers and the top is an XL. I’m definitely out of the XXL and 40″ waist now.
I love wearing my leather suit! Yeah it’s kinky as fuck, but it’s so me!
My leather suit this time. Gotta say I think I look good in this!
As you are probably well aware by now, I rather like leather and shiny clothing. Well I how have another item to add to my collection – a leather tie.
It was bought from Etsy and was from a maker in Manchester. The leather quality is superb, it has to be said, and it looks great worn. Now all I need is a shirt to finish the full suit!
I’ve recently done a photo shoot for my wife for the inside about the author section of her new book.
I took the opportunity to get a photo of us both at the same time though.
I have dragged the leather back out of the wardrobe. This next few days (ironically when I’m booked to go to Alton Towers) the temperature is set to drop into single digits.
At least I am going to Alton Towers though. It did look sketchy earlier this week with increased lockdowns. Now let’s pray they don’t lock down South Yorkshire tonight.
I have a possibly controversial view on masks though, especially having worked through this and always worn one at work.
My thoughts are that there should be nobody exempt from wearing a mask. Nobody. If you can’t wear a mask during a life threatening pandemic then sorry but you shouldn’t be going out in a virus infested atmosphere. You’re putting yourself at risk and you’re risking everyone else’s health.
My opinion is mostly reinforced by the ease with which you can buy an exemption card. Every Tom, Dick and Harry who doesn’t want to wear a mask just goes on amazon and buys an “I’m exempt from wearing a mask”, even if they’re not. It’s actual disgusting. It’s scummy behavior. But I expect nothing more from 80% of people as the human race really has gone to shit.
Hence it should be a blanket policy. Everyone.
I didn’t make it totally obvious but I got a new phone on Tuesday. A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Initial reactions?
The most obvious change from the Note 10 is the total 180 flip of the design. The buttons move from the left hand side of the chassis across to the right hand side. It didn’t take much getting used to and actually feels more natural. They aren’t as easy to catch for a start.
The s-pen moving to the left on the other hand is a really awkward change. As a right handed person I want to grab my pen with my right hand, but I have to twist awkwardly to do this. I’m sure I’ll adapt, but bad Samsung. Lefties will be loving it though.
One UI 2.5 is sweet. I never had much love for Samsung’s old UI (Touchwiz) but I adore how smooth One UI is, and with 2.5 we gain some really nice improvements. Samsung have stopped loading it down with useless clutter and now make meaningful changes to how it works.
Wireless DeX seems interesting. I’ve played with it a couple of times (I do use DeX a hell of a lot) and whilst it’s not great on our TV as the lag is about half a second (a 2014 Samsung model) it works much better on my Microsoft wireless display adaptor and has hardly any delay. I think it’ll come in most useful for my presentations. If I ever do any again with the current situation!
Now let’s get to the camera.
With COVID I’m not traveling and photographing in the same way so I’ve not really had chance to do much with the camera, but it does seem better than the old one. I did take a photo of woods yesterday with the 108mp mode turned on and it was “interesting”. From a distance the level of detail looks really good, but not amazing.
Zoomed in however the software has turned it into something slightly trippy and as if Google Dream has had a bit of influence.
I’m going to have a few more tries with the 108mp mode but I’m not exactly blown away with it.
On the other hand the general photography has yielded good results in both good and poor light.
Let me know in the comments your thoughts.
The final issue that a few people have noticed is battery life. I don’t have many anxieties myself, but I am a very battery anxious person. I keep my life on my phone and if the battery runs low I panic.
That said, the Note 20 even with the Exynos processor isn’t faring too badly. I know you could say we don’t get a good a deal in Europe as the USA gets, but we do get a base storage of 256 gig in place of the 128 base the USA gets.
The phone definitely runs warmer, and on my initial setup the phone wouldn’t charge because the processor was fully throttled up – the charger merely maintained the battery percentage – but other than that I haven’t really noticed much difference between the Note 10 and Note 20 in real world use.
So final thoughts?
Well it’s a nice little upgrade, and certainly with the cameras feels less iterative, but if you don’t care for the cameras and you like your note 10, stay where you are.
