It is hard to write a book in the second person. It is even harder to make it this good. It would have been easier to write a salacious cash-in with a dozen shocking revelations in each chapter. Instead, Andrew Hankinson attempts to use Raoul Moat's own words to build up a picture of the man. You have nine days and your whole life to prove you are more than a callous murderer. Go. It is…
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Why shouldn't an opera be set in an office? Not merely set there; performed there! On Saturday night, a couple of dozen audience members were ushered in to a genuine office in Tooting to watch a short comic opera by Opera UnTouched. It was a burst of sunshine in a rainy day. We're at Ben's leaving party. A flustered woman is busy on the telephone. Will Ben ever get her attention? Both Grace…
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Whenever a company asks me to review their gadgets, I always ask if it is USB-C powered. If not, I'm not interested. So, welcome to the future where your chair is USC-C rechargeable! WHAT?! The LiberNovo Omni looks like a standard office chair - but has two secret features. First, is that it is exceedingly comfortable. Full foam cushions, lovely headrest, and a recline which almost gets you…
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After reading Evie King's previous book Ashes To Admin - Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer I was eager to read her not-quite-a-sequel. We know what happens after death; paperwork. Gas bills need to be cancelled, funeral wishes need to be carried out, money needs to be apportioned between warring family members. When you die, you won't be there to experience the annoyance and …
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A few days ago I booked a Novotel hotel on Booking.com - two days later I received these phishing messages via WhatsApp. Both knew my exact name, phone number, location of stay, and date of stay. Luckily, both were fairly inept. Let's take a quick look at them. The first came from a Portuguese business account. Obviously the name doesn't match that of the large chain hotel I booked with. The …
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The good folks at Mokin have sent me their new USB-C hub and it is a beast. This is the MODK2403 - the latest in their line of high-tech USB-C docks. It does close to everything you could want and has an LCD monitor for showing the weather. Errr… What? OK, a quick product shots, then on to the specs. On to the ports: Triple display Either 3x HDMI or 1x HDMI and 2x DisplayPort 4x U…
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This is a charming and funny book all about the various ways humans have promoted fake medical cures in exchange for money. Despite the grim (and occasionally distressing) subject matter, the tone remains light and poppy throughout. There are lots of snarky asides (especially about the fake medical practitioners) and a real appreciation for the bizarre. It's fun the whole way through, although …
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Let's get this out of the way first - this is a terrible idea! I want my two-factor authentication codes to be easily accessible to me, so I've built a watch app which will display them. That's really convenient for me - but makes for a terrible security posture. Anyone who steals my watch will be able to see my one-time code. If they're clever, they can decompile the app and find the secret…
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A few months ago, I went to see Dr Hutchinson record his stand-up comedy special for the BBC - it's about his experiences working in the NHS as a Black doctor. As the title of the book implies, some of the public can be a mite suspicious that anyone with even a hint of melanin can rise beyond being a porter or, at a push, a nurse. Much like Adam Kay's "This Is Going To Hurt", this is part…
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It's hard to craft a book with so much righteous indignation - let alone make it funny, accessible, and informative. Nevertheless, Dipo Faloyin has succeeded in writing a spectacular takedown of the myths which are often perpetrated about Africa. It starts in the best way possible: [Insert generic African proverb here. Ideally an allegory about a wise monkey and his interaction with a tree,…
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Twelve years ago, I was complaining that IoT devices were too expensive. Last week I bought a colour changing Zigbee lighbulb for £4. Not a typo - less than a fiver. While the aipocalypse is devouring RAM with its insatiable appetite, Moore's Law appears to be keeping up its end of the bargain when it comes to domestic gadgetry. This blog posts compares today's prices with those from a little …
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The thing about Romeo and Juliet is that it is a true story. It isn't literally true, but it is literary true. We see the same motif repeated throughout all cultures and all times. Caroline Lea (writing as Caroline Finch) asks an important question - what if every pair of star-cross'd lovers were reincarnations of the original Verona duo? The essence of tragedy is that the end is unavoidable.…
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