It's my birthday! As is customary, here's my year in review. See 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010. Sadly, I am a poor diarist, so if I've missed off something important to you - sorry! It has been a year of great change. A new house, new jobs for us both, new countries visited, and many books read. November 2018 Carol's blog about Hackference Brum In the funniest session…
Continue reading →books meta NaBloPoMo · 3 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~214 times
I set myself an unofficial New Year's Resolution - to read more books and write a review of each of them. I wanted to read about one new book per week. Well, I fell a little short of that target - what with getting a new job, moving house, road-tripping across Australia - but I'm pretty pleased with the total. 50 books read and reviewed! It has been a bit tough getting into the swing of…
Continue reading →meta NaBloPoMo · 400 words · Viewed ~1,865 times
Somewhere, stuffed in a cupboard or undeveloped on an old roll of film, is a photo of me laughing and joking with a murderer. It was one summer, while I was visiting home between university terms, and I was out with friends celebrating our youthful vigour. A group of us - very much in the Lads! Lads! Lads! phase of our life - were out drinking, catching up with each other, drinking, and trying…
Continue reading →gadgets IoT NaBloPoMo review Smart Home · 2 comments · 750 words · Viewed ~1,195 times
In my ongoing quest to open my house to hackers create the ultimate smarthome, I've added a new toy. A video doorbell! Why? I've got a tall house and can't be bothered walking down several flights of stairs just to tell a peddler to piss off. And, when I'm away, it's nice to know where couriers are leaving my packages. So, here's my review of the DophiGo DV-200. It was £40 on special offer. …
Continue reading →Book Review NaBloPoMo · 150 words
Dr Jaq Silver. Skier, scientist, international jet-setter, explosives expert. She blows things up to keep people safe. Working on avalanche control in Slovenia, Jaq stumbles across a problem with a consignment of explosives. After raising a complaint with the supplier, a multinational chemical company, her evidence disappears and she is framed for murder. Jaq must find the key to the mystery.…
Continue reading →NaBloPoMo Star Wars · 400 words
Long time readers will remember that I was lucky enough to see the premiere of The Force Awakens in London. So I was overjoyed to see that TodayTix had discount tickets for TFA live in concert at THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE! It was the last day of our big Australian road-trip, and we'd sailed past the opera house so often that it was becoming a familiar friend. Once we'd found our way to the…
Continue reading →NaBloPoMo twitter · 350 words · Viewed ~921 times
For the sake of my mental health, I've blocked a few people and organisations on Twitter. They can't see what I do, and I can't see them. I'm sure you've done the same to a celebrity or pundit you just can't stand the sight of. Perhaps you have an abuser you'd rather not have thrust in your face. The blocking tool is pretty handy! Except it doesn't work the way I would expect it to. Here's an …
Continue reading →australia gps NaBloPoMo photos · 300 words
GPS is a modern miracle. Using SPACESHIPS and RELATIVITY you can locate yourself anywhere on the planet. Fun fact! Your GPS won't work if you're above 18Km or going faster than 500 metres per second. Just in case you're a Soviet Guided Missile. But if you're on a regular international flight, you should be just fine! Here are some screenshots I took using the open source GPS Test for Android. …
Continue reading →culture NaBloPoMo netiquette Star Wars · 450 words
This post starts off talking about Star Wars, but it isn't really about that. I enjoyed Rogue One - the newish Star Wars film. It's not a perfect film, but it was heaps of fun. My only real problem was with Donnie Yen's character - Chirrut Îmwe. As soon as I saw a Blind Asian Monk, I knew that he would be a kick-ass warrior with almost supernaturally good sword skills. Even if you've never …
Continue reading →NaBloPoMo · 2 comments · 350 words
I travel a lot for work - and occasionally for relaxation - and I've always suffered from terrible jetlag. But, in the last few years, I've found a method which works perfectly. For me. Travelling East The week before you travel, wake up an hour earlier each day. Monday, wake up at 06:00. Tuesday, 05:00. Wednesday 04:00. Etc. Go to bed an hour earlier each day. Monday, sleep at 21:00.…
Continue reading →Book Review NaBloPoMo · 250 words
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers. What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. Why do we…
Continue reading →demo hack hackathon NaBloPoMo presentation · 1,000 words · Viewed ~351 times
I go to lots of hack days and hackathons. Some are big corporate affairs, some are boutique community events. They all have one thing in common - Geeks suck at giving demos. You have 3 minutes to convince the judges - or your peers - that you've built something brilliant. How do you do that? One Hundred and Eighty Seconds. It is not a lot of time. So here are my top 3 tips for succeeding at a…
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