By @edent · meta nhsx WeekNotes work · 14 comments · 350 words · read ~1,419 times.
Well, that was a whirlwind! After 18-months at NHSX, my 6-month temporary secondment has reached its end. It's always hard when a job finishes. The secondment was twice extended, and that let me carry on defining open technology standards for the NHS. Now it is over and I'm a bit sad. The pandemic seems to […]
Continue reading →By @edent · language racism · 2 comments · 350 words · read ~639 times.
Perhaps you've heard of Micro-Aggressions. They're the steady drip-drip-drip of poison which gradually wears you down. "Where are you really from?" or "I can't pronounce your name, can I call you Jo?" or "Your lot are good at running, right?" or "You're clever, for a ...". Individually, they are tiny pinpricks of discrimination. None of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review Mary Robinette Kowal Sci Fi · 250 words · read ~123 times.
The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program. The IAC's goal of getting as many people as possible off Earth before it becomes uninhabitable is being threatened. Elma […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Movie Review · 400 words
I first saw cats when I was... 7? 8? Young enough for it to leave an impression on me. I couldn't have told you what was going on, but I was utterly mesmerised. Humans! Pretending to be cats! My parents used it to instil in me a love of West End musicals which persists to […]
Continue reading →By @edent · books footnotes usability · 24 comments · 1,650 words · read ~3,543 times.
I've been reading lots more non-fiction books than normal. And I'm getting increasingly annoyed about footnotes1. Footnotes are a weird skeuomorph hangover from the days of printed text. I don't think they are really suited to eBooks - but they seem to have come along for the ride into the future. There are a few […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review · 1 comment · 300 words · read ~129 times.
This long-awaited memoir from one of Britain’s best-loved celebrities – a writer, broadcaster, activist, comic on stage, screen and radio for nearly forty years, presenter of QI and Great British Bake Off star – is an autobiography with a difference: as only Sandi Toksvig can tell it. ‘Between the Stops is a sort of a […]
Continue reading →By @edent · audio bluetooth gadget review · 300 words · read ~1,203 times.
This is a curious set of headphones. The OpenEar Trio by Shenzen Alex Technology. They're completely flat and designed to sit outside the ears. They're designed so you can hear your surroundings. If you're outside exercising, it's useful to hear cars creeping up on you. If you're on a conference call, being able to hear […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review Sci Fi time travel · 200 words
Wherever the historians go, chaos is sure to follow… Dispatched to Victorian London to seek out Jack the Ripper, things go badly wrong when he finds the St Mary’s historians first. Stalked through the fog-shrouded streets of Whitechapel, Max is soon running for her life. Again. And that’s just the start. Max finds herself in […]
Continue reading →By @edent · android bug mobile usability · 14 comments · 500 words · read ~4,374 times.
I found a curious little bug and I'm interested in who you think should take responsibility for it. My mobile network provider sent me this message: I clicked on the link, and got this error message from their website: The error is caused by the trailing full-stop. Remove the full-stop and the page loads. There […]
Continue reading →By @edent · mobile ux virgin · 4 comments · 650 words · read ~188 times.
Long time readers will know I used to work in the mobile industry. I used to blog about all the crappy things that customers experienced. Well, I'm back, with a doozey! I decided to sign a new contract with Virgin Mobile. After a brief chat with customer services, I agreed a contract for two new […]
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