Where are the articles asking why men don't want to have children?


More and more women just don't want children 'Kids are expensive and sticky'

Truly, men have the worse of everything…⸮ But, there's something we blokes can be grateful for. No matter what grief the world throws at us, it'll always be the women's fault that there aren't enough babies! The other day, I saw this headline: The Business Insider article - in the "Economy" section - focussed solely on the lady-folk. Why do those pesky dames refuse to procreate? About half-way through, the journalist linked to the original study. Did it put the blame squarely on the fem…

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Bitwarden's new username generator is brilliant


Screenshot of Bitwarden generating a username.

I've been using Bitwarden for years. It generates a unique password for every website I visit. There's only been one small problem - I want a unique username for each website. Let me explain. Sometimes websites sell or leak your email address to spammers. If you're using yourname@example.com for every site, you'll never know who leaked your details. Bitwarden can fix that! Bitwarden@BitwardenWhy use a #username generator? Let's talk about it. pic.x.com/0o6d4cmhnj❤️ 202💬 17♻️ 016:36 - Thu 28 …

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Semantic Comments for WordPress


The Logo for WordPress.

As regular readers will know, I love adding Semantic things to my blog. The standard WordPress comments HTML isn't very semantic - so I thought I'd change that. Here's some code which you can add to your blog's theme - an an explanation of how it works. The aim is to end up with some HTML which looks like this (edited for brevity): <li itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Comment" itemid="#246827"> <article> <time…

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Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke


Book cover depicting a Satyr playing the pipes.

Well! This is a delight, isn't it? It's almost impossible to describe without giving away the plot. An unreliable narrator, trapped - perhaps - in a labyrinth which may (or may not) be a deeper metaphor for something else. It's confusing - but then, it is a story about confusion. It is magical - without being beholden to the lore of magick in the same way "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" was. It has an air of magical realism with a decidedly pedestrian conclusion. It asks us an interesting…

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Certified Blockchain Professional - Module 06: Open Source Business Blockchain Frameworks


Logo for the Certified Blockchain Professional.

As previously discussed, I'm doing the Certified Blockchain Professional course. It is self-directed learning, so I'm going through it at my own pace. In order to consolidate my learning, and help organise my thoughts, I'm blogging about my reflections on each module. These are mostly notes to myself - but I hope if you find something interesting (or incorrect) that you'll leave a comment. Permissioned Ledger All the participants are known and trusted. This removes the need for PoW or…

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Theatre Review: Cabaret at the KitKat Club


Logo for a disreputable nightclub.

I'd seen the movie. I'd seen a student production. But nothing could have prepared me for the visceral reality of seeing Cabaret live on stage. It seems that theatre producers have finally realised that audiences want an immersive experience which simply can't be replicated sat at home with NetFlix on. The entrance to the theatre is via a door tucked away from the main theatre foyer. Down down down you descend, grabbing a complimentary beer or schnapps - until you enter a seedy little bar.…

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Success at 2D Printing a Bookcase Mosaic!


A large canvas print of a photo of me and Liz in a top-down car. On closer inspection, the print is made up of lots of smaller prints.

Yesterday, I revealed my disappointment in being unable to print a bookcase. Today I revel in my cleverness at coming up with a solution! I decided to create a photo-mosaic of a nice photo of me and my wife - using all our book covers. The Result Close Up The image was printed on high-quality canvas - which gives it a pleasing texture and isn't too glossy. Zoomed in, this is what it looks like: As you can see, there is a fair amount of detail on the canvas. Enough so that most titles and …

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Failed attempt at 2D printing a bookcase


A wall spanning bookshelf with giant books.

Yes, you read that right, 2D printing. Not 3D printing. Let me explain my problem... Our bookshelves are bare. A few years ago we made the switch to eBooks - we got rid of all our paper books. We've switched to downloading our games, so no gorgeous box art for us. All our DVD discs are in the loft, and their movie-poster allure is hidden away. When friends walk into our house, they have no idea how cultured we are! I want to print out a bookshelf. This is a walk-through of the process I…

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The Inevitability of Connecting Everything


As the global demand for safer cars grew, there was a drive for cheaper and more accurate ways to deploy airbags. Thus, car manufacturers turned to MEMS based accelerometers and gyroscopes. Small, accurate, and fast. With increased production, comes increased manufacturing efficiency. So these sensors also became cheap to purchase for everyone. The street finds its own uses for things. In this case, phone manufacturers looking to differentiate their products started adding gyroscopes. Now…

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Certified Blockchain Professional - Module 05: Sustainable Blockchain


Logo for the Certified Blockchain Professional.

As previously discussed, I'm doing the Certified Blockchain Professional course. It is self-directed learning, so I'm going through it at my own pace. In order to consolidate my learning, and help organise my thoughts, I'm blogging about my reflections on each module. These are mostly notes to myself - but I hope if you find something interesting (or incorrect) that you'll leave a comment. One of the biggest challenges organizations face in adopting blockchain solutions is the energy…

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Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division


Book cover featuring an ominous black tower dominating the landscape.

I can't remember the last book which gave me literal nightmares. After reading the first few chapters of the book, I fell into an uneasy sleep - troubled with dreams about its impossibility. "Antimemetics" is one of those frighteningly original sci-fi ideas. Sure, the secret-agency-defends-the-world trope has been played to death, but there is something uniquely mind-bending about objects which remove themselves from your consciousness. The "enemies" (such as they are) are superficially…

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Movie Review: The Bubble


Movie poster featuring a group of actors standing in front of a green screen.

Is this the greatest cinematic masterpiece of all time? No. Did it have me laughing from start to finish? Yes! Want to know how good it is? Karen Gillan is the only actor in the world who can make me howl with laughter while she's out of focus! Seriously. OK, it isn't exactly original - get a bunch of famous mates to play up to stereotype and take the piss out of themselves. I don't care, it works brilliantly. It perfectly weaves in the British and American casts. Although Guz Khan is…

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