Terence Eden. He has a beard and is smiling.

Terence Eden’s Blog

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Adding Sign Language to HTML5 video

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Video with overlay.

I watched this video from my colleagues in NHS England - it's the first time I've seen a Sign Language overlay on a Twitter video. NHS@NHSukNeed help fast, but not sure what to do? Go straight to 111.nhs.uk . To find out more about NHS 111 including how to use the NHS 111 BSL interpreter service visit nhs.uk/111 #NHS111 pic.x.com/tk18uvm2vy❤️ 16💬 1🔁 016:00 - Sat 18 May 2019 Is it possible to ha…

How much would it cost to buy every domain name?

· 1 comment · 800 words · Viewed ~1,401 times


Glowing computer text showing dot com dot info etc.

The ridiculous proliferation of TLDs (Top Level Domains) continues unabated. I wondered how much you'd have to spend to secure your name on every TLD. tl;dr;tld Over $300,000! (Roughly €280.000 / £245,000.) But... This estimate is pretty rough. A few caveats: This only covers one version of your domain name - it doesn't cover misspellings. I've assumed a single year of registration. Some d…

A report from the AMP Advisory Committee Meeting

· 14 comments · 950 words · Viewed ~7,224 times


A lightning bolt logo.

I don't like AMP. I think that Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages are a bad idea, poorly executed, and almost-certainly anti-competitive. So, I decided to join the AC (Advisory Committee) for AMP. I don't want them surrounded with sycophants and yes-men. A few weeks ago, a bunch of the AC met in London for our first physical meeting after several exploratory video calls. These are my…

Review: 84K by Claire North

· 1 comment · 300 words


A blue blutterfly shatters into a million pieces.

Theo Miller knows the value of human life to the very last penny. In the Criminal Audit Office, he assesses each crime that crosses his desk & makes sure the correct debt to society is paid. But when his ex-lover is killed, it's different. This is one death he can't let become merely an entry on a balance sheet. Because when the rich are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just…

Review: Shell Recharge

· 5 comments · 800 words · Viewed ~1,833 times


Colour screen showing battery charging.

Even when I had a petrol car, I boycotted Shell - refusing to use their petrol stations. I thought that would continue once I got an electric car - no dino-juice for me! My car has more than enough range for me, but on a recent journey I decided it would be prudent to do a splash-and-dash - shove a few kWh in the battery just in case. I fired up Zap Map and was pleasantly surprised to see that…

Review: The Secret Barrister

· 300 words


An anonymous figure in a wig.

One day you or someone you love will almost certainly appear in a criminal courtroom. You might be a juror, a victim, a witness or – perhaps through no fault of your own – a defendant. Whatever your role, you’d expect a fair trial. I want to share some stories from my daily life to show you how the system is broken, who broke it and why we should start caring before it’s too late. I love the bl…

Review: The City & The City by China Miéville

· 1 comment · 250 words


A medieval city is superimposed on a modern city.

When the body of a murdered woman is found in the extraordinary, decaying city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks like a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. But as he probes, the evidence begins to point to conspiracies far stranger, and more deadly, than anything he could have imagined. I didn't want this book to end. I wanted to play it like …

Building an ersatz scanning table

· 300 words · Viewed ~264 times


A tripod hooked on a tub.

I found a bunch of my old school-books that I wanted to digitally capture. I do have a flatbed scanner, but most of my 1980s workbooks were far too large for it. So I decided to build a cheap scanning table. Ingredients Old Phone Tripod - £8. White table Selfie-stick button! - £2 The Bluetooth selfie-stick button was necessary because tapping the screen on the phone made the s…

Review: The Good Immigrant - Nikesh Shukla

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Book cover featuring all the names of the contributing authors.

Inspired by discussion around why society appears to deem people of colour as bad immigrants - job stealers, benefit scroungers, undeserving refugees - until, by winning Olympic races or baking good cakes, or being conscientious doctors, they cross over and become good immigrants, editor Nikesh Shukla has compiled a collection of essays that are poignant, challenging, angry, humorous,…

Review - The End of The Day by Claire North

· 150 words


A forboding figure stands under an umbrella.

Sooner or later, death visits everyone. Before that, they meet Charlie. Charlie meets everyone - but only once. Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. Either way, this is going to be the most important meeting of your life. This reads almost like poetry. I absolutely adored Claire North's debut novel "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" so I was keen to get cracking…

Is a smart electricity tariff worth it?

· 7 comments · 750 words · Viewed ~3,423 times


A graph of energy consumption.

(Long and data-filled post ahead!) I've switched to energy provider Bulb (£50 off if you join using that link). They offer a "peak time" electricity charge which looks like this: 23:00 to 07:00 = £0.0815/kWh 07:00 to 16:00 = £0.1235/kWh 16:00 to 19:00 = £0.3263/kWh 19:00 to 23:00 = £0.1235/kWh By contrast, the standard tariff is £0.1359 per kWh. That means my electricity is 2.4x more expe…

Review: Utopia for Realists - Rutger Bregman

· 200 words


A bright orange book cover.

Every milestone of civilisation – from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy – was once considered a utopian fantasy. New utopian ideas such as universal basic income and a fifteen-hour work week can become reality in our lifetime. A curious book this. It recounts all the actions which could have worked - but never quite comes to a conclusion about what should be done. It is almost …