meta NaBloPoMo · 1,250 words · Viewed ~300 times
The planet Earth has completed yet another cycle of carrying me around the sun, and so it is time to cast an eye backwards. Despite this blog, I'm not much of a diary keeper. Since the demise of FourSquare I've not kept particularly good track of where I've been or what I've been up to. Still, let's see what memories of the last year I can dredge up, eh? December 2014 I created a…
Continue reading →android gsm NaBloPoMo phone · 4 comments · 550 words · Viewed ~6,797 times
How often have you seen a meeting request which says... To join the conference call, please dial 0306 999 0348, then type in your access number (07700 900 951) followed by the hash or pound key. What a faff! If you're reading the message on your phone you have to flip back and forth as you try to remember which numbers to dial. Well, there's a better way! You all know the standard keys on a…
Continue reading →hardware NaBloPoMo review · 8 comments · 500 words · Viewed ~1,053 times
I was recently gifted a Satechi WiFi Travel Router & Charger. Currently available on Amazon for £35. It's a clever little device with several useful functions: Travel adapter. Plugs into most power sockets and has a universal plug on top. Two USB charging sockets. Connect to Ethernet and share the signal via WiFi. Connect to WiFi and share the signal via WiFi or Ethernet. …
Continue reading →coding NaBloPoMo WordPress · 2 comments · 400 words · Viewed ~952 times
One of the most addicting aspects of Open Source software is the ability to scratch one's own itches. I've been blogging since 2004 - and while I'd never mistake longevity for expertise - I do take a certain pride in letting my readers know that I've spent over a decade bashing out words. So, I decided to build a simple widget which would display my posting history in a calendar style. And…
Continue reading →accessibility design google logo NaBloPoMo usability · 250 words · Viewed ~212 times
After much kerfuffle, the world has finally got used to the new Google logo. Well, almost. My eye is continually caught by the poor contrast of the yellow "O" against its background. Take a look... This is Google's default logo on its regular grey background. The contrast ratio between the yellow and grey is 1.50. That fails to meet current accessibility guidelines. This is just awful - I …
Continue reading →NaBloPoMo Star Wars · 150 words
A couple of months ago I noticed there was an auction of Sci-Fi related material in London. The catalogue was amazing! The original Leela costume from Doctor Who, costumes from Star Trek, gizmos from Blade Runner - and a whole bunch of Star Wars props! Sadly, I couldn't afford the original pieces of the Death Star (expected price of £10k-20k) nor the Millennium Falcon blueprints (a more …
Continue reading →bodge camera hacking hardware NaBloPoMo · 3 comments · 450 words · Viewed ~537 times
I've been busy writing the definitive Sercomm Camera API documentation. (No, you need a hobby!) While doing so, I noticed that I couldn't get my Pan/Tilt/Zoom camera to... well... pan! No lateral movement whatsoever. It'd move up and down - but its left and right movement was non-existant. I could hear the stepper motor whirring, but it wasn't producing any movement. Weird... TO THE…
Continue reading →fonts NaBloPoMo · 500 words · Viewed ~570 times
If you thought Web Fonts were pretty nifty, then you're going to think font subsetting is really cool. No, honestly! It is! As I've written about before you can dramatically reduce the size of your Web Fonts by cutting out characters that you don't need. For example, suppose you don't need to include the русский алфавит - you can immediately drop 66 letters (upper- and lower-case), a whole load…
Continue reading →data gov.uk NaBloPoMo · 5 comments · 1,150 words · Viewed ~1,034 times
Eight years after I published this blog post, I helped officially release all these domain names as open data! Funny how life works out, eh? Would you like to know every domain name the UK Government had registered? Of course you would! There could be all sorts of interesting tit-bits hidden in there (ProtectAndSurvive.gov.uk? EbolaOutbreak2017.nhs.uk? MinistryOfTruth.police.uk?) Rather than…
Continue reading →complexitiy NaBloPoMo simplicity · 3 comments · 1,450 words · Viewed ~2,804 times
The one book I insist my new hires read before starting is Edward de Bono's "Simplicity". It suggests that we should value others' time over our own. Every hour we spend making things simple gives a net benefit to humanity. Whether it is laws, industrial design, software, or documentation - our goal should be to make things radically simple. Not only does simplicity save time - it also saves…
Continue reading →gchq guardian ipbill NaBloPoMo politics security spies · 1 comment · 1,500 words · Viewed ~230 times
Earlier this year, I attended a lecture given by Alan Rusbridger - the outgoing editor of The Guardian - entitled "The World After Snowden." Held at Oxford University, and attended by journalists, technologists, and former spies - it was an exceptionally interesting talk and provoked a lively debate over dinner. In light of the publication of the disastrous Investigatory Powers Bill, I've…
Continue reading →car i3 NaBloPoMo solar · 11 comments · 750 words · Viewed ~1,260 times
Regular readers will know that I have solar panels and an electric car. Is there any way to hook the panels up so they directly charge the car? Can I set my electrical system up to divert surplus electricity into the car when my house isn't using it. This is what I do with my hot water iBoost - when household energy usage is low, it automatically switches on my immersion heater. Can I rig up…
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