I've started listening to a lot of podcasts recently. My commute has got a bit longer, which means that I have much more time to spend sitting in traffic listening to interesting things. I'd like to review some of the pocasts which fill my commute with joy and wonder! Today's episode: Mobile Industry Shennanigans! I'm in the mobile industry and - while my personal opinions are obviously the…
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Like many people, I used to be a slave to my work inbox. It's hard to maintain a decent work/life balance when you're receiving business emails during evenings and weekends. Sometimes it's due to a workaholic colleague, or someone in a different timezone, or just those damned automated reminders from the finance system. I don't want to carry a separate device, and I know I can't rely on…
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If I were a despised broadsheet journalist, I'd probably write a really insensitive article about all the fab finds you can pick up for free at your local food bank. I'd write about how very jolly it is, top tips for bagging the best stuff, and promptly get a load of angry Twitter messages sent to me - along with a gazillion page views. I'm not that person. So here's my middle-class experience …
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...not Terance, Terrence, Terrance, Terense, Tarance, or any other variation. "Terence" is spelt with one T, a thrice of Es, and a single R, N, and C. The letter A should be conspicuous by its absence. The letter R is an only child. The letter S has no place in my name. Those people caught transgressing these very simple rules with be placed on The List. FFS! My name is on the email I sent…
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I'd like to propose that web designers around the world spend one day this year browsing the web with JavaScript disabled. I'm tentatively calling this "International No Javascript UseR Experience Day" or INJURED for short. A few weeks ago, a reader of my blog complained that all they saw was a blank screen. As Liz Conlan pointed out, my CSS was making the whole page invisible. My WordPress…
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I was at a funeral the other day. A group of us were sharing memories of the deceased. Talking about her laugh, how mean she could be, how we never told her that we loved her. Suddenly, a stranger walked over to us in the graveyard and said, "Friends, have you tried the great taste of the Big Kahuna Burger? With its mouthwatering blend of herbs and spices, you're sure to have a Big Kahuna Day!…
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In the good ol' days of blogging, when your blogpost was mentioned on another site, you would receive a "pingback". A sort of meta-comment you could display which said "So-and-so's blog has linked here." It enabled you to see who was driving traffic to you, if a "big name" had noticed you, and gave your readers a sense of where the conversation was continuing. Of course, it occaisionally got…
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I spent several hours in school learning how to write a letter. From the correct placement of the address, right down to the "Yours sincerely / faithfully" - every aspect was drummed into me. That never happened with email. Judging from many of the people I work with - young and old - the art of writing an email has not been adequately explained. I want to take a few moments to explain how I …
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Well, this is annoying! "You can enter up to 100 characters" Why? Why this silly limitation. This isn't 1974 - we're not exactly limited in memory. This limitation only appears on Samsung's Android phones - not on the Google calculator app. It would be interesting to see if it's a limitation in any other Android phones. …
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I'm a big fan of QR codes. A few years ago, I did some work for a major UK retailer who wanted to put QR codes on some of their DIY products. Rather than ship expensive instructions with each item, there would be a QR code on the packaging which linked directly to a video explaining how to use whatever it was you'd just purchased. The idea was a success and is now helping them cut costs - even …
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I'm a bit confused about the recent news that, apparently, no one was fooled by the 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds". For years it was common knowledge that the newscast style of the play caused mass panic in America. According to Michael J. Socolow: The newspaper industry sensationalized the panic to prove to advertisers, and regulators, that radio management was…
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There are two things you should know about me. The first is that I like to complain about poor service, and the second is that I'm a hoarder. These character flaws have finally proved useful! Let me explain how you can claim hundreds or even thousands of Euros in compensation for delayed flights. A couple of years ago, we took a holiday to Turkey flying with Thomas Cook. The flight out was…
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