Year: 2017
-
We have added a bit of brutalism to our living room with these fantastic brutalist coasters made by Slope Design
—
We have added a bit of brutalism to our living room with these fantastic brutalist coasters made by Slope Design. Each coaster represents one of four iconic British brutalist buildings.
-
Alex and I took part in the torchlight procession today
Alex and I took part in the torchlight procession today.
-
Google Maps’s moat
Google Maps’s moat A brilliant analysis of recent improvements to Google Maps, and why Google is so far ahead of Apple. Just two years after it started adding them, Google already had the majority of buildings in the US. And now after five years, it has my rural hometown — an area it still hasn’t […]
-
Stephen Bush: On the Tube, I saw the father I’d never met – and was happy to find that I had nothing to say to him
Stephen Bush: On the Tube, I saw the father I’d never met – and was happy to find that I had nothing to say to him An extraordinary piece of writing by Stephen Bush, about bumping into someone who didn’t know he was his father. I’ve learned to enjoy the upsides of having an absent […]
-
Voyage to Iceland
My second visit to Iceland made up for what I missed the first time round. But it left me still wanting more.
-
Sticks in the ground for public services
—
Sticks in the ground for public services You know I love a bit of brutalism. Well here, Ben Holliday draws a comparison between civic architecture of the mid-20th century, and modern-day digital local services. Many of these buildings are now disused or in different states of disrepair. It’s an important reminder. The fact is, no […]
-
40 years of the Voyager golden record
The 40th anniversary of the launch of Voyager has created renewed interest in the two gold-plated phonograph records that are on board.
-
Talking to Léonie Watson about computer vision and blindness
Talking to Léonie Watson about computer vision and blindness Peter Gasston interviewed Léonie Watson, an accessibility consultant who is blind. In this extract, they discuss computer vision — technologies that can extract information from photos and videos using machine learning. It sounds like massively promising technology. I was sitting in a hotel having breakfast not […]
-
Dave Gorman: Goodish bye
Dave Gorman: Goodish bye Dave Gorman has explained why he has decided to finish making his TV programme, Modern Life is Goodish. With this TV show, Dave Gorman was churning out several hours of new comedy a year, and immediately burning it by televising it. Most comedians only produce one solid new hour a year, […]
-
I told Alex once that I liked those weird items of matcha confectionary you get at the Chinese supermarket. Now I have all this, including a suspicious item called ‘Collon’.
—
I told Alex once that I liked those weird items of matcha confectionary you get at the Chinese supermarket. Now I have all this, including a suspicious item called ‘Collon’.
-
Happy Christmas
—
Happy Christmas. I am planning on doing as little as possible over this break. Alex and I will be spending a few days in Fife before returning to Edinburgh. Enjoy your holiday!
-
Britain grows increasingly hostile to EU citizens
—
Britain grows increasingly hostile to EU citizens A German perspective on what’s going on in Britain right now. Whenever Agnieszka Pasieczna opens the curtains of her children’s bedroom, she finds herself facing four electronic eyes staring at her. The cameras, each around the size of a fist, are mounted on a gray wall around eight […]
-
Facebook’s algorithm hijacked this $8 billion company to sell cat blindfolds
Facebook’s algorithm hijacked this $8 billion company to sell cat blindfolds Online retailer Wish was developing a cult following for its incredibly bizarre Facebook ads. Among the products displayed to users: cat blindfolds, cocaine sweatshirts and “plastic tongue things”. It’s yet another unforseen consequence of algorithms driving everything, and yet another indication that companies desperately […]
-
Location of the Microsoft Windows XP default wallpaper
Location of the Microsoft Windows XP default wallpaper …countless [people] unwittingly drive by the idyllic scene everyday, possibly even on their way to computers adorned by the very hill pocked with wildflowers.
-
This changes everything: Gutenberg is good now
This changes everything: Gutenberg is good now I have only been keeping half an eye on the controversy surrounding the project to re-work the WordPress post editing experience, Gutenberg. Early versions of the new design were widely panned by the WordPress community. But according to this article, Gutenberg has turned a corner. Having been a […]
-
I made my shed the top rated restaurant on TripAdvisor
I made my shed the top rated restaurant on TripAdvisor Brilliantly entertaining article by someone who managed to game TripAdvisor into ranking his fake establishment as the number one restaurant in London. When he staged a deliberately-awful opening night, some of the patrons asked to come again. The Shed at Dulwich has suddenly become appealing. […]
-
23 workplace horror stories that’ll make you say “WTAF?”
—
23 workplace horror stories that’ll make you say “WTAF?” Set aside an hour or two to read some of these jaw-dropping workplace issues.
-
How the sandwich consumed Britain
—
How the sandwich consumed Britain An absolutely fascinating long read about sandwiches. It finds dozens of angles on the topic, and they all prove to be fascinating. I hadn’t realised that packaged sandwiches were such a recent invention. This article outlines the way M&S’s innovation has transformed people’s behaviour and expectations. [M&S sandwich boss Richard […]
-
What product managers can learn from teachers about running great workshops
—
What product managers can learn from teachers about running great workshops As it happens, I was recently talking to a colleague about the links between teaching and running workshops. I have come to appreciate the similarities this year. A couple of my colleagues used to be teachers, and working with them has made the parallels […]
-
The media perspective on burger emoji: An unexpected analysis
—
The media perspective on burger emoji: An unexpected analysis The burger emoji: A first-hand analysis of the media coverage Media analyst Thomas Baekdal unexpectedly went viral last month when he tweeted about the inconsistencies between the burger emojis for Apple and Google. He has published two articles about it. The first examines why his tweet […]
-
The George Street Sessions: A new CD featuring musicians from north east Fife
A new CD has been recorded in Alex’s family’s front room — and it sounds great.
-
There’s a digital media crash. But no one will say it
There’s a digital media crash. But no one will say it A huge, huge, huge amount of digital media is funded by venture capital… The big picture is that Problem #1 (too many publications) and Problem #2 (platform monopolies) have catalyzed together to create Problem #3 (investors realize they were investing in a mirage and […]
-
Highlights from our holiday to New York
—
In March, Alex and I took a trip to New York. It was such a brilliant holiday that it has taken me 9 months to write about it all.
-
Woman’s English too good for UK entry
—
Woman’s English too good for UK entry A pregnant Indian woman has been refused entry to live in Scotland with her Fife husband because her language qualification for entry to the UK is too advanced. Disgusting! When is this country going to stop being so hostile to people?
-
Does Peppa Pig encourage inappropriate use of primary care resources?
—
Does Peppa Pig encourage inappropriate use of primary care resources? Top researching in the BMJ.
-
Debunking the myth of the 10,000-hours rule: What it actually takes to reach genius-level excellence
Debunking the myth of the 10,000-hours rule: What it actually takes to reach genius-level excellence The 10,000 hour rule has obviously always been more complicated than that — not least because you would have to be mad to spend 10,000 hours on something you’re not very good at. This article outlines some of the nuances […]
-
John Bult: Julie’s Sixteenth Birthday
—
John Bult: Julie’s Sixteenth Birthday The story of one of the worst record covers of all time. “During the photo shoot, Ted kept telling her to look serious, like her dad is talking to her,” Bult said. “But she just kept looking sad to me.” When the final album was pressed, and Bult saw the […]
-
The most popular strategies companies use to save money also kill innovation
—
The most popular strategies companies use to save money also kill innovation An interesting take on business process improvements such as Lean and Six Sigma. It suggests that while such process improvements improve reliability, they also make innovation plummet. Moreover, the effects are difficult to spot because they take so long to emerge. Innovation requires […]
-
-
The worst car I ever drove — Lapped dog
The worst car I ever drove — Lapped dog What happens when you get your dream drive in Formula 1 — only for it to become a nightmare. Julian Bailey on the Tyrrell 017. I climbed in and they fired it up. Just as they did that the right hand mirror fell off.. From the […]
-
Woman reports rape to police — and is arrested on immigration charges
—
Woman reports rape to police — and is arrested on immigration charges The woman, who was five months pregnant at the time of her arrest, attended a London police station in March to report that she had been kidnapped and raped in Germany between September 2016 and March 2017. Officers took her to the Havens […]
-
Why is British public so ignorant on Brexit?
—
Why is British public so ignorant on Brexit? An Irish perspective on Brexit. It paints a bleak picture about the quality of political debate in the UK just now.
-
When alumni interviewers screw up, things get weird
—
When alumni interviewers screw up, things get weird The perils of using alumni to reach out to prospective students. This article mainly pertains to examples found in the US. I am not sure how common this technique is in the UK. There is a tricky balance to be struck between two of universities’ main sources […]
-
Help! I’m becoming an audiophile
After years of dilly-dallying, I have finally bought myself a new record player. But I’m still not convinced vinyl provides the superior sound quality.
-
Making good decisions as a product manager
—
Making good decisions as a product manager While this article was originally aimed at product managers, the author concedes that it is relevant to any role. Essentially, it argues that the key to good decision-making is not just understanding what the correct decision would be, but also how quickly you should make each decision. In […]
-
Twice this year I have been sent customer feedback surveys before I have even received the items, because they were delayed so badly
—
Twice this year I have been sent customer feedback surveys before I have even received the items, because they were delayed so badly. Arse, meet elbow. If you’re interested, the guilty parties are Specsavers (my glasses took 6 weeks to arrive) and Currys PC World (I’m still waiting on my new Chromebook).
-
Ashamed to work in Silicon Valley: how techies became the new bankers
Ashamed to work in Silicon Valley: how techies became the new bankers It definitely feels like there has been a sea-change in people’s perceptions about Silicon Valley in the past year or so. This article goes some way to explaining why. MBA jerks used to go and work for Wall Street, now wealthy white geeks […]
-
Secrets from the BBC newsroom
—
Secrets from the BBC newsroom A delicious article by Robin Lustig. It recounts the time BBC Radio 4 newsreader Neil Sleat met “the ultimate challenge to his professional skills” with relish. His task? To pronounce the name Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele.
-
Hooked and booked
Hooked and booked Following on from an article I linked to a few weeks ago about the dark patterns used by Booking.com to pressurise its users into making decisions, Jeremy Keith follows up with this reflection on why A/B testing used badly makes things worse. A/B testing is a great way of finding out what […]
-
Nick Clegg meets Richard Thaler: ‘All it would take to stop Brexit is a couple of dozen brave Tories’
Nick Clegg meets Richard Thaler: ‘All it would take to stop Brexit is a couple of dozen brave Tories’ The Guardian set Nick Clegg up for a Skype interview with Richard Thaler, who has recently been awarded the Nobel economics prize. Thaler was a big influence on the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition and it is clear […]
-
Formula 1’s new logo unwittingly reflects the sport’s mid-life crisis
The new owners of Formula 1 have controversially replaced the sport’s iconic logo. The relaunch feels confused, for a pile of reasons.
-
How childhood gender-stereotyping damages boys
—
How childhood gender-stereotyping damages boys: a thread for International Men’s Day A brilliant thread about why society’s attitute to children and toys causes long-term damage to men.
-
The improbable origins of PowerPoint
The improbable origins of PowerPoint A history of PowerPoint, a piece of software that has taken over office life more than any other. Many of us rely on it. But on the downside, PowerPoint persuades pencil pushers that they are designers. The result is that highly-paid people end up spending hours on end mucking about […]
-
Faux grid tracks
—
Faux grid tracks Now that we have CSS grid, people apparently want to know how to style the divisions between the rows and the columns. Here, Eric Meyer explains one way to do it. At this stage, I can’t help feeling that no matter how many features get added to CSS, it always results in […]