Content types: Note
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How often do YOU buy Valentine’s Day gifts?
How often do *you* buy Valentine’s Day gifts? More often than once a week? Less often than once a month? Stop making people complete terrible surveys that you won’t even be able to interpret the results of!
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I return to work regularly today for the first time in almost 25 weeks
I return to work regularly today for the first time in almost 25 weeks
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It’s nice to see that Google’s new Web Creators initiative has an RSS feed. Now maybe they could work on a product that helps people subscribe to those RSS feeds to foster this community of web creators…
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It’s nice to see that Google’s new Web Creators initiative has an RSS feed. Now maybe they could work on a product that helps people subscribe to those RSS feeds to foster this community of web creators…
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A drama about coughing ought to be super-triggering during this era. But I really enjoyed Quiz
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A drama about coughing ought to be super-triggering during this era. But I really enjoyed Quiz. It took my mind off everything. An amazing story told in a hilarious way and with a geeky attention to detail. It’s crazy to think this all happened 19 years ago. A great balancing act from Michael Sheen as […]
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Virtual birthday party — 9pm tonight
Virtual birthday party — 9pm tonight It’s my birthday today. But I couldn’t really be bothered to organise a physical get-together. Instead, I thought it would be fun to imagine there was some horrific virus that meant we couldn’t really leave the house much, and I had to celebrate it remotely. Update: This will now take […]
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I’m in Ikea, where lots of people are buying emergency desks
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I’m in Ikea, where lots of people are buying emergency desks.
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We’re looking for a PhD student intern to work with us next year. This is an exciting time to join our team, and an opportunity to help us improve high-profile web services like MyEd and the University website.
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We’re looking for a University of Edinburgh PhD student intern to work with us next year. This is an exciting time to join the Website and Communications team, and an opportunity to help us improve high-profile web services like MyEd and the University website. Take a look!
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Playing Tetris and Snake simultaneously is fiendishly difficult
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Playing Tetris and Snake simultaneously is fiendishly difficult. Tetris on the left, Snake on the right. You play both at the same time.With the same controls.You lose in one, you lose in both. Good luck.https://t.co/sg7ddBQ5gV pic.twitter.com/qUx3UvEmSX — grgrdvrt (@grgrdvrt) November 20, 2019
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I was in a meeting once where someone pitched a really unrealistic idea. I don’t remember the details exactly. But let’s assume this idea depended on pigs being able to fly…
I was in a meeting once where someone pitched a really unrealistic idea. I don’t remember the details exactly. But let’s assume this idea depended on pigs being able to fly. “But how will the pigs fly?”, we asked. “Oh, we’ll have an algorithm.” “OK… But, we don’t understand how the algorithm make the pigs […]
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In a parallel universe in 2019, Alexander Albon had a middling season in a Nissan E.Dams Formula E car, while Dan Ticktum was racing for Red Bull Racing in F1.
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In a parallel universe in 2019, Alexander Albon had a middling season in a Nissan E.Dams Formula E car, while Dan Ticktum was racing for Red Bull Racing in F1.
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I’ll be speaking at the next IxDA Scotland community meetup about our user research with the Learn Foundations project
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I’ll be speaking at the next IxDA Scotland community meetup about our user research with the Learn Foundations project. Duncan’s talk will take us through how the University of Edinburgh’s User Experience Service has undertaken a comprehensive programme of user research supporting a project aimed at improving students’ experience accessing course materials digitally. Find out […]
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The hotel bar just played a version of Take Five in 4/4 time, and I’m slightly horrified
The hotel bar just played a version of Take Five in 4/4 time, and I’m slightly horrified.
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I will be away for the next couple of weeks, as Alex and I are going on our honeymoon
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I will be away for the next couple of weeks, as Alex and I are going on our honeymoon. I’ve scheduled a number of posts to publish while I’m away, so things aren’t going to go completely quiet. But if I seem inattentive, it’s because I am having prime holiday time.
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Is a fig roll a cake or a biscuit? The Great British Bake Off has spoken, and Wikipedia has followed
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Is a fig roll a cake or a biscuit? The Great British Bake Off has spoken, and Wikipedia has followed.
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I’m doing a couple of talks this week. They are both about the user research we’ve been doing for the Learn Foundations project
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I’m doing a couple of talks this week. They are both about the user research we’ve been doing for the Learn Foundations project. This evening I will be presenting at the Edinburgh UX monthly meetup. It’s a friendly meetup and it’s free, so do come along if you’re interested. Then on Wednesday I’ll be presenting […]
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I have now implemented a dark mode for this website
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I have now implemented a dark mode for this website. Many operating systems are now offering dark mode as a preference. If you have dark mode switched on, this website now displays in a fetching darker colour scheme. Media queries to the rescue!
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Is there a way to force all mobile apps to open web URLs in my actual browser of choice, instead of the crappy WebView they make you use?
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Is there a way to force all mobile apps to open web URLs in my actual browser of choice, instead of the crappy WebView they make you use? This is one thing I am truly fed up with now.
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My Omnichord normally gathers dust in the corner of a room
My Omnichord normally gathers dust in the corner of a room. So when someone retweeted into my timeline Karine Polwart asking if anyone in Edinburgh had an Omnichord she could borrow for some filming, I was happy to help, and to see the Omnichord out of its case for a change! Dear @DuncanBSS thanks for […]
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I just watched the British Grand Prix. 😱 Sebastian Vettel needs to retire as soon as possible, before he does any further damage to his reputation
I just watched the British Grand Prix. 😱 Sebastian Vettel needs to retire as soon as possible, before he does any further damage to his reputation. So sad to see a once great driver reduced to this.
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Does anyone I know fancy coming with me to see the Rabbit Hole with Iain Lee and Katherine Boyle in Glasgow on Saturday?
Does anyone I know fancy coming with me to see the Rabbit Hole with Iain Lee and Katherine Boyle in Glasgow this Saturday? I unexpectedly have a spare ticket.
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Update for email and WordPress.com subscribers
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Update for email and WordPress.com subscribers Last week I changed the address of my website to duncanstephen.net. It has taken a little longer for all my subscribers to migrate across — but you should be receiving my updates again now. Here are the posts you missed: Duncan Stephen .net — where I explain why I […]
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I was sorry to hear about the death of Charlie Whiting
I was sorry to hear about the death of Charlie Whiting, Formula 1’s race director, less than 24 hours before he was due to oversee the first session of the season. Charlie Whiting has been one person in the FIA I have always respected. It was very difficult to question his judgement, and you rarely […]
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I hate to be that guy, but the latest update to the Pocket Casts Android app has completely destroyed it
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I hate to be that guy, but the latest update to the Pocket Casts Android app has completely destroyed it. Overnight, the player widget was erased. But worse still, all the playlists I have created have disappeared and there appears to be no way of recreating them. The playlists feature has vanished. There is a […]
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It’s 10 years since Woolworths closed down
It’s 10 years since Woolworths closed down. I worked there at the time. To this day, the whole experience is among the most surreal of my life. At the time, I wrote a lengthy series of blog posts detailing my own story of the goings-on around the failure of one of Britain’s most iconic businesses. […]
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This week I found out I won’t be on that Scottish independence referendum documentary I was filmed for
This week I found out I won’t make the cut of that Scottish independence referendum documentary I was filmed for a few months ago. Due to a change in editorial focus, apparently. It’s actually a bit of a relief because, as you’ll see from the original post, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with how it panned […]
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These classic BBC Two idents designed by Lambie-Nairn have now been retired — but not for the first time
These classic BBC Two idents designed by Lambie-Nairn have now been retired — but not for the first time. They were first replaced in 2001 by the Personality idents, which (despite the name) were actually rather insipid by comparison. Then came the downright dull Window on the World idents. Lambie-Nairn’s idents returned in 2014. But […]
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It’s no wonder newspaper websites are in trouble
It’s no wonder newspaper websites are in trouble. Their latest scheme is to “lock” content by turning it into squiggles unless you watch at least 6 seconds of an advert. Needless to say, this is a horrible experience, and only makes it all the more likely that I’ll turn away from certain websites. I’m afraid […]
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Only Google could think to provide a weather forecast in kelvin. Beautiful.
Only Google could think to provide a weather forecast in kelvin. Beautiful.
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Updates will no longer publish to my Facebook profile. Follow my page instead.
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From tomorrow, Facebook will stop allowing automated posts to personal Facebook profiles. Dodgy ads, fake news and inflammatory content are all still allowed of course. But that’s how Facebook make their money. So normal people’s automated updates is what they’re clamping down on. As a result, updates from my blog have stopped appearing on my […]
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Could Kimi Räikkönen have a palindromic career?
There are rumours that McLaren are interested in hiring Kimi Räikkönen for 2019. The possibility seems remote for the time being. But it did instantly tickle a part of my brain. If Räikkönen were to go to McLaren next year, then for whatever reason decide to end his career at Sauber, he would have a […]
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I’m excited to be attending the UX Scotland conference this week
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I’m excited to be attending the UX Scotland conference this week. I expect I will be dusting off my Twitter account to tweet my thoughts as the conference goes. Follow me — @DuncanBSS.
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Lots of people think Google’s new AI-powered phone calls are creepy. I don’t quite follow this. Big companies have been making normal people speak to robots for decades.
Lots of people think Google’s new AI-powered phone calls are creepy. I don’t quite follow this. Big companies have been making normal people speak to robots for decades. This isn’t a new concept. The difference is that this gives ordinary people the opportunity to do to big companies what big companies have been doing to […]
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Henry Hope-Frost on You Bet
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It’s great to see this clip of Henry Hope-Frost on You Bet. He may have thought then that his obscure knowledge would be of absolutely no use. But it certainly came in handy when he later became one of the top motorsport journalists. There aren’t nearly enough clips of You Bet on YouTube. I remember […]
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There are certain things you’re not allowed to say these days
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There are certain things you’re not allowed to say these days. Well it is time to put an end to all this political correctness. People have been frightened to speak openly. We should call a spade a spade. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable is telling it like it is: 70% of over 65s voted for […]
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Happy International Richard Herring Awareness Day
Happy International Richard Herring Awareness Day.
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Views from a grumpy millennial on YouGov’s poll on attitudes towards age
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YouGov have released an interesting study on where people draw the boundary between youth, middle age and old age. As a grumpy millennial, I couldn’t help but notice that a certain generation’s attitude on where old age begins appears to be selective.
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Virgin Media have sent an email suggesting ‘safe’ passwords for people to use
Virgin Media have sent an email suggesting ‘safe’ passwords for people to use. …They’re not much harder any more. 🤦♂️
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Blue Mondays
There may be no real science behind the concept of Blue Monday. But there is definitely something strange about mornings in January. I always go back to work as soon as possible after the new year. On my morning walk to work, the streets are dark unlike any other time of year, and eerily quiet. […]
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Happy Christmas
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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!
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Twice this year I have been sent customer feedback surveys before I have even received the items, because they were delayed so badly
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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).
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Many of the podcasts I listen to are currently running ads from Bose imploring me to buy their headphones “to enjoy podcasts in even better sound quality”
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Many of the podcasts I listen to are currently running ads from Bose imploring me to buy their headphones “to enjoy podcasts in even better sound quality”. I have to say, when listening to a heavily compressed MP3 that has usually been recorded in a spare room by a semi-professional using budget domestic microphones, with […]
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It’s worth reading the full transcript of Lewis Hamilton’s press conference following his championship victory on Sunday
It’s worth reading the full transcript of Lewis Hamilton’s press conference following his championship victory on Sunday (scroll down to about halfway down the page to see “Questions to Lewis Hamilton”). As noted by Andrew Benson, his answers are long, in-depth, and provide an interesting insight into the mindset that has seen him step up […]
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Until 1935, Disney had the monopoly on technicolor
Until 1935, Disney had the monopoly on technicolor. Other studios, like Fleischer and Iwerks, settled for a two-color system. pic.twitter.com/ImfNHNovFI — Chappell👻Ellison (@ChappellTracker) October 11, 2017 In fairness, those screenshots don’t look too different to many films these days.
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It’s great to see Iain Lee winning a big radio award for best (non-breakfast) speech presenter
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It’s great to see Iain Lee winning a big radio award for best (non-breakfast) speech presenter. I’ve written before about how brilliant Iain Lee’s radio work is. His TalkRadio show is, by some margin, the most interesting on radio today.
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When did ‘centrist’ come to be used to describe pretty much anyone who’s not a bit of a dick?
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When did ‘centrist’ come to be used to describe pretty much anyone who’s not a bit of a dick?
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Can publishers just please stop it with all this video?
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Can publishers just please stop it with all this video? I just declared bankruptcy on the long list of videos I told myself I was going to watch. Probably only about 20% of links I click are worth my time. With videos, there is no good way of scanning to find out. You just have […]
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I’ve gone a bit over the top baking a cake for a charity coffee morning at work tomorrow
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I’ve gone a bit over the top baking a cake for a charity coffee morning at work tomorrow. I didn’t fancy making muffins or anything simple, so I have ended up making something way too elaborate. I won’t be able to finish it until about 1am. 😩
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Please excuse the shakiness here while I experiment with new ways of blogging, and explore different ways of syndicating to other platforms
Please excuse the shakiness here while I experiment with new ways of blogging, and explore different ways of syndicating to other platforms.