Year: 2018

Life
Busy busy at the moment and not sleeping. I’m blaming the change in seasons. Yawn…

Media
Avengers Infinity War – this was excellent. No spoilers, but what I liked most was that there was no big explainers. Just straight into the film and rewarded anyone thats watched all the films. 2 1/2 hours flew by and they really handled so many characters well. There was also quite a bit to think about – not your average superhero movie.

Britains Biggest Warship – finished tonight and was really enjoyable. Be great to see a follow up in 18 months time showing the jets arriving and the ship on mission.

Westworld – back with a bang. Love it.

Links

• Real People Are Turning Their Accounts Into Bots On Instagram — And Cashing InDo not like. Spent the weekend messing around with new accounts and there’s so much spam on Instagram.
• ‘Call from God’: American pro-lifer’s role in Alfie Evans battle | UK news | The Guardian
  Catholic fundamentalists advised Alfie’s parents and arranged for medical experts to assess the terminally ill child before his death
  This whole story is tragic and some might say this is too soon, but some good old fashioned journalism questioning the legal campaign shows up some truths that were so far hidden from all.
• TSB Train Wreck: Massive Bank IT Failure Going into Fifth Day; Customers Locked Out of Accounts, Getting Into Other People’s Accounts, Getting Bogus Data | naked capitalismOuch. What a mess.
• Death by the sea: how drug abuse is scarring Britain’s coastal towns | Society | The GuardianI know Barrow pretty well and this is such a sad turn for the town.
• Stack Overflow Isn’t Very Welcoming. It’s Time for That to Change. – Stack Overflow BlogGood to see they are looking to tackle this.
• Michelle Wolf COMPLETE REMARKS at 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner (C-SPAN) – YouTubeLoved this. LOVED IT. The looks on people’s faces.
• Opinion | Michael Hayden: The End of Intelligence – The New York Times
  How do you brief a president who doesn’t distinguish between truth and lies?
  Good companion to the Michelle Wolf video.

Life
Out and about with camera and drone this week. Semi pleased with the results but need to focus more on getting better results out of the camera and not Lightroom. Also got some new drugs this week that will help with one problem…but leave me with splitting headaches. Hopefully only for another week.

Media
Re-watched Westworld in preperation for the new series tomorrow. Enjoyed it more the second time around as you appreciate some of the earlier episodes now that you are aware of some of the plot twists that come later.

God of War on the PS4. One of the best reviewed games in the last 6 months and it looks stunning. Only managed an hour with it but looking forward to more.

Links

• How to send an ‘E mail’ – Database – 1984 – YouTubeAnd I complain when I get slow 4G!
• Landscape photographer races to finish decades of work – YouTubeLoved this, such dedication.
• Home Office destroyed Windrush landing cards, says ex-staffer | UK news | The GuardianScandalous. Why is no one carrying the can for this?
• James O’Brien’s Must-Watch Monologue On The Windrush Scandal – LBC
  This is James O’Brien’s powerful criticism of Theresa May for her part in the Windrush scandal in which British citizens from the Caribbean have been deported.
  It’s just under 3 mins and well worth listening to his words. Raging that this is happening in the UK today.
• Tesla says its factory is safer. But it left injuries off the books | RevealShocking. Everyone deserves to work in a safe environment.
• Iceland Takes Hard Look at Tech Boom Sparked by Its Cheap, Bountiful Power – WSJMadness.
• SmugMug snaps up Flickr photo service from Verizon’s Oath
  SmugMug’s deal for Flickr, previously owned by Yahoo and then Verizon, should breathe new life into the photo sharing and storage pioneer.
  Flickr was great back in the day and I’m still a member but Yahoo gutted it’s soul. However this gives me hope that with the right ownership it can become something great again.
• Ready Player One is the roadmap to digital dystopia – The Verge
  The 2011 book can tell us a lot about how we arrived this moment in social media and online discourse, if you read between the lines.
  The future is…bleak?
• I was one of the first people on Facebook. I shouldn’t have trusted Mark Zuckerberg | Julie Carrie Wong | Technology | The GuardianShould any of us trust him?
• Marvel Studios 10th Anniversary Tribute – YouTubeFan made summary of the last 10 years of Marvel…perfect watch before Avengers Infinity War which is out this week.

Life
Is that the first time this year it’s been almost normal temperature? Did actual work in the actual garden too. Finally.

Media
The City and the City – great to see some interesting sci-fi on TV. Enjoyed it.

Kiss Me First – and this is worth a watch too, all about VR. First 2 episodes have been great so far.

Links

• 11 Tips for Working on the iPad – MacStoriesLearned a few new things from these tips. Only had an iPad for 6 years 🙂
• 9.7 iPad (2018) review: Drawn on an iPad! And edited, composed, and designed… – YouTubeSerenity Caldwell with one of the best iPad reviews. Shows what really can be done with time, talent and an iPad.
• The secret on the ocean floor – BBC NewsInteresting long read from the Beeb – ocean’s hold so many secrets.
• How we made: Gary Kemp and Steve Norman on True | Culture | The GuardianWho knew!
• Extraordinary aerial photograph of Edinburgh circa 1920Never seen this before and it’s quite amazing. Looks more like a painting.
• China Viewed From Above – The AtlanticDrones can capture some stunning images.
• Solo: A Star Wars Story Official Trailer – YouTubeNot sure about this film – I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
• twitter.com90’s Avengers – this would have been awesome.
• The End of Reality – The AtlanticFake news has dominated the last couple of years…but fake video would be so much worse.
• What smartphone photography is doing to our memories – VoxStay in the present!
• Think Critical: Apple Software is like Windows HardwareCan’t disagree with this. Sad.

Life
Great week off. Lots done, couple of trips out and about around Scotland and a couple of new toys as well. Made the best of the improving weather – finally feels like Spring!

Media
Save Me finished strong, pleased it’s got a second series.
Deep State – enjoyable first episode. Well worth a watch.

Links

• I offered to draw people. Then 5000 people said yes.
  Over the last few days, I’ve said this line to myself hundreds of times. I’ve scrolled through name after name, studied bios, examined photographs, and then I’ve put pen to paper and started drawing…
  Great story…be careful what you offer on Twitter!
• DNS Resolvers Performance compared: CloudFlare x Google x Quad9 x OpenDNS
  A couple of months ago I did a performance comparison between some of the top free DNS Resolvers available. It was just after Quad9 had launched and I was trying to decide which one to use and…
  Switched to CloudFlare this week and no issues…just rock solid and fast DNS.
• Outrageous! Cristiano Ronaldo scores his best-ever goal with insane overhead kick against Juventus – YouTubeAmazing goal…gets better every time you watch it.
• Making the Touch Bar finally useful :: By abandoning crappy Apple guidelines :: vas3k’s blogIf I had a Touch Bar MacBook I’d be doing this – love it.
• Justinfication on Twitter: “Wow, I’ve seen/heard a lot of MLK footage but this is the first time I’ve seen this interview. How profound this is. https://t.co/Lm8SR2z3bT”Powerful…must watch.
• Facebook Building 8 explored data sharing agreement with hospitals
  Facebook’s Building 8 team approached top hospitals about a data-sharing agreement, but the plan has been put on pause after the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal.
  Facebook looking shadier as the days go by.
• Facebook retracted Zuckerberg’s messages from recipients’ inboxes | TechCrunchAnd speaking of shady.
• Twitter might wreck third-party apps in June – The VergeJust after this story broke Twitter said they wouldn’t make the switch in June and would give third party developers a 90 day notice of change…but I have the fear of what they will deliver. Hate the official Twitter app.
• The fall of Milo Yiannopoulos | Spectator USAGreat writing, hateful person.
• The End of Windows – Stratechery by Ben ThompsonMicrosofts strategic moves paying off…interesting to see Apple rumours pointing to one O/S as well.
• The dots do matter: how to scam a Gmail userI see a lot of this and I do think Google should do more.
• Nikon versus Canon: A Story Of Technology Change – Learning By ShippingThey both still have the market share but are so slow to move compared with Sony and Fuji.
• How to Find New Music You’ll Actually LikeI have access to more music than ever…and find discovery harder than ever.

Life
Looking forward to a quieter week off from work. Kicked off early yesterday with a trip up to Glencoe. Didn’t quite get the weather but still a stunning bit of the country to visit as long as you avoid the tourist spots which were mobbed.

Media
Homeland is on point this series…building nicely.
Annihilation was a great watch on Netflix, shame it didn’t make a cinema release in the UK.

Links

• Cutting ‘Old Heads’ at IBMWhat a waste of talent. Shameful.
• Jim Reekes: The Apple sound designer who created SosumiHow many people will have heard the sounds he created? Billions?
• Johnson apologises for ‘sexist’ reference to Emily Thornberry | Politics | The GuardianBercow slaps Boris…about time.
• Westworld Season 2 | Official Trailer | HBO – YouTubeWar’s coming.
• Earth’s Wonders Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before – Planet Stories – MediumGreat pics.
• RSS Readers Are Due for a Comeback: Feedly, The Old Reader, Inoreader | WIRED
  After years of letting algorithms make up our minds for us, the time is right to go back to basics.
  RSS has never went away for me. Love Inoreader.
• How America’s Largest Local TV Owner Turned Its News Anchors Into Soldiers In Trump’s War On The MediaDystopian future is already here. Shcoker.
• If Corbyn is not to appear a passenger in his own party, he must learn to lead | Helen Lewis | Opinion | The Guardian
  If Labour is to stamp out antisemitism, its leader must act with integrity
  Can’t believe this is being so badly handled. Corbyn needs to step up.
• Top Facebook Executive Defended Data Collection In 2016 Memo — And Warned That Facebook Could Get People KilledSuch a scummy company – true colours coming out now.
• How Europe’s new privacy rule is reshaping the internet – The VergeEurope doing us all a favour…again.
• Where’s the iCloud storage bump for the rest of us? – Six ColorsApple should be doing so much more. Buy an iPhone? We’ll back everything up for you, do it securely and won’t use or sell your data.

Life
Tired. Looking forward to week off work…5 days and counting.

Media
Shetland – belter of a series with strong actors and a great story. Unlike so many other drama’s it finished strong. Stephen Walters was amazing – hope it’s recognised.
The Funeral Murders – Documentary on the Troubles and the funerals in March 1988. Timing in amongst brexit negotiations made it feel all the more relevant. If you missed it catch it on iPlayer.
Lady Bird – loved it.

Links

• Thousands join March for Our Lives anti-gun protests around the world | US news | The GuardianInspiring especially the speeches from the kids.
• Revealed: Trump’s election consultants filmed saying they use bribes and sex workers to entrap politicians – Channel 4 NewsFilthy business.
• Here’s the transcript of Recode’s interview with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the Cambridge Analytica controversy and more – RecodeThe only tough interview that Zuckerberg did over the last few days.
• How can Facebook change when it exists to exploit personal data?This is the problem with Facebook. It’s mission is to make money from our data.
• Angela Haggerty: Dear internet, instead of wearing your tinfoil hat ask intelligent questions | HeraldScotlandApplies to so much of what we do online and take for granted.
• 12 Things Everyone Should Understand About Tech – Humane Tech – MediumWorth a read – some great points made here.
• Police spies helped create employee ‘blacklist’ for UK companies, force admits | EuronewsBastards. This is lowest of the low.
• Sony world photography awards 2018 – in pictures | Art and design | The GuardianInspiring photo’s. I need to get out with my camera more.
• Valley Forged: How One Man Made the Indie Video Game Sensation ‘Stardew Valley’ | GQGreat interview of an amazing developer.
• This Look Inside Spike Jonze’s Apple Ad Is as Fascinating as the Film Itself – AdweekInteresting behind the scenes of the best ad in ages.
• The New 2018 F1 Theme by Brian Tyler – YouTubeF1 is back and with a theme tune now. Think Champions League. They need a more exciting product though as today’s race was poor – qualifying was more exciting!
• Deadpool 2 | The Trailer – YouTubeLooking good.
• SICARIO, Day of the Soldado – Official Trailer (HD) – YouTubeSicario was great…and I’m hoping for another strong film although the trailer gives too much away methinks.

Life
Getting tired of the weather…looking forward to a week off at Easter which will hopefully be snow free.

Media
SMILF is pretty damn funny. Save Me is still the best thing on TV at the moment.

Links

• Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2018
  Get insights on the world’s developers from the largest and most comprehensive survey ever. Demographics. Technologies. Salaries. Career satisfaction.
  Love reading this every year. Still shocking how male dominated the industry is.
• twitter.comPowerful message from Dunblane.
• Holy mountains haloed by drone lightGreat pics thanks to a drone
• Leaving the “Series 0” Apple Watch Behind – MacStoriesMine is really struggling with battery life. Hoping to eek it out until new models later in the year.
• Make your own map background – Alvar CartoNice wallpaper generator.
• Teacher who used a chalkboard in a computer class with no computers, stars at Microsoft’s Education Exchange – Asia News CenterThe chalk screen mockups are amazing. Well done MS.
• Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War – Official Trailer – YouTubeTickets booked, looking forward to this as the trailers give nothing much away.
• CGI In MoviesSo much CGI in movies nowadays but if used well it doesn’t get in the way. However for every good example there’s a Superman lip horror. Hopefully Thanos in Avengers isn’t a step too far.
• iOS 11 bugs are so common they now appear in Apple ads | The VergeCan’t believe the adverts showed a bug. Wow.
• Stephen Hawking Dies at 76; His Mind Roamed the Cosmos – The New York TimesMassive loss. Impact he made will be felt for generations.
• ‘I made Steve Bannon’s psychological warfare tool’: meet the data war whistleblower | News | The Guardian
  Christopher Wylie goes on the record to discuss his role in hijacking the profiles of millions of Facebook users in order to target the US electorate
  Facebook won’t come out of this well.
• Tim Berners-Lee: we must regulate tech firms to prevent ‘weaponised’ web | Technology | The GuardianMight be one way of curbing their power. Hard to do.
• This Is What Happens When Bitcoin Miners Take Over Your Town – POLITICO MagazineComing to conclusion that Bitcoin is a fad.
• Why Equitable Maps Are More Accurate and Humane – CityLabLove a good maps story.

Life
First signs of spring proper. Longer and warmer days and the snow has thawed a lot quicker than expected. Nice.

Media
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – loved it. Strong acting throughout, great characters and a story that hooked.
American Made – Tom Cruise on typical form but this was pretty forgetable.
Justice League – Complete piss. Watched again in case the cinema viewing was an off day, but no. Crap writing, some poor acting, a terrible plot and some unforgivable CGI – not just Henry Cavill’s lip.

Links

• Oscars 2018: Roger Deakins wins best cinematography for Blade Runner 2049 – The VergeFinally. On his 14th nomination Deakins finally gets the big prize.
• HomePod — Welcome Home by Spike Jonze — Apple – YouTubeNot sold on the HomePod, but this is an amazing advert from Apple.
• How Two Photographers Unknowingly Shot the Same Millisecond in Time
  Photography and Camera News, Reviews, and Inspiration
  What are the chances!
• A Lot Can Happen in a Decade • The BreakroomAnother iPhone anniversary post. Great read and spawned a great repsonse on twitter from other dev’s.
• For Two Months, I Got My News From Print Newspapers. Here’s What I Learned. – The New York TimesSurprising? All down to what you read.
• This Huge Leak of WhatsApp Chats Reveals The Full Fury Of The Tories’ Brexit SplitWhat a mess. If it wasn’t so serious I’d be chuckling about the Tory infighting.
• Londoner denied NHS cancer care: ‘It’s like I’m being left to die’ | UK news | The GuardianFucking shameful.
• MiniDisc: The Best Thing That Never Happened To Your Music – YouTubeI loved the MiniDisc. It was the future and I was all in. Personal player, seperate at home and an in car MiniDisc player. Shame it failed.
• twitter.comI wonder whats different about Serena? Horrible behaviour.
• Glasgow’s oldest street will be desecrated, its built heritage disfigured | Kevin McKenna | Opinion | The GuardianA disgrace that this is continually allowed to happen in Glasgow along with the mysterious fires that seem to happen to old protected buildings when developers want to build on their sites.
• Channel 4 News on TwitterMhairi Black with another powerful speech. Don’t agree with some of her views but love her fight and passion and strength.
• Falcon Heavy & Starman – YouTubeLoved this.

Life
The Beast from the East was quite the thing. Don’t think I’ve seen snow like that since I was a kid. The snow looks lovely at first but bored with it now. Decided to take the bus into work on Wednesday which didn’t show so an interesting 3 mile walk into work…only to be sent home 40 minutes later. Still the thaw has finally started…slowly.

Media
Save Me on Sky – best start to a new drama in a long time. Looking forward to the rest of the series (all available now as a box set if you can’t wait).

Walking Dead……zzz…zzz.

Links

• Chadwick Boseman Surprises Black Panther Fans While They Thank Him – YouTubeStill thinking about Black Panther and this will put a smile on your face if you’ve watched it or not. Spoiler free!
• Trump Stuns Lawmakers With Seeming Embrace of Comprehensive Gun Control – The New York TimesGuy’s a loon. Folk around the table didn’t know if he was beign serious. Idiot.
• Twitter is rethinking everything. At last.
  Jack Dorsey got brutally honest all of a sudden.
  An honest tech CEO. Wow.
• Photos: The “Beast From the East” Freezes Europe – The Atlantic
  A blast of freezing weather called the “Beast from the East” has gripped most of Europe this week, bringing snowstorms and icy conditions as far south as the Mediterranean.
  Wasn’t just the UK that got hit by the beast.
• Nintendo Switch, one year on • Eurogamer.netOne year on…great console. Maybe I should get my first thoughts post done!
• Revisiting The Wire 10 years on | Den of GeekTime for a rewatch soon.
• Notes on the Kelpies – Bigmouth Strikes AgainThis would be great. Really need to visit them – never been.
• James Bond, cricket and King Arthur feature on new 10p coins revealed by Royal MintCringe. Celebrating queueing. Feck me. Little fucking Britain.
• Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself – Silly BitsProblem of any big company. Good read.
• 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2018 – MIT Technology ReviewSome tech to keep your eyes on.
• How To Beat Procrastination (backed by science) – The Blog Of Darius Foroux – MediumEveryone suffers it…and here’s how to beat it. Now, about that Switch review.
• Amazon is complicit with counterfeiting (updated) | ElevationLabAmazon have been complicit for years. Similar happened with the fidget cube and other products.