Tag: tech

Socks of the Cthulhu TWTW # 55

On By tontowilliamsIn books, Film, Garden / Allotment, Kindle, Memories, tech, The Week That Was, tv, work

Greetings from a new computer. I bit the bullet this week and ordered the replacement laptop that will hopefully take me through the next few years of work and life related technology.

I’ve still got lots of setup to do with it and files to transfer but I’m in no hurry, I was planning to do most of that in the break between Christmas and New Year, but I’ve done the basics for now, so if there were to be a failure of my old machine I’d have this one ready to go. It does seem that whatever you buy though the newer machines never come with as much “stuff” as the older versions. Less ports, no CD drive, pushing you ever further away from the analogue and more towards the digital. I’m not sure I like that so much. I like having my music collection on a hard copy format, I still have a lot of CDs, audio cassettes and vinyl. My preferences has been the CD for many years now, and I’m not sure that I want to switch to anything else. It’s the same with books. I like my kindle but I like to have anything I want to keep and treasure as a real book; paper, card and ink that I can touch and feel.

Don’t get me wrong I like the form factor of this new machine, it’s small, light and compact, but in many ways I’d settle for a fountain pen and paper any day.

In addition to the new laptop I’ve also been doing a bit of Christmas shopping, about a 50:50 split between online and physically from the shops. I’ve still a bit to do but it’s early yet, I don’t think I’ve been this far advanced ever before, even though I’m not a last minute shopper at this time of year anyway.

Two greats passed away this week, Clive James and Johnathon Miller both lost to horrible illnesses. “Saturday Night Clive” was a bit of a staple of my teenage years, and the stories of his escapades in homemade go-karts from his “Unreliable Memoirs” still remain in my memory today.

Austin Kleon on healthcare

I’ve not been travelling much this week, so my listening time has been more suited to podcasts and other shorter form audio. Next week sees the launch of The Whisperer in Darkness, which is a follow up to The Mysterious Case of Charles Dexter Ward. These are both titles of stories from H P Lovecraft, but have been retold in a modern setting as radio plays written by Julian Simpson and broadcast on the BBC. You can listen to them here. I’ve been re-listening to The Mysterious Case of Charles Dexter Ward this week as The Whisperer in Darkness launches on December 2nd, so it should be available when you read this. I’ve listened to the trailer for The Whisperer and although you can probably listen to it as a standalone, it might be worth listening to Charles Dexter Ward first.

On the subject of radio, it looks as if Neil Gaiman’s Playing In The Dark which was recorded earlier this year will be broadcast just before Christmas on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. It’s scheduled for Radio 3 on December 23rd here, and Radio 4 on Christmas Day (although the latter is an edited version). I haven’t seen or heard any previews but the author has written about it on his blog here.

He has also written about the stage production of his book The Ocean At The End of The Lane here, which is also well worth a read if you haven’t already.

I stopped at the library this week with the intention of checking out some books to read, instead I ended up buying some books from their sale stock – books that have been withdrawn from their lending stock. It struck me that actually there was nothing wrong with the books that I bought and that they were very cheap (£1.60 for these four). As soon as the general election is over there is going to be a consultation on the future of our local libraries, and there is much talk about the savings that the council needs to achieve and that libraries are an obvious target for budget reductions. Not much detail is available yet, but we’ll see what the consultation brings when it’s available. I’m hoping that it doesn’t get buried under the seasonal festivities.

Speaking of H P Lovecraft, from a certain angle my Christmas socks seem to have a rather Cthulhu-esque look to them.

I’m on the road a bit more this week, with some trips to Somerset and other places, so until next week, have a good one.

What’s In My Bag November 2019

On By tontowilliamsIn Gadgets, tech, work1 Comment

It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these posts. There’s a previous one here, and there are others out there in various places on the interwebs, but I thought I’d snap a quick pic of what was in my bag yesterday following a visit to a client. As I was driving there and back there’s a noticeable lack of a book or my kindle, when my method of transport is by train one or both of these find their way into my bag.

Also not pictured is my reusable mug and water bottle as they’re in the dishwasher.

1. Messenger style briefcase (A Christmas present from my parents about 10 years ago. It’s still going, and has aged quite well. Still use it because of the sentimental attachment).
2. Current Laptop – Lenovo G50 64-bit running Windows 10. This is starting to show it’s age and I’m thinking about replacing it in the next couple of months, possibly going to a Mac.
3. Logitech Anywhere MX wireless mouse
4. Laptop power supply
5. Pens / pencils. I use a fountain pen a lot. I was carrying a Parker Sonnet when this was taken.
6. Old 35 mm film canister containing £1 coins (for car parks / emergency coffees etc)
7. Paracetamols
8. Hag stone
9. Savlon
10. Tissues
11. Inhaler
12. Business cards
13. Hand cream
14. Post-Its
15. USB Thumb Drive
16. Umbrella
17. Anker power cell for recharging phone or iPad (if I’m carrying the latter)
18. A4 notepad
19. Client specific notes / papers
20.Field Notes notebook for ideas, thoughts etc
21. Mobile phone – currently iPhone 8.

A Warm & Damp Sensation (TWTW # 3)

On By tontowilliamsIn books, Dog, The Week That Was, Wildlife/Nature

It’s been a cold week and we’ve seen a little bit of snow, although we seem to have escaped the worst of it there have been some quite significant falls just a few miles up the road, so very localised. Fortunately I’ve not really had to go anywhere too far or when I have it was before the snow fall.

We took our dog Wilson to the vet this week, nothing serious we think but it did necessitate gathering a wee sample the next morning. As with human samples this had to be collected from the first “wee of the day” mid stream. When I’ve had to do this in the past I’ve just improvised but the vet provided a collection kit this time. It was nothing glamorous, effectively a sample tube with a scoop attached to it. The only downfall with it, is the ability to see whether the sample tube is full. The warm and damp sensation on the back of your hand is a good indicator though.

I found this interesting infographic on the daily routines of creative people.

In this series of online articles the author has been cutting out one of the big 5 tech companies (Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple) from her life each week, with some fairly scary results (particularly with Google), she’s yet to do the final week when she cuts out all of them at the same time but they all make interesting reading.

I was given a copy of Maigret at Christmas for a Christmas present, and thoroughly enjoyed it having not really read any Maigret novels and only really coming across him through TV adaptations (Michael Gambon and more recently Rowan Atkinson). I thought I’d get another one and I’ve been reading that this week.

It was another good read and Georges Simenon has a really smooth and economic writing style.

 

 

I also watched a couple of episodes of the series “The Last Resort”. It’s a simple premise – nuclear submarine is order to launch a warhead via a recognised back-up system, but questions order as it appears there is no war / conflict going on. It is then attacked by it’s own side and goes on the run.

There’s some interesting parallels to it and what else is happening in the world (even though it appears to have been made over five years ago). I’m not sure how well it will stand up as a series, but I’m likely to watch a couple more just to see.

It seems that the US government shut down was good for the elephant seals.

Apple Watch – iDon’t Think So

On By tontowilliamsIn Gadgets, Life, tech



My emails and RSS feeds are full of Apple news this morning. With the launch event of the Apple Watch (and other things including new MacBooks) yesterday, technology news is abuzz with this new gadget.

I won’t however be buying one. With a price range of between £299.00 & £13,500, I feel priced out of the market. I know Apple has always focussed on a premium product and has always achieved record sales. I have no doubt they will do the same with the Apple Watch, however if I were to spend this much money on a watch, I would do so on one that would hold its value and perhaps be something that could be handed down to future generations, and not one that will be replaced by the latest model in 12 months time.

I also struggle to see why a smart watch brings me something that I don’t already have with a traditional watch, mobile phone and/or tablet. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mobile tech, it makes my life easier both inside and outside of a work environment and I’m often an early adopter of a new gadget, however I have yet to be convinced of the case for a smart watch of any manufacture.

Similarly, why would I want to charge my watch every night? I want a watch that will run and run. I own several conventional watches that use the power of sunlight or a spring that recharges by movement to tell the time, and in use never need to be “charged”. Whilst I can appreciate a Smart Watch is a far more powerful device and uses more energy, I don’t need that, so I’ll stick to charging my phone each day and leave my watch to look after itself.

So, sorry Apple, I won’t be an early adopter on this occasion. I remain to be convinced.


What’s In My Bag?

On By tontowilliamsIn Uncategorized

Bag

I though it was time for another comparison to the last time I posted this here.

There have been a few changes, most notably an iPad has replaced the small laptop I used to carry, and the backpack itself is now a larger version than the previous one. I love SwissGear kit, it’s well thought out, functional and tough as nails.

Here’s the full list for now:

  • Pencil case, contains mainly markers and other presentation pens
  • Tissues
  • Moo business cards and stickers and work business cards
  • Notebook and post-its
  • Rail season ticket
  • Access pass and keys
  • Emergency dog biscuits
  • Paracetamols and ibuprofen
  • £1 coins in film cannister (for car parking machines and emergency coffees)
  • iPad
  • Sunglasses
  • iPhone 3Gs & i-Phone charger
  • Assorted memory sticks & extension cables
  • Power Monkey Explorer and power tips

A version of this photo with annotations is available on flickr here.