So long Windows!
Enshitification of the OOBE experience makes it annoying to run a local-only account. So I try Linux.
Occasional writing on technology, travel and whatever else takes my fancy.
Fire preparedness — Bushfire Places of Last Resort around Bendigo →
The future of power in Victoria
After reading some comments by fossil fuel trolls on tiktok, I decided to explore some numbers and ideas
Considering an electric car
I'd pre-ordered a BYD Seal, but then changed my mind
Nissan sucks sometimes
Utterly awful design of certain components
New 3d Printer Extruder
Upgrading a Crealty CR6-SE extruder.
Tennis grip for sweaty hands
It gets hot here in Victoria. This is the best option I've found for keeping decent grip on the racket.
Coinbene you dodgy fuckers
The pitfalls of doing anything in crypto these days
Microsoft's very generous donation to non-profits
I'm really impressed with how generious Microsoft's non-profit donations programme is. Definitely a force for good!
My Nexus Journey
I've worked my way through 4 Google Nexus phones (Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6 and now the Nexus 5X) and this is what I thought of them...
Private credentials on public github repository
I mess up and accidentally commit some SMTP credentials into a public repo. In under 24 hours, I learn my lesson.
4k monitors at 60Hz
The trick to getting your 4k monitor running at 60Hz. HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort and DualLink DVI.
Professional Stagnation in Software Development
After consulting for 8+ years, it's easy to fall into habits of doing projects a certain way. I found it is time to shake things up a little.
Am missing my Android phone
Forced to switch to my backup phone, I mused about the differences between Android and Windows
Live a good life
One of my favourite quotes from Marcus Aurelius book 'Meditations' - his personal writings on Stoic philosophy
A new booking system for donating blood
I'd like to build blood.co.uk a new booking system. Their current one adds too much friction the process
Just a little more detail would be nice
If you're running windows with Ruby/Jekyll, you're a second class citizen
Hidden in plain sight
It's funny the things that go on around you that you may or may not know about... I take a look at geocaching today.
Mining Bitcoin for fun and profit
A quick primer into how to mine bitcoins and whether or not it's profitable to do so.
Living without a phone
I've spent the last couple of weeks living without a phone. It's been refreshing.
Always plan when smuggling weapons
My 'everything last minute' method of planning causes a few issues when I try and take my air rifle back home with me.
Musing on the concept of home
Is home just where you lay your hat? Or is there a more concrete definition?
The end is in sight
I muse about the Pareto principle. The 80/20 rule.
Sailing Away...
Lately I've become obsessed with sailing. Could that be my theme for next year?
Dusting off my maths skills
I'm taking Stanford's Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, & Batteries course and the maths is forcing me to use parts of my brain I've let atrophy
Seth Godin is wrong
Seth argues that mp3 files don't sound nearly as good as they could, or that CDs are sub-par. I disagree.
Death of a website
It's hard to watch something you've helped create die, but I analyse the numbers behind one of my soon-to-be-retired projects.
When people 'borrow' your images
A lot of my photos get 'borrowed' by other websites without attrition. Makes me wonder what the best course of action would be.
Wearing the same shoes
I've been wearing the same shoes (well, several pairs of the same model) for ten years...
Ubuntu to the rescue
Repurposing my old laptop, one with a busted screen.
The productive procrastinator
How I (a long time procrastinator) broke into productivity.
Migrating Wordpress users to .Net
Fun and games figuring out what hashing algorithm has been used so I can migrate users with their credentials intact
Not yet ready to switch to Linux
I have a play with Ubuntu as part of my continual experimentation with Linux. But there are still issues which make it unsuitable for me.
Innovation in business
Capitalising on employee ideas and innovations requires a certain company culture
Fixed priced quotes for Agile projects
The difficulty in selling Agile to a client who wants a fixed price
The cost of a cup of tea
What I do in my spare time... work out the cost of a cup of tea and the difference between using electricity or gas to make it.
Forty is fast approaching
I lament about getting older. That said, there isn't much I can do about it...
Mindfulness and why I've not yet gotten a smartphone
Sure, 'stuff' is nice. But do we really need it? I'm not a technophobe, but I'm not jumping on the smart-phone bandwagon for a few reasons
A stoic approach to the loss of 'stuff'.
Appreciating what you've got and dealing with loss of things
Just knowing how to program is helpful
In the future, will everyone need to program? Similar to everyone being able to read and write now. It's possible it'll be an essential skill in future life.
The easiest way to save more
A simple approach to saving without feeling like you're doing without
Problems navigating Sydney's CityRail network
Don't get me wrong, I like CityRail. Only I found it less than ideal to find my way around. Definitely room for improvement
Fear of the blank page
What stops us from engaging in creative endeavours? I wonder why I stopped drawing.
Comparing life to golf
Bit of a Zen/Buddhist live-in-the-moment contemplation
Road rage and avoiding the daily commute
I'm so lucky I've avoided commuting all these years. I don't think I could handle it
Living out of a suitcase
Sure, I like all my 'stuff'. But after a bit of travelling, I find I'm just as happy with very little. So why not get rid of all the extra crap?
Travel Hack: No jet-lag after fasting
A technique to reset your body clock while travelling long haul
Another summer down-under
Once again, I head away for my winter migration. But for some reason this one feels different
There's no excuse for being bored
So much to learn, so little time. What a wealth of knowledge we have available to us these days
Happiness and hedonic adaptation
Why is it that celebrities seem so unhappy, yet we think they should be exstatic living such a priviledged life?
Why your external USB drive is a stupid backup strategy
Unless your data is in at least two places, then it's not actually backed up. Oh, and hard drives fail. A lot!
Danbro, Crunch and Freeagent: Switching Accountants
I try and find an accounting solution that takes care of most of the cruft I need to deal with, but isn't stupidly expensive.
When reality catches up with the US Dollar
I really know next to nothing about finance (the more I read the more I realise how little I know). But I do wonder whether we'll claw our way out of this financial crisis
Getting upgraded when you fly
I very rarely buy business class tickets, but there are some tricks to get upgraded fairly regularly.
Hosting your blog with GitHub pages
Having found wordpress both great, but also a little slow/annoying/clumsy to extend, I decided to go back to static pages with a twist. You know it makes sense...