Small things can have large consequences! In December of 2009, as he snapped a picture of my with his newly acquired Google phone, James Governor casually challenged me to take a week off from using Google’s products. It seemed silly to miss a rare opportunity to beat James in a challenge, so I thought I’d give it a try. “How… Read more →
Category: geekstuff
Smart Pump – Warm House – Less Power
when our central heating pump went a bit feral, I grabbed the opportunity unleash my inner geek, and build some intelligence into the central heating system,to drop its energy consumption…. …The house already has thermostatic valves (TRVs) on all the radiators, which is great from an efficiency point of view, but the water pump wasn’t joining in the game. Read more →
Masters of the Scene – The Changing Web
Tonight I’ll be talking at Bernie Mitchell’s Late Late Breakfast show – “Masters of the scene” – in 7 minutes, I’ll spill the beans on how the web is affecting knowledge, shifting power and changing people. Read more →
Bletchley Park – Remembering Herivel and the Herivel Tip
Last year I went up to Bletchley Park during the veterans’ reunion. Last year was quite a year for Bletchley. Simon Greenish, the Director of Bletchley Park, recounted the events of GCHQ succeeding in getting the government to recognise the people who worked there during the war, with the foreign secretary giving out medals to some of the veterans. The government… Read more →
The New Makers and the iPad Haters
I keep getting asked when I’m getting an iPad. I’m not. Part of the reason is covered in a lovely post by Cory Doctorow on Boingboing: “Why I won’t buy an iPad (and think you shouldn’t, either)” “I believe — really believe — in the stirring words of the Maker Manifesto: if you can’t open it, you don’t own it. Screws… Read more →
Twestival – What is That?
It’s all too easy to take it for granted that people know about something. In the last day or two a few people have asked me what Twestival is. Now, some of you will all ready know about the Twitter Festival, but some won’t, so here is a little background. It was almost two years ago that I went to… Read more →