AI. You know, for kids.
This is the second in a series about AI questions that have come up while I’ve been exploring another facet of the topic. In an…
This is the second in a series about AI questions that have come up while I’ve been exploring another facet of the topic. In an…
The Matrix came out in 1999. The Terminator was released in 1984. So why do we get stuck with the same visual vernacular?
I had permission to interview a very impressive group of girl coders this weekend. As ever, kids teach us so many things. In this case, a…
This took some time. I read a tonne of comics. I love the art form, I’m consistently astonished and impressed by the artwork and the stories.…
I’ve always found Mr Punch pretty unsettling, if not a little scary. He does of course abuse his wife, in some performances he puts his baby…
There’s a friendly little calico in my neighbourhood. Lovely to meet when I have time to fuss her, but a treacherous obstacle when I am out…
Let me state first that I am Google agnostic. I worry about data, but hypocritically still use their services for convenience and I spend time thinking…
I woke up on December 28th feeling pissy and restless. It’s not usual. I usually wake up feeling sleep-deprived, bearing a deep sense of fear that…
Dead Signal is what I like to optimistically call my first six-page comic story. You can read it here. For those who celebrate, those who don’t…
Hello. It’s the round up season, so yes, this is kind of a round up – but also, it’s for the folks you don’t know what…
Hello! I’ve posted snippets like the one above for a while – it’s fun and gets a few thoughts down in a fun way. The comic…
There are many ways to die. Most of us hope for somewhere quiet with people we love nearby. Sadly many people in times and places of…
A rough and ready draft of an idea from a conversation earlier this evening. With thanks to Sir Ink for the inspiration. See you in the…
So, it’s been a while eh? Well, as this is my place to rule – you gets what you get when I’ve got it to give.…
“C’mon Namarrkun! Throw something down!” “I don’t feel like it” “Oh come on. We’re on vacation, live a little!” “We’re always on vacation now, no one…
It’s not everyday you get an email that says “How would you like to be a part of something you have loved since you were a…
I was recently messing about on Quora, the Q&A site, looking at the interesting things people ask and the curious answers that follow. I noticed in…
Radio does leave you breathless – maybe that’s a sensational headline, but I promise it’s true in a very literal sense. Working with audio often means…
To be fair, there are some brilliant PRs and I do love working with them. But just occasionally…actually more commonly than I would hope…something like this…
Maybe I should add a comic strip category to this blog. They’re never ‘art’ but they’re fun to draw. Clickness for bigness. Thanks to @Ilicco for…
I’ve been drawing some cartoons in an effort to stop looking at my screens for too many hours. Naturally none of my fine art qualifications show…
Like most people, I occasionally crave meals that I used to have when I lived with my parents or visited with my Grandmother. Sometimes I can…
This is a relatively simple recipe that is likely to harden your arteries – but it also contains less in the way of preservatives and such,…
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of comic books and science fiction. It’s been a means of escape and thinking for years that has often…
So, here it is. A story for the new year. Thank you to everyone who sent me key words to get things going. I’ve not written…
I read AsherWolf’s post this morning about her treatment and the hacker community and it made my heart sink. I don’t even have the skills to…
This is a project I’ve had in mind for the best part of a year I guess. I make notes, lose them someplace in a notebook,…
Hi, For some work with Global Voices I am furthering some ongoing research looking at the possible emergence of PTSD and similar outcomes when bridge reporting…
Hi, I think I saw a tumbleweed roll across my pages and as I am currently stuck at home under the weather – it’s a good…
Around one thirty in the morning and a tweet turns up in my stream that says Gil Scott Heron has died. I start playing his records…
It’s been a while, but a couple of things entwined to play around my mind in the last few weeks. I have some questions as usual.…
3am London BST and I should be in bed, asleep. But I’m not. I’m watching a news channel on the internet. It’s not a mainstream channel…
So – a little recap and a tape for you. A few weeks (probably more) I asked if anyone would contribute sound. The original post is…
The nice thing about starting a new project is that it usually means you finished the last one. Right? Yeah right… Anyways, I’m thinking on writing…
I asked this, as you can see, on Twitter a few weeks back. Friends online were kind enough to give me their thoughts and I wove…
Every word in the text below is a hyperlink. “…try to visualise all the streams of human interaction, of communication. All those linking streams flowing in…
Horologist: A person skilled in the practice or theory of horology. A watch or clock maker. My Dad. So, Apple had ‘a thing’ again yesterday. The…
Hello. Get a cup of tea, this is not a short read. It’s (‘was’ depending on when you read this) International Women’s Day. It’s been marked…
It’s like listening to a close friend pour out their heart and then try to hard sell you a set of encyclopedias.
I watched the explosions in Boston unfold tonight as many people online do when there’s news afoot. A habit of many years now when something like…
Hello. Scoping about the web this morning and there’s the usual April 1 activity. Nothing so shocking so far – but maybe someone will push the…
So, I was thinking about re-assigning meaning to names.
So tonight I’m watching App.net and Facebook, with half an eye on Twitter and fielding some emails. I’m exhausted. Not by the programs running on my machine. Just tired physically.
The title is a quote and I’m not spending time on gender semantics today, we can save that for another time. The phrase occurred to me…
Hi. So. There was no update here when I left the BBC Newsroom, I have to admit I was run off my feet, but it was…
Brace yourself for a little ranty-pants session. Pinterest has been howling around my networks like pertinent lolcat lately. I like it, I see it is for…
Happy New Year Y’all. It’s blowing a gale of rain and dark outside my window and I’ve worked through the night. No better time to formulate…
I made a note of this story about a month ago. I was considering stories for Christmas. Goodness knows how many iterations there are these days,…
I’ve had this horrible little story rattling around in my head for a few days. Someone reminded me today to make time to not leave these…
I decided to ignore Den’s demands for filing within the hour. I was not ready.The usual work in the stream was not about me but about…
It’s probably come to your attention that I have been working voluntarily with the excellent Global Voices news site in order to present and produce the…
It’s taken me forever to get a coherent thought together about being at the Arab Bloggers’ Meeting in Tunisia. I eventually put my finger on it…
Anyone who has met Rain is unlikely to forget her. Part of this Ada Lovelace Day post is about women and STEM (Science, Technology, Maths, Engineering)…
So. The Knight Patisserie is the way I get to relax. It’s a virtual social bakery where people can follow the success or failure of any…
At the risk of telling too many tales I’ve started another one. I wanted to get it going and well – if you hadn’t noticed this…
So something new happened. Some work that I am proud of. I’ve been working for the past few weeks to build something from scratch. It’s been…
I arrive in the middle of a right old bun fight. It’s practically scripted violence at the city protests these days. Not matter how early you…
Working for The Info always means getting up at bleaurgh o’clock. Some hideous time before you would normally go to bed. But that’s when their parcels…
So. I’m browsin’ online as usual swapping links, jokes and smart-arse comments when a good friend and female tech inspiration sends me a link on Twitter.…
I was gliding home on my heavenly wheels. Wingnut had done a fabulous job. He always does. We argued as usual on how loose to make…
Lo. With a little free time, I get to loosen up to scrawl down some fiction ideas. This is only part one and I’m not entirely…
My first night in Patan and I fell asleep easily to the sounds of dogs having a city-wide conference through the night. I find the sounds…
Chasing sleep around the skies is not really something I am accustomed to. More usually the fidgeting and preparation on a day of travel and the…
TODAY from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo. I picked up this video via a link from Brain Pickings an excellent aggregator of things that…
I read ebooks. I have a Kindle reader on my Android tablet and I read books on an iPod. I listen to volumes of audiobooks at…
I know there must be hundreds and thousands of tales like this to tell or to read. Our world seems to get so much smaller with…
This year finally I went to the Geek shindig called South by South West in Austin, Texas. I initially stayed in Allen with friends as close…
This is more than me than for you. I write sometimes to get my house in order. To brighten the corners and sweep out the cobwebs,…
I had a change to sit down and chat with a colleague who is a great digital thinker today. I’d name him but he might get…
For better or worse I have been learning javascript. Mostly cutting and pasting other bits of code or debugging stuff to learn how stuff works. Today…
Your conversational skills…. I am making pages of notes on the comments that were left about the thought exercises earlier on this blog. Thank you to…
Hello again, Thanks to everyone who added a comment and jumped into discussion with me about the thought experiment. This is the other half of it.…
Well, lookit! What’s that now? It’s your audio being mixed. Tricky to fit all 26 into one tape – but I think I’ve managed it. It…
Okay – back on track. As with most intermittant bloggers, I was overwhelmed elswhere, but in the back of my mind I’ve been mulling over this…
In case you ever wondered about the ranty pants. I buy them in packs of five. I have them on. Let’s go. Would you have been…
I’m still working on the audio story but taking a little break. It’s going okay, but it needs some air and I’ve been mulling over this…
Play, pause, note, repeat, reverse, mix and edit… In getting over the slight weirdness of having travelled in all of your pockets, I now have a…
More excellent sounds are coming in…wrap your listening gear around these new submissions – No, I’m not going to tell you the details or who they…
Alrighty! So a harried and hurried post last night traipses around the world a bit and brilliant people along the trail decide to join in. I…
Okay, this has to be quick as it is horribly late, but I wanted to post something out there before I forget. This evening I was…
Something happened in San Francisco last night. The Giants won the World Series for starters but also there was a flurry of activity in the Mission…
I wrote this story on a tube ride home from the cinema 4 years ago. (Apologies to those who have read it before.) Sometimes tales pop…
Happy Halloween all. I’ve been indulging in the eve where the grumpier English people I know like to mutter about “Americanisation” and children turn up at…
….after three attempts – I am guessing that the embed code from Storify doesn’t work with WordPress.com. If only we could all play nicely together, rather…
Not so long ago I was fortunately asked to join Bill Thompson and Les Carr to be a twitter chair at the Royal Society for their…
So I don’t forget – but do chime in if you have thoughts on these words. Trend Customise Push New Popular JK Add to: Facebook |…
As a follow up to the LCD cakes, this is my second attempt to create some cross over between the nerdy and the tasty. Although you…
I think I was probably not much older than you when my best friend Pete moved to the Moon. We getting to the end our first…
I had a birthday a while back and very kindly some friends who know me well bought and posted a lovely gift. LCD baking pans. Basically…
*Singing*…”All of these things are not like the others…” Standardisation in mobile feels as though it is a long way away. But in technology time seems…
So, to those who know me – the fact that I am reading another book of essays on citjo will not be a huge surprise. Reading…
I’m having a stretch here after being away from the blog with various and assorted. Hell – I can’t claim that this is a regular outlet…
I had an idea, what do you reckon? I have the great fortune to know a great many creative and technically talented people who work with…
So – this morning Ada Lovelace post on-line – feeling chipper and reading some cool blogs about the ladies who do… The video that I attached…
Ada Lovelace day. Ashamed to miss the first round, I vowed to make the pledge on the second. It’s not easy picking a single woman to…
So finally we come to the end of this tale. I guess it means the end of my working on this tale too. I like writing…
A bit of a pause again but we find ourselves at the penultimate chapter of the adventures of Flapjack and Cannibal Corpse. Hopefully soon they will…
So, I said that all the voices and contributors would be revealed at the end, when all of the chapters are in place. But I’m going…
Well, that was a grim last episode. Nobody likes to have their stuffing chewed out from their feet! Thank you to everyone who has been tweeting…
If you were looking for more – then you’ll like chapter 4. A little scarier in the dark, so wrap up warm and settle down, it’s…
If you are looking for chapter four of the Flapjack story, it is not here – yet. I am waiting for one more voice to arrive…
It’s very exciting having things read aloud and mixing them into context. The mix might be a little choppy here, lots of voices and lots of…
A simple reminder before we begin again. This is a blog. (I know you know) That means if you want to start listening and reading from…
So. My friends had a baby. This is a good thing. It appears to be a good baby too – which is even better. I’ve met…
“How do they get to the keyboard past their lady-bumps?” (not mine btw – let me know if they’re yours) When it comes to matters of…
In 2008 the Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan province, China killed at least 68 thousand people. The epicentre was in the mountains but the force of the…
Just before the dawn on Christmas morning, Hoby wakes up. He sits in the dark for a moment, trying to focus with his box fresh eyes.…
Here’s another length of writing based around mobile living. They are not meant to light up the literary world, but allow me to explore a few…
I have a problem at the moment – with the word mobile. So I wanted to ask you – whoever you are and whatever you do…
So I have never quite been able to throw down with the Apple crowd. I love new toys and i’ll admit that The Church of Steve…
It seems that work and my own will take me to new places to meet people I don’t know. It’s a gamble sometimes as I am…
A bit late to the party as ever, I read Martha Gellhorn’s ‘Travels with Myself and Another’ a while back. She was a woman with brass…
A couple of things happened on the road in America. I guess life has a way of showing you things through odd timing that way. Throughout…
INGREDIENTS It’s two in the afternoon somewhere outside your stratosphere and LJ and Jemimah are hanging upside down in zero G laughing their asses off. “Look!…
Sometimes it feels like wedding season for journalism and social media. I’ve been out with my dance card to a few unconference and large group meetings…
Bucky Rambles is a space boy. Eleven years old, he floats around with an upturned goldfish bowl on his head to keep in the air. By…
So journalism as we know it is breaking and online is a hotbed of contradiction, experiments and half thought out games. But what if there were…
This is not and will never be the complete picture but it is a round up of thoughts at the moment on bloggers and journalists. I…
People who know me (and those who don’t may get the gist), realise quickly that I ask a lot of questions. I guess I fall into…
I have chosen heroes through my life, some unconsciously, some for particular reasons, but there is a certain group of characters that I’ve looked up to,…
My wife Kay and I are scientists working in areas of psychology and neurosurgery. Mostly we look at aspects of memory and helping people who have…
I make a lot of typing errors when blogging and some just general brain fails too. People help me out a lot with this and I…
Ok. So this section of um, here – will be about my generally autistic view on relationships and people. It’s not a place to out folk…
Ok.I’ve sorted my socks, cleaned the flat, put more laundry on and phoned my Mum. I don’t have many other excuses so it must be time…
The following afternoon I’m rolling out of bed. I was awake to see Helen off to work – all smiles and cups of tea – exhausted…
At about 2.30am I wake from a dream about my enemies. Nothing too bad, just the normal anxiety of an on-line gamer. My exploits on-line in…
I have a confession. Actually I probably have more than many, but not for today. My current confession is…. “I often log in online in the…
After having a minor wrestle today with this blog. I realised that I need more practise to go with what I preach. It’s terribly simple to…
A seemingly perpetual past time in London is the search for a flat or the search for a flatmate. I’ve been fairly lucky in my years…
A friend of mine will be returning home to the US from China very soon. I only know her online from twitter and gtalk, we’ve never…
Would giving up drinking make you feel awkward socially?