My Name is Dave

xkcd: The Pace of Modern Life

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:41:14 +0100

XKCD provides perfect rebuttal fodder for all the endless articles about how $MEDIA is destroying $PRECIOUSTHING

The Top 5 Underrated Sci-Fi Movie Masterpieces - Video - TIME.com

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:13:42 +0100

The Top 5 Underrated Sci-Fi Movie Masterpieces - Video - TIME.com:

Happy to say I’ve seen four out of five of these. Still to see Primer, but it’s on Netflix, so no doubt I’ll check it out soon.

England, Edwardian Era around 1900

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:18:15 +0100

England, Edwardian Era around 1900:

Been around for a while, but just found this in my YouTube Watch Later queue. Absolutely fascinating stuff. 113 years ago and folks still try and get in front of the camera.

Moving to Ghost and blogging - The Return

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:30:22 +0100

Like the nerd that I am, I backed this recent Kickstarter for a new blogging platform called Ghost. The idea is that it will be a blogging-only tool with a swishy Javascript interface, support for markdown, all that nerd-catnip stuff. Essentially, to me, it looks like Wordpress without all the CMS gubbins that has crept in over the years. Low maintenance, hopefully, ideal for a site focused on writing.

This comes at a good time, because I’m intending to begin writing more regularly on here, with the expectation that when Ghost gets released it will have a good Tumblr import and I’ll be able to sook everything over there fairly comprehensively. A fair chunk of my couple of hundred posts on here since I started tumbling are dead video links, so it’s not like there’s a lot to lose.

More important is my increasing wariness of using anybody’s free services. Google just decided to take Reader out behind the woodshed and shoot it, with three months to find alternate tools. Not great. I’ve got 8,000 odd emails in Gmail from nearly a decade of continuous use. Also not that great.

Increasingly, for me, saving a few quid a month by using free services is being outweighed by the control and flexibility having my own server would give. If I’m going to put a bunch of words, pictures, videos and other things out on the web, I’d like to at least be paying for the platform they sit on. And I reckon I can handily get a site, email and a chunk of hosting for less than I routinely spend on a round at the pub.

So, look out for more words from me on here, as a prelude to me not being on Tumblr anymore. When I move everything over I’ll leave a pointer post.

This SF supercut manages to make a so-so Nicki Minaj tune pop...

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:22:14 +0100

This SF supercut manages to make a so-so Nicki Minaj tune pop like a mofo.

Realtime video of the Aurora Australis - pretty amazing.

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:06:02 +0100

Realtime video of the Aurora Australis - pretty amazing.

Another corking sunset on Flickr.

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:12:15 +0000

Another corking sunset on Flickr.

Sunset leaving work on Flickr.

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:56:32 +0000

Sunset leaving work on Flickr.

kateoplis: “The fundamental problem of the electoral college is...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 12:12:49 +0000

kateoplis:

“The fundamental problem of the electoral college is that the states of the United States are too disparate in size and influence. The largest state is 66 times as populous as the smallest and has 18 times as many electoral votes. This allows for Electoral College results that don’t match the popular vote. To remedy this issue, the Electoral Reform Map redivides the fifty United States into 50 states of equal population. The 2010 Census records a population of 308,745,538 for the United States, which this map divides into 50 states, each with a population of about 6,175,000.”

Neil Freeman: Electoral college reform

Anthropocene Epoch on Flickr.

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:16:07 +0000

Anthropocene Epoch on Flickr.

"Perfectionism isn’t really perfectionism. You are not perfecting anything. Perfectionism is..."

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:59:00 +0000

“

Perfectionism isn’t really perfectionism. You are not perfecting anything. Perfectionism is protectionism. You are protecting yourself, or you are attempting to protect yourself from any sling shot or arrow. Tough. They are coming anyway. They are coming in an unfair way. It’s not fair. Somebody may read it and hate it even though it’s great.

Or, what may happen is they might read it and say, “Great. This is a pretty typical first draft. Liked part of it, didn’t like part of it. There’s some big problems.” Meanwhile you have been in the shower practicing your Oscar speech. That’s okay. But just understand that you are not actually perfecting things when you fall into the trap of “perfectionism”.

”

- Craig Mazin, Screenwriter

Neal Stephenson - Reamde on Flickr.

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:52:34 +0000

Neal Stephenson - Reamde on Flickr.

Officially festive in our house on Flickr.

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:52:06 +0000

Officially festive in our house on Flickr.

Special Snowflake on Flickr.

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:59:50 +0000

Special Snowflake on Flickr.

Tonight’s homebrewed beverage for our late Thanksgiving...

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:38:39 +0000

Tonight’s homebrewed beverage for our late Thanksgiving feast

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:41:00 +0000

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria:

Some pretty crazy Soviet architecture.

Hah!

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 06:11:28 +0000

Hah!

Valerie, Portobello (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:18:40 +0100

Valerie, Portobello (Taken with Instagram)

Heart-droppings, Portobello (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:58:30 +0100

Heart-droppings, Portobello (Taken with Instagram)

The gold is in Powderhall (Taken with Instagram)

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:01:38 +0100

The gold is in Powderhall (Taken with Instagram)