This is a longer description about your blog.
I think I've been playing video games wrong my whole life. But I also think a lot of other people have too. I worry that the industry's relentless march towards prettier, more graphically sophisticated games is taking us away from the substance of why games are so good in the first place. I am coming into this argument as a convert. Previously, I would only buy games which looked amazing — and I…
Today is an exciting day — I'm picking up a new car! But of course that means giving up the old one. And this is a new experience for me. My current car was my very first. I learned to drive (finally) in 2023, and was extremely excited to pick up my little white Yaris after passing my test. 40,000 miles later, we've been on so many adventures together — it drove me to my wedding, my father's…
Really enjoyed listening to Monday’s Vergecast , which is notable in that it’s the first episode of the new daily format. And it’s a super fun way to start this: David, our wonderful and perpetually self-doubting host, is asking the master of daily creativity, Casey Neistat, for advice. Casey has inspired me for years. I remember watching his daily vlogs back in the day, and I’m thrilled to see…
I recently wrote that running might not be for me. Well, I have discovered that I was just being a moron. My interest in running was piqued again when I heard folks online talking about Zone 2 training: Zone 2 is a low- to moderate-intensity cardio effort, where you're working hard enough to raise your heart rate, but not so hard that you can't hold a conversation. It's roughly 60-70% of your…
I just read this post on how to convert a number to a Roman numeral. The post outlines an iterative method, which works and is very fun. It got me thinking though. I've always had a strange interest in recursive algorithms. There is something very satisfying to me about writing a recursive method that works. If you don't know or need a reminder, a recursive algorithm is one which calls itself . A…
I just read Eating: It’s Nice by Apis Necros, and there’s an excellent quote here: The Top Three things you care about are where most of your attention is going to go, and you only have so much attention to give. So give yourself grace, and accept that some things may not be as important to you as you may think. This is so smart . I see it as a slightly more concrete version of Oliver Burkeman’s…
We’ve just had the London Marathon here in the UK, and I was reminded that seeing people run really inspires me. It’s the kind of thing which can be done by literally anyone, anywhere, with no equipment save for a comfortable pair of trainers. And there’s something extremely romantic about the idea of doing a bunch of miles first thing in the morning, no matter where you happen to be in the world,…
I'm officially a self-built blogger. Previously, I was using Pika , and I cannot overstate how awesome that product is. I really loved using it, and I found it hard to tear myself away. If you're starting an indie blog/newsletter in 2026, I would really urge you to consider Pika. Having said that , I am a tinkerer at heart. And, having seen so many wonderful hand-built websites on the indie web, I…
This post has sparked an interesting discussion online, and it happens to be something I think about a lot. When I joined Threads, something I didn’t really anticipate was that — thanks to its connection to Instagram — my real-life friends and family would follow me there. This was a new thing for a short-form micro-blogging platform. On other platforms like Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon etc I felt a…
Phones get a lot of bad press these days, and many people feel addicted to them. But it seems pretty clear to me that the phones aren't the problem; it's social media. It's perfectly possible to have a phone and use non-harmful software on it. For me, my phone is an extremely useful tool, as well as a source of entertainment and enrichment. Here are a few ways I use my phone to improve my life. 1.…
Loved reading this post by Ava. It sums up really well how I feel about “privacy-focused” alternatives to popular software and services. It’s great that these alternatives exist, but we can’t think of them as a solution to the privacy problem. I also view it through the following lens: we currently live in a world in which your level of protection on the internet is a function of certain types of…
I hate that this was necessary. But I’m very pleased with the outcome. Let’s start here: I love podcasts. I have listened to podcasts for as long as I have had access to them. I’ve even made a few podcasts . Podcasts are awesome. But recently, I’ve had a niggling sense that I wasn’t enjoying them any more. They’d stopped being entertainment, and had turned into something else. Something less fun.…
Weird day. I’ve been in London for work, and I’ve just checked my emails for the first time today. I discovered that, at 11:37, I had an email from Meta saying they were suspending my account due to suspicious activity, and that I had the right to appeal. Less that 2 hours later, a second email came in saying that they had reviewed my account — apparently at my request — and decided that my…
Sorry — it’s another post about how Spotify is a garbage company that doesn’t care about users or musicians. I am often sent Spotify links by friends. I’m fine with this — it’s easy enough to search Apple Music for the thing they sent me, or generate a cross-platform link using something like Tapelink and open the music in my preferred service. But the other day, a friend sent me a Spotify link to…
So Spotify Wrapped (and Apple Music Replay etc) is fun an all, but maybe we shouldn’t make this the only time in the whole year to share music with our friends? Possible 2026 resolution idea: when you hear a new album/artist/song, text a friend about it and see what they think. Have a conversation. Make a connection.
A big part of me always wanted to be a teacher. When thinking about work and careers, we’re often asked to focus on the things that we find easy but others find hard. For me, a few things come up: I enjoy speaking to groups I can communicate difficult concepts clearly I can read a room and know what the situation needs I don’t embarrass easily (any more) I can talk to anyone I have found myself in…
I hit a milestone in my photography journey recently — I took a photo that I liked so much, I have set it as my desktop wallpaper. My favourite landscape photo — taken from Castle Ross in County Kerry, Ireland.
Since upgrading to the Apple Watch Series 10, I’ve got a serious problem: contact dermatitis. Never happened with my Watch Ultra. Nor with the Series 5 before it. But this one? I’ll spare you the grisly details; suffice to say, every so often I have to stop wearing it for a few days, just to let the skin breathe and heal. My most recent break has been the longest yet: over a week. That’s when I…
Apple has once again donated to the Trump administration. As a user and lover of Apple products, this sucks. I’m seeing lots of folks online becoming so outraged by this behaviour that they are swearing never to buy another Apple product again. I’m not quite that upset about it. To be absolutely clear: the Trump administration is utterly deplorable in every way. However , it’s pretty clear what…
I’ve had some lightweight analytics installed on my blog for the past few months. Not because I’m interested in optimising or growing (this is a hobby, not a business), but just because it kinda makes me feel good to know that people are reading my posts. But a recent feature update from my blogging platform Pika made me think twice about whether I should have analytics on here. The new feature…
My terrible day started yesterday. I had woken up, feeling excited about starting the week. I had so much to catch up on after taking some time off sick last week. I was going to be a productivity machine . I packed my bag and marched into my wonderful co-working space. I had already ticked off so many "great day” boxes, and it was barely 9am! I ate breakfast, and it was healthy! I didn’t look at…
When I was growing up, The Big Bang Theory seemed like a pretty cool show. As a member of the “nerd” group at school, I was happy to finally seem some characters to whom I could relate. That said, I actually never saw the end. Before the last 2 or 3 seasons, I moved away to university. My habits changed, my access to TV disappeared, and I never got around to finishing the show. At the time this…
I asked myself recently: how do read receipts in messaging apps actually serve me? The answer is that they don’t. The only function they seem to serve is making me anxious and guilty. I avoid opening messages because I know I’ll then be expected to reply. So I leave messages unread — often without knowing the full contents — and ruminate over what the message might say beyond the preview. On the…
As 9to5Mac reported , the 11-inch MacBook Air is officially an obsolete product. My very first Mac was an 11-inch MacBook Air, which I bought for just £749 (imagine!) while I was at university. It was my gateway into the Apple ecosystem, and the best laptop I’d ever owned. I remember with fondness the many hours I spent in coffee shops, writing my dissertation and completing coursework on my…
Spotify is adding DMs . In other news, Apple Music continues to be an excellent service, and invests in features which improve the experience of listening to music, including Lossless, Dolby Atmos (which is hit and miss but when it’s good it’s great) and SharePlay. I jumped ship on Spotify years ago — I really think we just have different ideas about what listening to music is supposed to look…
We had an absolutely lovely family day out at Sandsend Beach this weekend. We walked on the beach for a couple of hours, and had lunch at the truly excellent Fish Cottage — I had a rack of tacos.
I hate date pickers. A date picker from Google’s Material Design system A date picker from Apple’s iOS design system Why can’t we just tell the users what format we want, and let them type the date in? Maybe let them use a picker if they really want? It is so much faster to type a date, particularly one that’s very far away like a date of birth. Sure, sometimes I need to see the calendar in order…
This is just a short post to record that 23rd April 2025 was the most special and magical day of my life. I am lucky enough to be the husband of the most amazing person I know. Here are some photos from the wonderful Chris Milner .
A short post about a magical app called Endel . If you struggle with concentration, boredom, procrastination, or anxiety, you should try Endel. It seems to scratch an itch in my ADHD brain and really helps my executive function. In particular, I love the Autoplay function which syncs with my circadian rhythm, and also takes into account movement data from my Apple Watch, to provide a soundtrack to…
Herein lies a very nerdy coffee-related confession. 5 years ago, I bought a Sage/Breville Barista Express. It was a lockdown present to myself having become obsessed with making better coffee by the wonderful James Hoffmann . The Barista Express is by no means an “endgame” coffee setup (although it is very lovely), but at the time I needed to save space. A major advantage here is that it comes…
I recently started reading a book called The ADHD Advantage by Dr Anders Hansen. I’ve not finished it yet, but the first chapter does include an extremely helpful description of what ADHD is like. Hansen explains that ADHD brains have fewer, less effective dopamine receptors than neurotypical brains, so ADHDers find the world around the much more boring than others. This explains an awful lot of…
This post is part of a series called I Finished A Book , in which I write about a book I’ve read recently. I don’t finish every book I start, so if I do manage to get to the end, that means I must have really liked it. For most people, work sucks. It always has, since the dawn of time, and it likely always will. But recently, influencers on the internet have been peddling the idea that enjoyable…
This post is the first in a series called I Finished A Book , in which I write about a book I’ve read recently. I don’t finish every book I start, so if I do manage to get to the end, that means I must have really liked it. I am a bit obsessed with notebooks. Every time I see them for sale in a shop, it takes several ounces of my willpower to stop myself from buying a new one. I buy them much…
This question is surprisingly charged, and your response often places you in a specific camp. Either you’re a manager who wants your team in the office, or you’re an “individual contributor” who instinctively protects your right to work remotely. My experience with remote work is complex. Before the pandemic, the idea didn’t really cross my mind. I enjoyed going into the office and spending time…
I’ve just moved my blog from Ghost to Pika . I have no problem with Ghost; I think it’s an amazing platform with a great philosophy, and it’s taking the web in a good direction. I’m rooting for them. That said, I’m not interested in turning my blog into a business, and the publishing tools provided by Ghost just aren’t for me. I recently discovered Pika, which is half the cost and much simpler. I…
I have undiagnosed ADHD. Without going into specifics, this means I have a lot of challenges around attention, memory, motivation, and executive function. I procrastinate a lot, struggle to focus on certain kinds of tasks, and forget about stuff. Because my ADHD is undiagnosed, and I'm not able to get a diagnosis thanks to the state of mental healthcare in the UK, I have had to learn to manage it…
flogging · noun Infliction of punishment by dealing blows or whipping. Beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment. Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License The title of this post is a quote of unclear origin , which I spotted at the Beamish Museum . It's pretty silly on its face, but the reason I love it so much is because it reflects the way many of us treat…
I had a task this week: to make a website for a friend. All he wanted was a few static pages, then one CMS-connected page displaying a list of items, with a couple of links and embedded media. He didn’t want to have to fiddle about with the website building tools; if he could just add the data to a table and have it populate his site, he would be happy. My first thought was, “This is exactly the…
This isn’t a typical “this app changed my life” post. Most of those seem to be written within a few days of someone trying a new app for the first time. This app recommendation comes off the back of over 2 years of continuous use. Without this app, my life would be substantially worse. The app is YNAB , which stands for “You Need A Budget”. This piece of software is remarkable in its ability to…
Refactoring is a systematic process of improving code without creating new functionality that can transform mess into clean code and simple design. If you've been doing software development for long enough, you probably know how to build a codebase from scratch using industry best practices. You can take that blank canvas and turn it into something beautifully crafted, thoroughly covered with…
I've been lucky to work on a large number of Flutter apps from scratch. Each time, we have done what we believed to be the right thing: started with a MaterialApp and tweaked it to suit the style of our app. I think a lot of Flutter devs do the same thing. After all, what are our other options? It doesn't always make sense to start by building our own component library; that stuff takes time, and…
This post is the result of a months-long existential crisis about how to do testing in Flutter apps. There are so many resources, tutorials, and opinions on how this should be done, but most of them give what is, in my opinion, bad advice. The aim of this post is to put forward a case for a change in direction. The Flutter community is barrelling towards a nightmare of unmaintainable test suites,…