★ How a mechanical watch works
Incredibly detailed article by Bartosz Ciechanowski on how the various pieces of a watch work together. His article on GPS is worth a look too.
Posted 5th May 2022 @ 15:42
"The G Word with Adam Conover" trailer
I'm a big fan of Adam Conover's work, his 'Adam Ruins Everything' serious was a lot of fun to watch. Looking forward to this new series. Could really do with a show like this for the UK.
Posted 5th May 2022 @ 11:35
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known
Some fantastic advice from Kevin Kelly on his 70th birthday. Well worth reading all 103 items on the list.
Posted 3rd May 2022 @ 12:25
Deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status
I wondered about this statistic over the weekend and good to see that there's some data on the subject to look at. Pretty clear that being vaccinated massively reduces your risk of death should you be (re-)infected.
I'm still very disappointed with the general feeling that we're just going to live with COVID, but this data does help to put me at ease. A little.
Posted 27th Apr 2022 @ 10:28
Contra Chrome
Leah Elliott's updated Chrome comic:
All facets of your life are scrupulously collected
Posted 22nd Apr 2022 @ 14:39
The mass delusion of the pandemic being over
Debra Caplan:
We are watching an astounding mass delusion unfold in real time.
The pandemic is far from over, if hundreds are still dying at the hands of a virus it feels very strange for us all to just learn to live with it.
Not only have our governments failed us, but we all failed to be kind enough to each other and actually put an end to the transmission of Covid.
Posted 22nd Apr 2022 @ 12:12
EU moves one step closer to mandating Apple to switch iPhone, iPad, and AirPods to USB-C
Somehow I avoided having any USB-C devices until early 2020. It's only been the last 6 months where I've gone from having a single USB-C device to multiple.
While I don't think this is a bad idea, it does annoy me that the whole USB-C cable situation is an absolute mess. It's even worse when you throw in Thunderbolt which looks the same but isn't.
If device manufacturers are going to be forced to provide USB-C ports, then the whole ecosystem needs to just work. You can't have a situation where the average consumer may or may not buy the correct cable. Numbers indicating the Gbps and wattage aren't good enough, in my opinion. A PD label isn't either.
Lightning on the other hand, it does what it does well. Even Micro-USB gets it right and is probably the most common port for non-Apple devices in our house.
Overall, it is probably a good move I just don't understand why the world of USB-C is so complicated.
For more on the topic, listen to John Gruber and Nilay Patel over on The Talk Show podcast.
Posted 21st Apr 2022 @ 16:00
Boris Johnson will be fined over coronavirus lockdown parties
We followed the rules. My kids missed out on months of their education. We haven't left the country for two years and that doesn't look like a streak that will end any time soon for us. We followed the rules.
While remote working suites us, it was forced upon us and with it a lack of human interaction we're used to. We followed the rules. We didn't see family for months until we were allowed. We followed the rules. When we were allowed to meet, we never stretched the household/groups we met. We followed the rules.
We're in a fairly privileged situation where the pandemic made life hard, but not as hard it was for so many other families and yet, we followed the rules.
After keeping my family safe, the most important thought for me was to keep anyone around me safe. By wearing a mask. By keeping my distance. By doing what little I could to make it safer for everyone.
We were so far from 0 cases and time and time again, restrictions were imposed too late or lifted too early. Now we have to live with COVID.
The predictability of it all was maddening enough but this latest news has to be the last straw. Boris Johnson is indefensible. All those that have defended him before already have their reputations shred to pieces and anyone that tries to defend his law breaking should be ignored for eternity.
What they're saying: "Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public," opposition Labour Party leader
Keir Starmer tweeted Tuesday. "They must both resign."
- "The Conservatives are totally unfit to govern. Britain deserves better," he added.
- Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats,
tweeted Tuesday that Parliament should be recalled from its Easter break to hold a no confidence vote against Johnson.
Boris Johnson has to resign. If he doesn't, his party needs to hold him accountable for his actions and force him out. If they don't, then what is the point of having rules anymore?
Posted 12th Apr 2022 @ 15:00