Recently updated blogs

I took a little break from sharing to get used to my new normal. A week ago I had to have some blood work done and for the first time in my memory I engaged in the process. Usually I would be sick from nervousness for days before. I would avoid and postpone. I would get to the blood draw place and start to panic. When it came time for …

Are you paying for servers sitting idle in the middle of the night? When we talk about scaling a web server, we often focus on scaling up. Can your server handle a spike in traffic? As your business grows, can your database handle the growth? There's less focus on scaling down. It makes sense, because most businesses are focused on growth. Not too many are looking to shrink. But if …

Over the past few weeks, I've been experimenting with painting in watercolours using my AxiDraw plotter. Watercolour is a medium I enjoy painting in (by hand) as a personal hobby, kind of separate from my public art making, so it’s been interesting to combine it with code. I’ve thought about trying this for a while but I was finally spurred on to do it after I visited Licia He’s studio …

CrankWheel uses Maxio (née Chargify) for subscription management. It’s OK but I’ve never been super duper happy with it (mostly because I chose it for its flat fee structure, then later they switch to charging a flat fee plus percentage… and the switching costs are high). Today, I present another small gripe with it: The filename of invoices sent by Chargify looks something like _541780067.pdf, and this can’t be configured. …

Credit: ApexToday, Apex announced their Series B funding round, led by XYZ Ventures and CRV, with participation from Upfront. And if you spend much time in LA, you’ll quickly realize that we’re in a groundswell of space and defense startups.Is it because of the rich engineering talent coming out of Caltech, UCLA, USC, Harvey Mudd, and all the other universities?Is it because of the long history in the region of …

Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the spirit! A good holiday is generally viewed as a tonic, and holiday company advertisements extol the virtues of ‘getting away’, encountering new places, people and cultures and (if you want to ‘live life to the full’) experiences. As one travel website rather cheesily puts it, “jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your …

I guess this is goodbye. I thought we still had a little time. Even though I said it was okay to go, I held onto a spark of hope that I could squeeze your hand one last time on earth. Oh, how I wish the flight had been a little earlier.The past few months have been heart-achingly gut-wrenching. I'm so sorry I took you out of your house. I'm sorry …

“Swedenborg’s visions were not events imposed upon him by some outside agency. They were the agency that he had always, from the beginning, solicited with his eyes wide open.”—Iain Sinclair ... The post SWEDENBORG’S LUSTHUS first appeared on Iain Sinclair.

Sometimes, I’ve just felt a meeting or pitch slipping away from me. In desperation, I start to thrash around for a way out – throwing new ideas or angles into the conversation, trying to dig my way out of the hole in the hope that something – anything – lands and gives me firm ground […]

Short post for you all today. Notes on Lancelot (T.H. White) Fifteen Questions and Ten Principles (Dieter Rams) 128 Things about the City (Edwin Heathcote) What Every Kid Should Be Able to Do by Age Sixteen (Audrey Sutherland) The Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowlege (Borges) The Catalogue of Ships (Homer) 250 Things an Architect Should Know (Michael Sorkin) Reading lists. Bibliographies and syllabi in general Joan Didion’s packing list Vignelli’s …

Kamakura, where I lived from 2020 to 2024, is a beautiful coastal town less than an hour south of Tokyo. Its temples, gardens, and beaches attract tourists from across Japan and the world, but what became evident even in the short time there is that development is concreting over much of the green space that makes it so attractive. Source This is not a new phenomenon; a substantial reduction in …

I tried some absolutely outstanding ice cream yesterday that reminded me of yet another reason I feel lucky to be part of Generation X: We are living in the golden age of ice cream. In the 1970s, we had a few basic flavors to choose from: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip, and rocky road. There were a few shops like Baskin Robbins that marketed some scary stuff …

I can't remember how I first came across these near-ultrasonic 'beacons' ubiquitous in PA systems. I might have been scrolling through the audio spectrum while waiting for the underground train; or it might have been the screeching 'tinnitus-like' sensation I would often get near the loudspeakers at a local shopping centre. Whatever the case, I learned that they are called pilot tones. Many multi-loudspeaker PA systems (like the Zenitel VPA …

I haven’t posted over here for ages. It’s a drizzly day here on the coast of Maine, so it seems like the perfect time to get caught up. You might know that I have two blogs now. This one, where I’ve always wanted to show and share my process; and the newer blog over at Holdfastbespoke.com, where I try to be more “professional”. Sadly, this one has suffered, as I’ve …

Often when we are researching new tours, an unexpected nugget of information will pop up its head. Michael Duncan had just such an experience while researching his new walking tour Aldwych – before and beyond. You can join Michael for his tour in 16th June at 10.30 am, booking details are here. When I was researching my new walk exploring the Aldwych, I came across a long lost London drink …