Recently updated blogs

Perfume PosseSpritz Week at Chez Portia Hiya Posse, I thought instead of a review this week I’d note the things I wore and what to. We are in Spring in ... Perfume PosseSpritz Week at Chez Portia

By: Luke StrangeLaunch of a new project We’re excited to announce the launch of a new project to create techUK’s Local Digital Index for the next 3 years (2024-2026) in partnership with The Data City. In simple terms, we're going to build a tool to see the impact and value of the tech sector for the national and regional economies. Who are techUK and The Data City? techUK is the …

Due to high demand I'm going to open the Museum of Neoliberalism for three final days this week before I'm finally kicked out of my studio, ending with a closing party on Saturday night. Museum open this week Thurs-Sat, 26th-28th Sept. 11am-7pm Party on Saturday from 8.30pm til late. All welcome. Also on Saturday from 7-8.30 is a small event where I'll be interviewing Ralph Billington, a local 88 year-old …

Over the weekend I attended my first Chilean Fiestas Patrias. Much Chilean food was consumed for the party, including sopapillas with pebre, barbecued meats, plus some beef empanadas that I made. Concluding the feast was a delicious cuatro leches cake that Ximena made. Prior to the party we enjoyed a small breakfast at The Dusty Knuckle bakery which we'd not been to for over a year. Unusually there wasn't a …

Review by Annabel Myers is one of those British authors who writes something totally different every time he puts pen to paper, with the exception that almost all of his novels are set in Northern England. His previous title was the Goldsmiths Prize-winning epic chunkster Cuddy, retelling the life of the unofficial 7th-century patron saint of the North of England, St Cuthbert, which sits closest to his 2017 prize-winning novel …

As I mentioned last week, local government elections are coming up. Local councils can't fix PT but they can advocate for improvements to infrastructure and services. And where they control roads and parking they can improve the operating environment for buses and their passengers. Here's a quick whip around all Melbourne's local government areas and what I see as the top few big PT issues for each one. This could …

Juli Clover at MacRumors: With the iPhone 15 models that came out last year, Apple added an opt-in battery setting that limits maximum charge to 80 percent. The idea is that never charging the iPhone above 80 percent will increase battery longevity, so I kept my ‌iPhone‌ at that 80 percent limit from September 2023 to now, with no cheating. … My ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max battery level is currently …

Philosophers William Vallicella and Christopher Kaczor weigh in on my new book Immortal Souls: A Treatise on Human Nature. At his blog, Bill writes: “Like all of Feser's books, Immortal Souls is a model of expository clarity and analytic precision informed by an extensive knowledge of the contemporary literature.” At Word on Fire, Chris writes: Feser offers a tour de force… The ambitions of Feser’s book are great. He aims …

From the most recent post over on iMore, announcing that no new posts will be published on the site: It’s a keen reminder that the world of technology never stands still: The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was the reserve of science fiction in the early days of the iPhone. The world of publishing is forever evolving too, as do the forms of technology journalism that look to shine a light on …

I’ve been in a few places where there’s been talk about justifying the cost of UCD and similar roles. At first glance it’s a fair point. What impact do we have? How are we helping? How do we ensure we’re doing the best we can? But the question rarely gets asked in that spirit. It’s one of the ways I note the health of an organisation or profession. If the …

A video popped up in my Youtube recommendations recently that gave me pause. I didn’t recognise the name of the channel, or the man on the thumbnail, sat unbothered atop a log in a distinct yellow hunting jacket. Beside that image were two short words: “I’m Dead”. It’s an omnipresent trope of fiction, and it’s a strange feeling seeing it cross into the real world. “As i’m recording this today, …

I’m starting a new project over at Dark Tales Sleuth! It’s really more “literary excavation” than “literary sleuthing,” but it should still be fun and interesting. Illustration by A. Twidle for “Crime in the Post Office,” Strand Magazine, October 1907. Source. Back in 2019, I read a terrific anthology called Glimpses of the Unknown: Lost Ghost Stories, edited by Mike Ashley; I wrote a post about it, too. At the …

In 1867, Marx wrote about of Mary Anne Walkley, overworked to death for a society dress – according to the London Chronicle. Now, instead of ruffle of lace, we have the hustle of haste, but in many ways the work rates are the problem, not the stress, but the demands of employers and the difficulty of one person to say no. Hence Marx argues for the collective struggle to limit …

Here’s some basic information about the next big annual applied category theory conference—Applied Category Theory 2025—and the school that goes along with that: the Adjoint School. James Fairbanks will hold ACT2025 and the Adjoint School at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, on these dates: • Adjoint School: May 26–30, 2025. • ACT 2025: June 2–6, 2025. More information will eventually appear on a website somewhere, and I’ll try to …

It's late September and we've now passed the Fall equinox. With the longer, cooler nights and occasional precipitation chances, fire season is on its way out. But we're not completely out of the woods yet. Strong Winds TodayA strong cold front is crossing the state from west to east today.Frontal system approaching the Pacific Northwest Wednesday morning. Image via Colorado State University (CIRA/RAMMB).In western Washington, this will bring periods of …