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October 23, 2008

Here I go again. Once more, I'm going to try to sustain a blog... Let's see how it goes...

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Escapology

(J'ai réécrit cet article en Français ici)

We recently got a place in the countryside. So we're now splitting our time back and forth between the house out here and the flat back in Wapping.

And so that means the guinea pigs come back and forth with us too. At first they weren't so keen on the idea; previously the cat basket had been associated with trips to the vet and the ensuing prodding and poking, so they didn't take too kindly to it. But now, after only a couple of months, they've settled into the routine of going back and forth between two cages.

Given we moved into this house when it was still cold, their cage was in the sun room. I wouldn't call it so much as a conservatory; it's just a simple building attached to the back of the house with lots of windows, and heating and lighting - so ideal for the guinea pigs in winter when we wouldn't really be using the room anyway.

Also in there are the gerbils. They don't always come back and fo…

Loosing the shackles around my data

I've recently started a new job, and one of the things which comes along with a job in the mobile industry is a mobile phone.I've always felt uneasy about the need to install "special software" onto my laptop in order to share data between it and my mobile device.It's a symptom of the modern world, I believe, that my heart drops whenever I open a package containing any new piece of technology and find a CD with software which is vital in order for me to use the product fully.And I'm no different when I open the box of my shiny new mobile phone.But, of course, the world has changed and these days it’s not so much a question as having your data shared between computer and mobile device, but of having your data accessible wherever you are and from whatever device you happen to be using.The actual location of the data is largely unimportant these days.My contacts list and email archives live somewhere on the internet.I know the URLs to find them, but I would have…

I calibrate my day with strangers

I walk to work. It’s a nice walk, along the Thames, over Tower Bridge, and along the Thames again. I aim to get into the office at the same time every day, but lethargy and Radio 4 often cause delays in getting out of the house.As I’m walking, a torrent of people walk past me the other way, and after doing the same walk for a while you start to notice people who do the same walk every day.I don’t tend to wear a watch these days – mostly because all my watches need the batteries replacing – and so the only thing with a clock on it as I’m walking into work is my phone. My phone is busy doing other things – like playing ABBA and AC/DC songs at me to quicken my step to work – and so I have to rely on other signs to tell whether I’m running late or early.And this is where my three strangers come into things. These three people seem to walk the same route every day, at pretty much the same time. By looking at how close to the flat I pass them, I can work out whether I’m running late or …

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