The tech support conundrums of my nonagenarian neighbour increasingly flummox me completely. He does keep me on my toes.
It’s a scandal. The nation is up in arms. What now? A catastrophe! Supermarkets have started selling pots of own-brand hummus without resealable lids! This is a step too far. Environmentalism taken to extremes. How will we survive decanting it into another container? Or putting a saucer on top? Surely this is the death of …
Wandering in my garden under the warming sun at lunchtime, it occurs to me: “I have so much to be grateful for.” If only the weird biochemical imbalance in my body would let me express joyful gratitude instead of heaping more melancholy on my head. “Just snap out of it,” you might say. If only …
Digital transformation is the answer to the health system’s woes, says the government. Of course, we’ve been here before. Way back in 2005, I was charged with providing support to the project manager responsible for delivering aspects of the last national programme for IT in our locality. Since then, we’ve been through wave after wave …
A sign of how unfit I am. Just a single day’s gardening on Saturday has overwhelmed my body, gifting me heavy sleep and aches all over. Now I’m thinking what I actually did to warrant this response. I cut a couple of hedges, cleaned the patio, and cleared the rubbish away. Nothing overly taxing. So …
Over twenty years ago, I knew people with doctorates in Artificial Intelligence. That was long before it was a buzzword, when it still seemed novel and inconceivable. The pair I knew were writing algorithms for medical imaging startups, aiming to automatically detect cancer tumours in CAT scans. That’s machine learning I can believe in. Beneficial …
Produce of the casual English garden.
Standing in front of a wall of booze and cigarettes, the shopkeeper points at my flapjack. “Careful, my friend,” he laughs, “it looks like you’re getting an addiction.” It’s true. The secret morning flapjack on the way back from school really is my guilty vice. Though you won’t find a single wise sage reciting a …
Save us from Generative AI videos. They all, without exception, suck. First, there’s the script: utter crap. Then, there’s the selection of stock video clips stitched together randomly. Finally, it’s the annoying synthetic narration. That assertive, male, Americanish voice which cannot pronounce uncommon or foreign words. If you have talent, create something wonderful yourself. If …
I’m all for agile development and iterative deployment. I just wish Microsoft would recognise that many of our end users are resistant to learning new computer skills. One of my tasks, amongst numerous others, is training non-technical teams how to create and maintain content on SharePoint. Sounds easy, but you’d be surprised. These are generally …
One thing always leads to another. I only went in the garage to find some bags with which to take the garden rubbish to the tip. But before I know it, I’ve sorted out the garage, too. So now it’s off to the tip with all that extra junk on top.
In amongst the tangle, hanging bunches of ripening micrograpes!
The first of September carries me into the garden to begin taming the rambling jungle that has sprung up in our absence. It always gets worse before it gets better. Therapy for the soul.
When we have no money, we make mistakes. Or compromises we wouldn’t make if we had better means. Nearly twenty years ago, we bought the cheapest house we could find within commuting distance of London. Though fine for raising a family, it could never be described as a sound investment, for it remains one of …
