Category: Weekly digest

Life
Dark nights are here. Boo. In hopefully better news I’ve pre-ordered an iPhone X, delivers mid to late November. Swithered all week but ordered on Friday. An every two year purchase from now on.

Media
Saw Thor: Ragnarok on Friday. Funny, colourful and a great Marvel movie, easily the best of the Thor films which in truth isn’t saying much. Can’t say any more as spoilers.

Also started on Super Mario Odyssey. What a game, Nintendo does it again. Didn’t expect the Switch to be the best console to own this year but so far it’s winning easily.

Links

• A year on from Trump’s pussy grab, nothing has changed | Eva Wiseman | Life and style | The Guardian
  Can’t believe it’s a full year since this came out. Shocking.
• No, of that I’m innocent. – Scobleizer
  Always that Scoble was a tit and this post just proves it. The allegations are all untrue, even though he apologised for them just a few days prior…and here’s my new company. Oh dear.
• For Guys Reading #MeToo Testimonies — Courtney Martin | On Being
  Another must read following the #MeToo stories from last week…and this.
• Trump, Assange, Bannon, Farage… bound together in an unholy alliance | Carole Cadwalladr | Opinion | The Guardian
  Group of fucktards.
• Is this the night of the living dead? No, it’s Britain’s Brexit team | Frankie Boyle | Opinion | The Guardian
  Perfrect summary on the Tories right now.
• iPhone Service Pricing – Apple Support
  Pricing for iPhone screen repair, battery replacement, out-of-warranty repairs, and express replacement service.
  The repair prices for the iPhone X are eye-wateringly high. Applecare+ pretty much essential now.
• Super Mario Odyssey review – Polygon
  If you’ve got a Switch you’ll have picked up Mario Odyssey…and I really receommend the Switch if you are at all interested in gaming. It’s got 2-3 game of the year contenders already and a really strong line up of smaller games.

Life
Kitchen is done. Finally. Just need to get everything moved back in again which is only half complete and get used to the new equipment and where everything is. Feels like we’ve moved house! What’s also done is my week off. Got lots done around the house but not much else. Was also a sad week as a friend suffered a personal loss. Getting old sucks.

Media
Picked up Stardew Valley on the Switch. Lovely game and well worth picking up if you’ve got a Switch.

Links

• It’s not just one monster. ‘Me too’ reveals the ubiquity of sexual assault | Suzanne Moore | Opinion | The Guardian
  One of the few positives (can it be called a positive?) this week was the me too hashtag although the volume and accounts shared from every walk of life was shocking. Still lots to be changed.
• Kirsty Strickland: Why it’s time for me to speak up about sexual violence | CommonSpace
  CommonSpace columnist Kirsty Strickland shares her experiences in a powerful bid to highlight how normal brutality has become for women This article contains descriptions of violence IT’S been a painful week for women. As more and more have come forward to tell of the grotesque behaviour and abuse that Harvey Weinstein subjected them to, it’s sparked conversations among women of their similar experiences.
  One of the many must read articles this week in the Weinstein fallout.
• The Harvey Weinstein allegations are monstrous. But it’s not just monsters who harass women
  We all need to take a look at ourselves…I need to do better.
• Tory power is only sustained by cruel confidence tricks | Frankie Boyle | Opinion | The Guardian
  Tories skewered again by Frankie Boyle. Love it.
• Channel 4 News on Twitter: “”Forcing people into hunger does not incentivise work.” @MhairiBlack gives her view on the government’s changes to the benefits system. https://t.co/p44tFmHtCU”
  The passion, anger and frustration from Black is a must see. More of this.
• The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare | Fast Company
  Why did Casper sue a mattress blogger? A closer look reveals a secret, multimillion-dollar battle to get you into bed.
  A bizarre tech story this week, who knew there was so much skullduggery within the mattress market?
• This AI Taught Itself to Play Go and Beat the Reigning AI Champion – Motherboard
  The pace of learning is jaw dropping.
• AlphaGo Zero: Learning from scratch | DeepMind
  And this is the official blog post from DeepMind on AlphaGo. Outperforms previous versions using a fraction of the power.
• iPhone 8 Plus vs. Sony A7 Part II — zeiPAD
  I posted a link a couple of weeks ago comparing the iPhone and the Sony and this is the follow up…still surprising how good the iPhone is.
• How the judge on Oracle v. Google taught himself to code – The Verge
  If only all judges educated themselves before passing verdicts.
• Meet the New Lightroom CC – Jeff Carlson | Never Enough Coffee Creations
  Thanks Adobe, I’m now using Lightroom Classic which is better than what I had, allegedly, but now sounds old…and will it be a second class citizen compared to Lightroom CC? What a mess. Will seriously look at alternatives.
• Marvel Studios’ Black Panther – Official Trailer – YouTube
  Black Panther looks amazing.

Life
So when I said last week that the kitchen will definitely finish last week I may have been a bit hasty. Floor is now down, painting mostly done but still a few outstanding jobs. Today and tomorrow have been promised. In other news, I’m off work this week. Woo hoo. New car to sort amongst other things.

Media
Still enjoying Star Trek Discovery despite some dickish characters. Still enjoying Destiny 2 despite “The Grind”.

Links

• The banning of Rose McGowan shows nothing’s changed at Twitter | Hannah Jane Parkinson | Opinion | The Guardian
  The platform ‘sucks’ at dealing with abuse, its ex-CEO said. So you’d think they’d have learned not to silence an actor calling out Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse, says Guardian columnist Hannah Jane Parkinson
  Twitter will allegedly announce some new initiatives to help deal with abuse and hate on the platform but, despite their protests, appear to move too slowly with these changes. Protecting user numbers over users will always be the argument while they appear to do so little.
• The Rock Test: A Hack for Men Who Don’t Want To Be Accused of Sexual Harassment
  Loved this.
• What’s Inside Every iPhone, From Retina Displays to Cameras
  So much great tech. Not always the first but usually the best implementations of a given tech are to be found in an iPhone.
• ​Guys, It’s Time to Give Up Your “Dad Sneakers” ​| Men’s Health
  No, fuck off.
• A Pre-History of Slashdot on its 20th Birthday – freeCodeCamp
  Jeff chipped in a few bucks for the fees. Kathleen told me the name was stupid. I thought, “That’s kinda the point!” I originally used the name ‘slashdot’ on my desktop a year earlier when I got my…
  Slashdot is one of those sites that seems to have been about forever. This was a daily visit alongside Blues News.
• The impossible dream of USB-C – Marco.org
  Geeky but highlights the frustrations alongside the promise of the universal ports. They end up sucking.
• The Airport Bomber From Last Week You Never Heard About
  The man was “preparing to fight a war on U.S. soil,” but was busted by cops — to little fanfare.
  I shouldn’t be surprised that this was hardly reported.
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer (Official) – YouTube
  This is either a very spoilery trailer or very deceptive. Roll on December to find out.

Life
More frustration as the new flooring was delivered but the fitter was unavailable so the kitchen drags on. It will finish this week, and I’ve delayed my week off so I can focus on getting it all sorted. Dragging now. However, it’s looking braw so shouldn’t complain too much.

Media
Watched Blade Runner 2049 on Friday. Stunning film and a worthy follow up to the original. Caught it on IMAX and it looked and sounded great. Felt it a tad long but that was more my tiredness. The world it depicts is so real but it really is a must see in the cinema to get the size and scale of it. This and Dunkirk are my fav films of the year so far.

Links

• One Man’s Journey From Welfare to World’s Hottest Video Game – Bloomberg
  Really looking forward to this on the Xbox, but the story behind the game is just as interesting.
• A New Way to Tackle Gun Deaths – NYTimes.com
  Maybe just ban them? Can’t see it ever happening…so sad.
• Does Even Mark Zuckerberg Know What Facebook Is?
  Oh I’m pretty sure he knows what it is…and is quick to deny it as well.
• Coughing, heckling – what went wrong for May – BBC News
  The prime minister’s speech was more eventful that many expected.
  The combination of events, the lack of preperation…May just looks done as PM…but I’m sure none of the beasts really want the job right now. What a mess.
• From Boris the Lion King to Theresa May’s P45 – my malarial week at the Tory conference | Politics | The Guardian
  Skewered.
• In Six Seconds, Giphy Could Make Billions | The future of business
  Many years ago I thought the gif was dead…more fool me.
• Here’s How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled White Nationalism Into The Mainstream
  Rise of the right is often blamed on social media but it’s much more of a story than that.
• iPhone 8 Plus vs. Sony A7 — zeiPAD
  These comparison shots show how little there is between proper camera’s and this years smartphones. Some of the pics are obviously iPhone but many are hard to differentiate.
• ’Our minds can be hijacked’: the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
  Well this is a fun read…and much of the fear is thanks to the tech insiders in the article.
• Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year | Royal Museums Greenwich | UNESCO World Heritage Site In London
  Wow. Some jaw dropping photo’s in this bunch.
• Hundreds of new emoji coming to iOS 11.1 beta 2 next week [Gallery] | 9to5Mac
  The art in some of these emoji’s is amazing.
• You can stop Brexit by joining the Labour party – or even the Tories | Nick Clegg | Opinion | The Guardian
  Well this is unexpected…ah…he’s got a book to sell.
• Uncovering How Streaming Is Changing the Sound of Pop | Pitchfork
  Making it all sound the same more like.
• Don’t Get Too Comfortable at That Desk – The New York Times
  I work in an open plan office, but at least there are breaks in the office and a little privacy. Crave for my own space from time to time though to get away from distractions.
• Jacob Rees-Mogg: on the trail of the pinstripe pretender | Politics | The Guardian
  I know the rise of Corbyn was unexpected, but surely Rees-Mogg couldn’t be the next PM. Surely?!?

Life
The kitchen drags on. Mostly all done (and it looks great) but one of the last major tasks was the new floor…and they’ve shipped a mixture of flooring so the fitter had to stop on Saturday afternoon. Instead of finishing today leaving me with painting it will be mid to end of this week. Frustrating. Still, a week off work starting this Friday to get everything done and the house back in order.

Media
Star Trek Discovery off to a strong start. Looked good, story wasn’t a disaster and the opening credits were a triumph. Looking forward to more.

Picked up a SNES Mini this week much to my surprise. Tesco said they wouldn’t deliver on release date but they did. It’s tiny but the pads are the same size as the original and the games included are a fantastic range of titles from the Super Nintendo days. Shame there is no Pilotwings though (hack coming soon hopefully) but it’s the easiest way of reliving some classic games. Can easily swap between games, states can be saved and some screen options to try and polish up the vintage visuals. Well worth a purchase if you had a SNES back in the day

Links

• How I hacked hundreds of companies through their helpdesk
  UPDATE: The Next Web wrote a story about my findings: http://ift.tt/2ysKAuq Months ago I…
  Shocked by how easy this is.
• macOS High Sierra Review: A Modern Snow Leopard? – 512 Pixels
  Detailed review of High Sierra which came out last week. Picked up a few new things from the review too.
• TOYO TIRES | Ken Block’s Climbkhana: Pikes Peak Featuring the Hoonicorn V2 – YouTube
  Another jaw dropping video from Ken Block.
• Apple is really bad at design | The Outline
  Scathing piece and in some ways hard to argue against it.
• The Coming Software Apocalypse – The Atlantic
  A small group of programmers wants to change how we code—before catastrophe strikes.
  Long but important look at a rocky road ahead.
• How Crossrail is using 3D-printing to build its stations – IanVisits
  These stations look stunning.
• The people who still compete in Super Mario Kart, 25 years later – Polygon
  Die hards!
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System™ Super NES Classic Edition Manuals | Nintendo
  Alongside the SNES mini, Nintendo have published the original manuals online. Brings back a lot of memories where getting a game manual was the norm. Now you get a download code for some crappy gun/armour and thats your lot.
• SNES Classic interviews revisit the creation of 21 great games – Polygon
  More trips down memeory lane – some great stories here.
• Apple Music’s Long Game: Why Jimmy Iovine Thinks They’re ‘Not Even Close’ to Success With Streaming | Billboard
  30 million subscribers but not enough for Apple. I’ve enjoyed Apple Music so far but can understand why Spotify is still the market leader.
• Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee – The New York Times
  Still boggles the mind when the sports stars talk more sense than the politicians.
• The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life: the new sleep science | Life and style | The Guardian
  I’ve really struggled with my sleep over the last few weeks and it’s taking a tole on my health. So important, especially as I get old(er).
• The Power Of Compounding: You Can Achieve Anything, If You Stop Trying To Do Everything
  A trap I fall into at work and in my own hobbies. Juggling too much instead of doubling down in one or two area’s.
• This island is not for sale: how Eigg fought back
  Well worth a read.
• Spanish Riot Police Are Trying To Prevent People From Voting In Catalonia’s Independence Referendum
  The north-eastern region in Spain is holding an independence referendum Sunday. Central Spanish government has declared the vote illegal.
  The actions of the Spanish government and police today have been disgraceful and almost unbelievable. Would never have predicated state violence at such scale.
• Blade Runner 2049 – Prequel Short Film #3 – Ab 5.10.2017 im Kino! – YouTube
  Last of three short stories that bridge the gap between the two films. I watched Blade Runner over the weekend and still can’t believe that it’s 35 years old. Role on the new film this Friday.
• Red Dead Redemption 2 | Official Trailer #2 | PS4 – YouTube
  So good and seemingly still on track for a Spring 18 launch.

Life
Kitchen underway and thankfully no major problems found once the old one was ripped out. Will take a bit longer than expected but please with what I’ve seen so far.

Media
Destiny 2 single player complete and enjoying the variety of missions, strikes and multiplayer that it offers. Much more enjoyable than the first one.

Links

• iOS 11: The MacStories Review – MacStories
  For the second time in three years, the iPad isn’t following in the iPhone’s footsteps. With iOS 11, the iPad is going in its own direction – this time, with no
  Long but great review of iOS 11. Lot’s of detail but you will learn loads about the new O/S.
• Dive into the details of iOS 11: Is Apple still detail-oriented?
  There are some rough edges but overall I don’t find it impacting in day to day use.
• iPhone 8 Plus Camera Review: India — Austin Mann
  Hard to believe the quality from phones now. Great review.
• How Apple Built An iPhone Camera That Makes Everyone A Professional Photographer
  How does Apple think about iPhone camera design? Obsessively.
  Love these articles were you get a little insight into what drives Apple.
• Satya Nadella Rewrites Microsoft’s Code
  Microsoft’s CEO has stopped infighting, restored morale, and created more than $250 billion in market value. All it took was focusing on what matters most.
  The change at MS has been staggering…and for the good.
• A new kind of map: it’s about time – Points of interest
  If you’re like most people, it starts with a ballpark estimate of how long it usually takes. Or maybe several estimates, depending on when you leave for work, how bad traffic is, or whether you’re…
  A great new take on maps.
• MY CRAZIEST EVER CLIMB! Glasgow Tower – YouTube
  Mental, Can’t believe they could just walk up and climb the tower.
• Push for Gender Equality in Tech? Some Men Say It’s Gone Too Far – NYTimes.com
  Some men need to wake up.
• Mark Zuckerberg’s Political Awakening – Bloomberg
  Uber this week and Facebook on the back foot, is this the start of more regulation and oublic awareness of just what some of these tech companies do?
• Sundance on Skye: local hero to launch cinematic revolution on his home island | UK news | The Guardian
  Love this – someone trying to do the right thing.
• LEGO GTA – YouTube
  Too good.
• The 100 Hardest Video Game Bosses, Ranked By Difficulty
  Surprised at the number one but not by the top 10 in geenral.
• Ridley Scott Walks You Through His Favorite Scene from Blade Runner | Open Culture
  Wouldn’t have thought this would have been his favourite scene. Only a couple of weeks to 2049 is released.
• The New Yakuza Murders: Inside the Japanese Mafia’s Circle of Death
  Loved this insight into the Yakuza.
• The Lonely Road Back From a Very Public Injury – NYTimes.com
  Great read, photo’s impressive too…shot on an iPhone.

Life
Busy week at work and home but everything now ready for kitchen build to start tomorrow.

Media
Destiny 2 is such a well polished game. Well worth picking up.

Links

• Apple Explains How It’s Making Siri Smart Without Endangering User Privacy
  Key differentiator between Apple and competitors, but Siri always feels behind the others as well.
• Steve Jobs’ legacy
  Loved this from Om Malik
• Apple’s Best Product Is Its Media Strategy
  It’s an advert and I know that but still enjoy the Apple events.
• Photos: What it was like to attend Apple’s iPhone X event – Recode
  Apple Park and the Steve Jobs Theatre look fantastic.
• The Best Utility Apps for iOS – Initial Charge
  iOS 11 is out this week and here’s a great list of utilities, some really useful that were new to me.
• Games aren’t always fair, the magic lies in making you think they are – Polygon
  Interesting look at making games feel fair.
• Here’s Elon Musk’s SpaceX blooper reel  – The Verge
  Expensive but also shows how normal the repeated landings now look.
• BLADE RUNNER 2049 – “2048: Nowhere to Run” Short – YouTube
  Blade Runner short number 2.
• As Amazon Pushes Forward With Robots, Workers Find New Roles – The New York Times
  Intersting look at the rise of automation, likely to be one of the great talking points over the coming decade.

Life
One week until work on the kitchen starts. Lots to do and not looking forward to the work that week but once it’s done then happy days. Also got some time off coming up – need the break although it will be filled with DIY methinks.

Media
Destiny 2 – I loved the review that said it was Destiny without the bullshit and so far it feels exactly that. No surprise that it reminds me so much of Halo – well done Bungie.
Eveybody’s Golf – Nice golf game for PS4 with a lot of depth underneath the arcade graphics.
Both these games are good but the grinding/microtransaction bullshit that goes hand in hand with almost every game now is getting tiring. One of the reasons that the Switch so far has felt refreshing.

Links

• Attacked by Rotten Tomatoes – NYTimes.com
  Piracy is down…but so have cinema takings so there needs to be a new bad guy. Step forward Rotten Tomatoes. How about the movie studio’s stop with the formulaic superhero films and endless sequels and try something new for a change?
• Not so super: why Hollywood’s cinematic universes are on the way out | Film | The Guardian
  Marvel’s interlinked superhero movies transformed industry thinking, but now rival studios are increasingly reverting to simpler, old-school storytelling
  Always thought it was daft for others to try and copy Marvel. The DC films are poor in comparison apart from Wonder Woman. Stop building worlds and just focus on making each movie great.
• IBM pitched Watson as a revolution in cancer care. It’s nowhere close
  Pretty damning on IBM and Watson. Some of the failures will be rectified but the brand is tainted.
• Donald Trump Is the First White President – The Atlantic
  Good if depressing read.
• TIME Firsts: Women Leaders Who Are Changing the World | Time.com
  Good and uplifting read. All pics shot on iPhone too.
• Modder builds his own custom iPhone 7 that restores the headphone jack – The Verge
  Love this. No dongle for this guy, he modded the iPhone 7 to get the headphone jack back.
• Leaked iPhone 8 firmware reveals animated emoji, Face ID, and updated AirPods – The Verge
  The big Apple event is only 2 days away and this year the biggest leaks are from Apple themselves. The first leak looked accidental, via a Homepod firmware. The leak of a GM build on Friday however looks malicious from someone in Apple – they won’t be happy. Still, much to look forward to.

Life
Autumn’s here. Bit cooler, bit wetter and could see some change in the tree’s this morning on my walk. Looking forward to getting out and about with the camera as I love this time of year.

Media
Bake Off is back…and as good as ever. New presenters weren’t Mel and Sue but good enough and nothing has been broken in the move. Yes there are adverts, but record and skip or stop moaning.

Links

• Blade Runner 2049 Short Film Reveals What Happened in 2036 | Collider
  The first of three short films to bridge the gap between the original Blade Runner and the follow up. Roll on October.
• How YouTube perfected the feed – The Verge
  Good read on how AI delivers your YouTube feed. Works well for me.
• How I replicated an $86 million project in 57 lines of code
  Love this. How many projects, especially in enterprise IT, could be reduced to small programs like this?
• Destiny 2 – Official Live Action Trailer – New Legends Will Rise – YouTube
  Great trailer…onky 3 days until Destiny 2 lands.
• 36 Hours in Glasgow – The New York Times
  This story got shared due to it describing Glasgow as remote, but it’s recomendations are good apart from doing it all in 36 hours – thats manic!
• Hurricane Harvey devastates southeast Texas – The Boston Globe
  Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm along the southeast coastline of Texas over the weekend, the most powerful storm to hit the United States since 2004. As the storm lingers in the region, rainfall has caused major flooding in the Houston area and south Texas, leading to thousands of people needing rescue and evacuation.
  Haunting images from Texas.
• The Subscription App Paradox – Hacker Noon
  Good post on subcription app’s and services. I need to review what I’m subscribed too as it add’s up to a fair amount each month.
• I Doped Like Maria Sharapova And It Was Actually Pretty Great
  Drug’s in sport are hard to understand. Fine line between banned substances and looking after yourself but I’m in no doubt that Sharapova is a drug cheat – just listen to her fellow pro’s.
• Game of Thrones season 7: each character’s strategy, ranked by political science – Vox
  Almost too much Thrones coverage but I liked this slightly different take on events.
• Introverts Don’t Hate People, They Hate Shallow Socializing
  Loved this.
• How the press lied about the little girl staying with Muslim foster parents. Here are the facts. | Pride’s Purge
  Shocked by just how much has been written about this which was untrue.
• marvel || battle royale – YouTube
  Fan made trailer but don’t let that put you off – it’s awesome.
• Inside story of Kezia Dugdale’s resignation
  Sorry to see Dugdale go. She did far more right than wrong.
• The Most Beautiful Country in the World – As Voted By You | Rough Guides
  Planning your next trip? To help spark your imagination, we asked our readers to vote for the most beautiful country in the world. These are the results.
  Some amazing places in the top 20, can’t disagree with the no 1.
• RealTime WWII
  Twitter account which posts a few times a day in sync with the happenings of World War II. Today saw Britain declare war on Germany. A must follow.

Life
A day later than normal but a busy weekend…Ok…I was dying repeatedly in Battlefield 1 and couldn’t be arsed to post last night. I’ve been busy! Honest!

Media
Finished The Defenders. Well worth a watch if you liked Daredevil.
Also finished Game of Thrones this evening and loved this series. Roll on series 8.

Links

• Ellen Pao: This Is How Sexism Works in Silicon Valley
  If you read one thing today, make it this. Many lessons that we all need to learn.
• BBC – Future – The bunkers built to survive an apocalypse
  Can’t believe these are being talked about again. Sad.
• Identity Thieves Hijack Cellphone Accounts to Go After Virtual Currency – NYTimes.com
  Nothing is safe, not even virtual currencies.
• Photos: China has one of world’s largest bitcoin mines — Quartz
  These farms blow my mind. So much effort to mine a bitcoin.
• Estonia could offer ‘estcoins’ to e-residents – e-Residency Blog – Medium
  Love what Estonia are doing – first true digital country and economy?
• New app scans your face and tells companies whether you’re worth hiringWould you be nervous with an artificial intelligence evaluating your interview skills? Come discuss in The Climb, Ladders’ Facebook Group. | Ladders
  Just wrong. This isn’t the future I want.
• 8 Lessons from 20 Years of Hype Cycles | Michael Mullany | Pulse | LinkedIn
  Gartner Hype Cycles are interesting but I don’t always believe them. Turns out I wasn’t far wrong – we are crap at predicting the future.
• Louis Rossetto – Pi.co
  I loved the origial US Wired magazien so this interview is a treat. Buying it in the UK meant trips to specialist newsagents or Borders in Glasgow which I still miss. The UK edition, while good, just isn’t the same.
• The best photos and videos of the 2017 solar eclipse
  Amazing images from last week.
• Daring Fireball: Wading Through AccuWeather’s Bullshit Response
  AccuWeather can’t be trusted. Delete the app, use Dark Sky, Carrot Weather or Hello Weather instead.
• Location Tracking
  Perfect post from the authors of Dark Sky on why you can trust them…and how the misuse of your data must be pretty widespread.