Last year, I launched a new website, Gaming Retro UK (I call it GRUK), dedicated to handmade pasta retro gaming. Over the course of the past 12 months it’s enjoyed constant, but modest growth, but I haven’t been able to afford as much time to it as I would like. Why start a…
Category: Journal
The 10 Bands I’ve Seen Live (No. 6 Will Shock You)
Compared with friends and other people of my age, I haven’t seen many bands live outside of pubs and clubs. Basically, I find it either too noisy or too quiet, and definitely way too crowded. And then there are the merchandise prices. However, I have seen a few bands, a bit more than…
Taking My Daily Ukulele Up Roseberry Topping
Daily exercise is recommended for a long and healthy life. Similarly, you should always practice your instrument of choice on a daily basis to learn it. Today, I combined the two, taking a walk up a hill with a ukulele. My target, as you’ll learn from the video above, was Roseberry Topping. This…
Dorman Long Tower Demolished: Here’s Why It Had to Go
I was shocked into consciousness at 2am on Sunday morning by a “boom and crunch” sound. Assuming an industrial incident and expecting to be kept up by sirens, I turned over to grab as much sleep as I could… …and woke at 6am as planned (son had a championship to attend). The boom…
A Life in the Day of a Tech Writer
You probably know the format. It’s a description of a typical day, famously occupying the back page of the Sunday Times Colour Supplement ( I believe they call it a “magazine” these days) with a focus on the notable in culture and society. The Tom Baker one is a scream. It’s also a…
RIP #Newsjack, But I Was Over You Years Ago
As someone who aspires to write comedy, I’ve spent a whole lot of time over the past 12 years attempting to get material on Newsjack. But hearing of its demise yesterday has left me… somewhat relieved, actually. Personally I don't feel it was the same after Romesh Ranganathan left, but that's quite a…
Why Is Twitter Always Better on a Friday?
There is something strange going on in the world of social media. Twitter – that badly calibrated barometer of far left insanity – is always miles more fun on a Friday. Every other day of the week (save the football-heavy Saturdays, which comes with its own mix of moods and madness and armchair…
Anatomy of a Hardware Review
I’ve been checking through the video reviews I’ve produced for MakeUseOf over the past few years. Since 2015 I’ve filmed and voiced at least 60.
The Demon Headmasters
I attended comprehensive school from 1987-1992. Prior to that I had the opportunity to visit as I was Joseph in my primary school’s Christmas production (a LOT of lines), but only saw the school hall. The actual scale of the school was a mystery until my first day in September 1987, and frankly…
Finding a Hole in the Wall
Setting myself the task of writing a blog post every day for a month – which I committed myself to over the weekend, so let’s see how it goes – is a bit foolish when you don’t actually have more than a few days’ worth of material to consider. This is me, essentially,…
