I’ve just upgraded my V6 box to Virgin TV 360. I’m starting to think that was a mistake. When Liberty Global took over Virgin Media in 2013, it seemed likely that at some point in the future VM would stop using TiVo software to run its set-up boxes and switch to something based on Liberty’s… Continue reading Virgin TV 360 — First impressions
Too much work? How do you choose what to take on?
Freelancing is becoming a really popular way to make money. Sites like Upwork and Fiverr are booming. But how do you decide which jobs to take on? Here are three questions that might help you decide whether to take on some work you’ve been offered. Question 1: Do I need the work? Obviously, when you… Continue reading Too much work? How do you choose what to take on?
2020 in Gigs
At about this time of the year, I usually write an overview of the gigs I’ve seen in the year. The post always starts with me saying how many gigs I’ve seen during the year. This is the tenth year I’ve been writing these posts and in that time I’ve seen between 35 (2018) and… Continue reading 2020 in Gigs
Consuming Culture: 16-31 Jan 2020
Here are brief descriptions of the various cultural things I did in the second half of January 2020. Food: 12:51 (Islington, 2020-01-18) Our second visit to 12:51, but the first time we tried the tasting menu. It’s a bit pricy (£75 a head, I think) but it’s well worth it. The food was wonderful. And… Continue reading Consuming Culture: 16-31 Jan 2020
Consuming Culture: 1-15 Jan 2020
I want to do more blogging this year. So one thing I’m going to do is to write about the cultural experiences that I have. My plan is to write short reviews of any films, plays, exhibitions and lectures that I go to. To start us off, here’s what I did in the first half… Continue reading Consuming Culture: 1-15 Jan 2020
2019 in Gigs
It’s time that I wrote my now-traditional review of the gigs I saw last year. It felt like I didn’t see so many gigs this year, but Songkick tells me I saw 43 which was more than the previous year (but still some considerable way short of the 60 I saw in 2013). I’ll get… Continue reading 2019 in Gigs
2020 Vision
I’ve been working in this industry for a long time – over thirty years. For most of that time, I’ve been working as a freelancer, but it’s always been working for someone else. When I set up Magnum Solutions (my freelancing company) in 1995 I always had a vague desire to grow it into a… Continue reading 2020 Vision
2018 in Gigs
It’s the last day of 2018, and I know I’m not going to a gig tonight, so that sounds like a very good time for my annual review of the gigs I’ve seen this year. Songkick tells me that I saw 35 gigs in 2018. That’s the lowest number since I’ve been counting them. It’s… Continue reading 2018 in Gigs
Simple Static Websites With GitHub Pages
Over the last few months, I’ve noticed that I’ve created a few quick and dirty websites using GitHub Pages. And when I mentioned the latest one on Twitter yesterday, a friend asked if I could take the time to explain how I did it. Which, of course, I’m very happy to do. Do you mind… Continue reading Simple Static Websites With GitHub Pages
Monzo & IFTTT
When I signed up for my Monzo bank account last year, one of the things that really excited me was the API they made available. Of course, as is so often the way with these things, my time was taken up with other things and I never really got any further than installing the Perl… Continue reading Monzo & IFTTT