I call it the Cliff, but it could just as well be a mountain. An inevitable point that I reach with all projects that I undertake on my own time. I start with gusto, after the initial paralysis on choosing which of the thousand different options to use. I get a good run at the problem. Start adding modules, functionality and UI springing up and all is good with the world. Continue reading »

I love flying. And not just because it takes me to awesome places around the world. I love flying because it’s safe and because it’s computerised. Continue reading »

I’m away in Budapest for a stag do for the next few days. It’s a much needed break. But I didn’t realise how much it would mean to break my blogging streak. 80 days now. Continue reading »

“The new site is awesome. I can find what I want on the pages really easily. You could hide a body on the previous site and no-one would find it.”

Client feedback.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I love this moment. When you’re starting on a brand new project and it’s huge, bigger than anything you’ve ever worked on (and I just shipped an app to twenty million people). It’s amazing. Every possibility is open to me. And now, it’s time to work out what can be done, what should be done and then how to go away and do it.

I’m pretty terrible at learning stuff. Doesn’t matter if it’s a concept, a skill, a library or a game. It takes a long while for stuff to sink in. So lately I’ve been pushing myself to just learn new things. Continue reading »

I always like telling the story that aeroplanes legally have to have ashtrays in the toilets. The natural response from most people is “but smoking is illegal on a plane” and well, yeah, it is. But since when did something being illegal mean people stop doing it? If someone needs to smoke, they’re going to smoke. By installing ashtrays you can at least contain the risk. Continue reading »

I’ve been on something of a sports journey recently. After my abortive Birmingham 10K I’ve had to take a break from running which normally means just swimming, cycling and gyming it. Continue reading »

This is all coming off of the back of my post about pushing out bigger projects to more users. It’s the flipside if you will. Twenty million people might see a page but what does that mean? Continue reading »

It occurred to me yesterday, sitting in a bar in Wales that’s older than the US drinking yet-another-coke while my sister drank a pint of Brains, that I hadn’t had a pint for exactly twelve months. It was her birthday party the year before where I had had my last bit of alcohol and decided to cut it out after that. Continue reading »