Author Archives: rpg

In the day job I am responsible for getting a website relaunched. Part of this involves looking at what other people are doing and stealing ideas. Part of that involves usability testing and making sure stuff just works. Another part, … Continue reading →

Does anyone else find it odd, that of all the opportunities the British have to let off fireworks outside the usual New Year shindig, we choose to celebrate the time someone tried (and failed) to blow up Parliament? The Shackledraggers … Continue reading →

I’m sitting in a hotel in Charleston SC, in a somewhat uncomfortable armchair, MacBook on lap and cursing the dodgy wireless signal in this place. Looking around, lots of people seem to be having similar problems. I’ve forgotten my adaptor … Continue reading →

I’ve allegedly been on holiday this week. It was enforced: not only is it half term and the Pawns require a bit of childcare, I also found myself with rather a lot of annual leave that I have to use … Continue reading →

Published literature is not free. To be more precise, the process of turning your treasured manuscript from a Word document (LaTeX nerds can shut up right now) through peer review, editing, XML-ification, whatever, to what you hold in your hand … Continue reading →

Just how annoying is Luke Skywalker? Man, I’d like to fetch him one across the self-righteous chops. And this whole rebellion schtick? Just what’s going on there? I mean, you’ve got a galaxy with peace and order and what seems … Continue reading →

Not long ago I was talking about Twitter, and how it seems to have grown up. I said that it’s no longer about telling people what you had for breakfast, but has turned into a meaningful communication tool. Web 3.0, … Continue reading →

I’ve got to give a talk tomorrow. In the best traditions of scientific conferencing the abstract submitted a month ago bears little relationship to what I’m actually going to say. (And in that tradition: What am I going to say? … Continue reading →

It was nearly a month ago that David Attenborough and I went to see a preview of the Jon Amiel film Creation. Well, I say that, but there were 398 other people there too. And I didn’t actually get to … Continue reading →

So there I was, desperately trying to get on top of my nuclear inbox (i.e. it had exceeded critical mass) when the head developer came up to me and says ‘Do we really need an evaluation of an 1866 paper, … Continue reading →