Our hire car, supposed to be compact/intermediate, was a Mitsubishi Eclipse – which I detest. It has two doors, alcantara trim on the seats, and people say “ooh, sporty!”. The acceleration isn’t too bad, either, although the vagaries of automatic gearboxes (it’s a hire car, what do you expect?) make it surprising hard to tell. […]
The last time I was here in the States, two years ago, I found free wireless networking everywhere – all the hotels and coffee shops had it, or maybe just all the ones that I went near to, which may be some sort of demographic indicator. This time, the hotel access is both flakey (poor […]
Tagged wifiI’ve just returned from my first visit to Las Vegas, and I think I have finally got a handle on the place; I have watched too many films, TV shows, and listened to too many Americans recount the lore and mystique of the place. First thing: I enjoyed myself. The reason for my trip was […]
Once upon a time, many years ago, I wrote a column for PC Pro (UK PC magazine) on “Mobile Computing”. The editor wanted me to write about Windows CE PDAs, which were then and are now extreme crap – and I submitted columns on what worked – which, back then, meant mainly Palm, and I […]
Tagged pdaThis book is one of the (very few) classics of software development. It is written in a simple style that is easy to understand, but offers great truths. Many people with limited experience won’t be able to fully appreciate what it has to offer; this is the collation of two lifetimes of experience in the […]
Tagged book reviewIf you bake bread, then you will be in sympathy with what Andrew Whitley has to say. The author rants extensively about the state of the industry, and the depredations to our palate caused by the Chorleywood process with no signs of abatement. He informs this with an eye to the biochemistry of baking that […]
Tagged baking, book review, breadO’Reilly seems to be suffering from more typos and code errors than they used to (in the distant past, before perfect bindings). This book suffers from a few that jarred on me. If pressed, I’d describe this book as a reasonable taster for Rails. The authors assume that you are already familiar with the basic […]
Tagged book review, rails, rubyI bought this book a few weeks ago because it seemed to be close enough to being an important reference book for English cake baking. On that basis, it comes close, but doesn’t win. As a large compendium of English baking, it is very good. Since then, I have baked my way through about a […]
Tagged baking, book reviewI promised to give my suggestions on books about break making. Down below I list a few books that are absolutely first rate, with every aspect showing a deep understanding. Further down I add a few extra books that have helped me along the way, although they may not be as comprehensive as the first […]
Tagged baking, book review, breadFirst, some background: I think the first time I made bread I was about eight. I can remember doing the shopping for my mother, and buying a ‘bloomer’ from the local bakers in Hayes, or from Parkers in West Ealing; and the special treat of having the top off a cottage loaf. The bread I […]
Tagged baking, bread, cookery