Thinker, Blogger, Hacker, Hiker.
A photostory: hiking in Buttermere
A photostory: hiking in Buttermere
30 June 2013
We stayed at the Syke Farm Campsite in Buttermere. More about The Lake District on Wikivoyage. I shot with a Canon 5D mkII with a 24-105 f4. All photos are "Copyright Tim Dobson 2013", and are licenced under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0. Please attribute "Tim Dobson / tdobson.net" wherever you use them.
Postcards from St. Agnes.
Postcards from St. Agnes.
29 June 2013
Postcards from St. Agnes, Isles of Scilly. We stayed at Troytown Campsite. More about St. Agnes on Wikivoyage. This isn't the first time I've been there. I shot with a Canon 5D mkII with a 24-105 f4 and a 50mm f1.8
PRISM: What you won't hear the Americans say (but what you should be very scared of).
PRISM: What you won't hear the Americans say (but what you should be very scared of).
9 June 2013
The recent revelations from whistleblower Edward Snowden about the US's PRISM program, have, in the US, mainly centered on how the NSA could be spying on American citizens which may or may not be against the constitution. The details seem to suggest that so long as the data collected is 51% or more, between non-Americans, […]
Would you thank an awesome customer-droid?
Would you thank an awesome customer-droid?
10 May 2013
It's easy to write arsey letters of complaint (or moan about it on social media) when people get stuff wrong – but there's loads of humans whom we deal with everyday, who are a pleasure to work with but rarely get credit for it. Over the last few years, I've been trying to pass on […]
Onwards (Teaser)
Onwards (Teaser)
4 May 2013
So basically, I may have slightly screwed up my travel times to Glen Coe, and been forced to sit around Manchester for a bit. I decided to put that time to good use. This is an experimental teaser for Onwards. It's the introduction, possibly the only scene – I'm unsure whether it's worth taking it […]
Target: Glen Coe.
Target: Glen Coe.
1 May 2013
Since returning from lots of snowy Torridonian excitement, I've been missing my chances to head out into exciting bits of the country and have been soaking up the joys of Manchester. Glen Coe is a stunning location near Fort William, surrounded by possibly[1] some of the best hiking in the UK. Ben Nevis is obviously […]
Tell your children: "If you don't go to University, you'll end up homeless"
Tell your children: "If you don't go to University, you'll end up homeless"
27 April 2013
"I never let my schooling interfere with my education" was something Mark Twain once allegedly said. Well it certainly sounds like he had an easy ride! Infrequent readers of this blog will know that my education and my schooling (clearly different things) have been recurring subjects of this blog since the start. From bypassing content […]
Breaking: Professor Elemental to take post at the Home Office.
Breaking: Professor Elemental to take post at the Home Office.
24 April 2013
I've just heard breaking news that Professor Elemental – the famed 'chap hop' musician is to take a post at the Home Office. It's a little surprising for the Home Office to make such a high profile appointment – usually when they're hiring celebrity endorsements, they get B-rate u21 Tennis players, or Eastenders extras from […]
Photojournalism 101: Build your own celltower
Photojournalism 101: Build your own celltower
23 April 2013
In 2011, I went to the Western Isles of Scotland, to the Isle of Skye and Isle of Rasaay. I recently came across this amusing photo I took in Arnish, Rasaay, where I was camping for the night: I had been trying to maintain an internet connection, via my Nokia N900 phone and Thinkpad x60s […]
How can the free software movement improve its communication?
How can the free software movement improve its communication?
23 March 2013
One thing that is challenging the free software movement is communication. Communication skills are quite a "known skill" – persuading people is not really cutting edge – people have been persuading other people about $stuff since forever. The question is, therefore, how we can be better at communicating free software, given we know how things, […]
The free software movement's dilemma
The free software movement's dilemma
19 March 2013
The free software movement's aims are noble and I'm happy to say I support them. However, there are largely two ways of furthering the movement: Communication of the message Contributing to a software project Largely, the ideological "free software advocates" are focused on the first point, with people who are doing the second point falling […]
Do you think it's rude to sign up everyone who's ever emailed you/everyone in your addressbook to your corporate newsletter list?
Do you think it's rude to sign up everyone who's ever emailed you/everyone in your addressbook to your corporate newsletter list?
27 February 2013
Do you think it's rude to sign up everyone who's ever emailed you/everyone in your addressbook to your corporate newsletter list? was a question I asked the social networks today. Just think about how you'd respond to that – the results and some commentary is below. Results (as of about 8pm): Facebook: 6 respondents: 3 […]