Month: April 2017

• LEGO Macintosh Classic with e‑paper display
  tl;dr: I built a Wi-Fi enabled LEGO Macintosh Classic running Docker on a Raspberry Pi Zero with an e‑paper display. Docker deployments via resin.io. [photos] I am not a 100% sure if it was this exact model or perhaps even the Macintosh 128K from 1988, but I guess it doesn’t really matter.
  File under: Will likely never do but GEEKtastic
• Margaret Atwood, the Prophet of Dystopia
  When Margaret Atwood was in her twenties, an aunt shared with her a family legend about a possible seventeenth-century forebear: Mary Webster, whose neighbors, in the Puritan town of Hadley, Massachusetts, had accused her of witchcraft.
  I’m a ‘late’ fan of hers, wonderful profile of an amazing talent.
• Gillian Anderson’s & David Duchovny’s Voices Return for An X-Files Case on Audiobook
  X-Files fans who still want to believe there’s more supernatural mystery stories to be told, the truth is out there. And by “out there,” we mean another X-Files mystery in the form of an audiobook.
  File under: Some people might enjoy this.
• Will London Fall?
  London may be the capital of the world. You can argue for New York, but London has a case. Modern London is the metropolis that globalization created. Walk the streets of Holborn, ride an escalator down to the Tube and listen to the languages in the air.
  Part of me doesn’t care. Part of me knows the impact will be massive.
• Why Are So Many People Popping Vitamin D?
  There was no reason for the patients to receive vitamin D tests. They did not have osteoporosis; their bones were not cracking from a lack of the vitamin. They did not have diseases that interfere with vitamin D absorption.
  Another health fad? Perhaps.
• Why Do Movie Villains Have So Many Dermatological Issues?
  In the real world, a prominent facial scar can cause embarrassment and social anxiety. In the movies, it’s enough to drive a man to murder. This discrepancy is the focus of a new investigation published in JAMA Dermatology last week.
  Glib headline for an interesting topic.
• The subtle brilliance of Sesame Street’s first episode starring an autistic Muppet
  When I was three or four, some friends of my parents threw a party; the kids went and played in the basement while the adults sat upstairs and talked.
  Yay for this. More of this needed!
• An Hour of Running May Add 7 Hours to Your Life
  Running may be the single most effective exercise to increase life expectancy, according to a new review and analysis of past research about exercise and premature death.
  File under: But didn’t ‘scientists’ say running was bad for us, not that long ago?
• What happens to political satire when the real world goes mad?
  On Nov. 8, as the nation picked its 45th president, Julia Louis-Dreyfus spent the night observing a fake election. The scene, filmed for an upcoming episode of the political comedy “Veep,” unfolded in what was supposed to be a polling station in a post-Soviet republic.
  Wait, Trump ISN’T satire? Depressing news.

TL;DR – my tweet from last night:

https://twitter.com/Gordon/status/851920864199270400

Despite the fact the ‘parent’ restaurant (111 by Nico) was a 2 minute walk from my last flat, I only ate there once but it was a fantastic meal. So when I heard about this new venture, and started reading the reviews, I was desperate to try it out.

The premise is simple enough, as explained on their website:

A NEW RESTAURANT EVERY SIX WEEKS
Six by Nico will be home to a series of carefully curated and constantly evolving restaurant concepts.
Each six weeks, Nico and his team will serve a brand new six-course tasting-menu – each one themed upon a different place or memory.

We were there on Tuesday night, catching the tail end of the first six weeks of the restaurant – “The Chippie: A nostalgic nod to the traditional Fish and chip shop, this restaurant will showcase the ‘Best of British’ flavours for which the UK is famed for worldwide.” – and yes, it includes their take on a deep fried mars bar.

Entering the restaurant (at 9:15pm on a Tuesday night, one of the few mid-week seatings that was still available when I booked) you are warmly greeted and welcomed to a very stylish place. The first thing you’ll notice is the kitchen, open to the restaurant. The decor is dark but not gloomy, refined without feeling like it’s trying too hard. We were sat in the table by the door, right next to the kitchen area. Only downside was the draught from the front door but that’s mostly down to people not knowing how to shut a door properly (although could be ‘fixed’ by installing a taller glass panel at the back of the booth perhaps?). Even the menu and wine list shared the same high quality, muted appeal.

Safe to say the attention to detail was great, all the way down to the old school salt and vinegar condiments on the table, just like you get in a Chippie. Clever touch.

The staff were great. Friendly, relaxed, and clearly well drilled. They knew what they were talking about, explained each of the six dishes as they were presented to us and, always a good sign, they had definitely all tried the food. So, when you are trying to figure out what that extra component in a dish was, they can help tell you it was probably the tuna in the broth…

Anyway, on to the food. As it’s a set taster menu, you don’t really have to do much other than choose your drinks. We didn’t go for the wine pairing (this time), but felt it rude not to also get the Snacks & Bread prior to the first course. And boy did it set the tone for what lay ahead.

I had checked out the full menu beforehand and at first glance I was a little bemused…

1. Chips & Cheese
2. Scampi
3. Steak Pie
4. Special Fish
5. Smoked Sausage
6. Deep Fried Mars Bar

But of course there is a lot more to it than that, what we actually got were six dishes that were excellent prepared, beautifully presented and would grace the finest tables in the land! Specifically (and to be fair, I’m playing fast and loose with the menu here, it’s clearly articulated on their website):

1. Crisp potato cannelloni with crowdie mousse
2. Scrabster monkfish cheek, squid ink and herb emulsion
3. Speyside beef shin, onion choucroute and brioche
4. Shetland cod with sea vegetable, pickled mussels and taramasalata
5. Ayrshire pork with black pudding, apple and celeriac
6. Salted caramel, chocolate nougat, malt parfait

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gordon McLean (@gmclean)

Without fail, every dish elicited high praise from our table, usually through a quiet contemplative silence as we all just sat and savoured the fresh flavours and wonderful combinations, knowing nods as each mouthful revealed another contrast of flavour or texture, and cleared plates at every pass.

I’m stopping short of trying to describe each dish, largely because I don’t have the vocabulary but each one displayed the same core thinking. Take ‘know flavours’ and distil them down to their core, then present them in clever ways in dishes that were without fault.

A small example, accompanying the cod dish there were small morsels of crumb which tasted exactly like salt and vinegar batter. As each of us discovered these on the plate we all had the same look of delight on our faces as we were transported back to the chippies of our childhood.

The real kicker to all of this? The one thing I still can’t quite get my head around given the quality of what is on offer? All of this, the staff, the service, the fantastic food… £25 for the taster menu (all in with starters and wine, we were £40 a head), £25! Amazing value.

They announced the new menu for the coming six week stint and by the end of our meal we had already booked to go back in a few weeks. Can’t really give it higher praise than that and, as I said, I’m not sure I have the words to do so.

Two down, eighteen to go!

I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up for the Summer Boot Camp at AG Fitness, but with the first week complete I’m (already) glad I did.

The sessions – run on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings – are HIIT based (oh yeah, I’ve got all the lingo now!) aka High Intensity Interval Training , which is exactly what it sounds like. A new form of hell on earth!!

OK, it’s not actually that bad; there is a range of exercises which you rotate through, we did a set of 6 repetitions of each; 15 secs exercise, then 15 secs rest on last Wednesday night. I’ve already got some favourites (ones that I find easy) and some really-not-favourite-AT-ALL (ones that are mostly pain, and suffering, and ouchy making). They are all designed to exercise different muscle sets, and ranges of motion, some of which I didn’t even realise existed, I’m learning so much!

It is hard work but it is rewarding. Admittedly after the very first session I was a bit wobbly, and close to throwing up, but I’m putting that down to a crap sleep the night before, and possibly not eating enough so I ran out of energy towards the end, and I was probably pushing myself too hard during the exercises as well (the last three I did were half-efforts at best). After the second session (at 9am on a Saturday morning, which is just cruel) – which was fewer exercises but 30 seconds long – I didn’t feel as bad.

And I’m sure I’ll get use to my muscles aching ALL the damn time, right?

There are 12 of us doing boot camp, so every session we split into groups of four and work through the exercises. From pushups and planks, to russian twists and battle ropes, with added kettlebell fun and even a set on the heavy punch bag (picture your favourite politician and go!), it’s varied, and as you are only doing each exercise for 15 secs at a time it’s… manageable.

Part of bootcamp inlcudes an (optional) one hour nutrition session, which was very useful as it was aimed at making sure we were eating the right kind of food to give us the energy to do the exercises. I finally understand what all that macros stuff is about – bootcamp, exercising your body AND your mind, who knew!

It’s been fun so far, and a lot of credit goes to our trainers Juan and Andy, both of whom keep things relaxed and friendly, and very far removed from what I imagined a boot camp to be. Add in some good music being belted out, plus the support everyone in the group is giving each other, and I’m already considering signing up for the next session. One step at a time though!

And I guess that’s what has surprised me the most, how much I’m enjoying it. I’ve been a member of numerous gyms in the past and never stuck with them, I’ve tried a one-on-one personal trainer but that just felt awkward, but working out in a group, in a great environment, really helps. The last time I actually enjoyed exercising was when I joined jogScotland (alas my wonky knee permits much running these days) and I know the camaraderie of exercising with others is a big part of how this works (for me at least). Ohhh and a small added bonus is the Facebook group where we can share our common moans that seem to kick in a couple of days after each session; ‘sneezing really hurts’ and ‘I didn’t even know I had muscles there!’ being the most common, so far.

Despite the torture… sorry, “carefully crafted exercises”, I’m really enjoying it, even though it has highlighted just how unfit I’ve gotten the past few years. I’d say if you are in the Glasgow area, and have been wary of doing something like this, I heartily recommend giving it a try.

Keep an eye on the AG Fitness Facebook page, or their website, for the next one.

Ohh and there were (optional) “before” photos taken as well, I’ll share that and the “after” photo in about 18 weeks time!

* I was in no way asked, paid, prompted, or cajoled to write this. To be honest, I’m hoping if the trainers read it they might go easy on me in the future!! (haha, no chance!)

• A stylist’s five steps to make getting dressed easier
  For some people, getting dressed in the morning is a joy. Good for them.
  In my ongoing route to minimal, I’m taking notes from this.

• People who talk to pets, plants, and cars are actually totally normal, according to science
  I frequently talk to my plants. “Harold, you look dapper today,” I compliment my tiny green succulent. “Did you miss me?” I ask my Chinese evergreen. Once they begin plotting their slow, synchronized deaths, our conversations tend to intensify.
  AKA people are people

• Detroit Is Stomping Silicon Valley in the Self-Driving Car Race
  General Motors testing fully autonomous development fleet vehicles on public roads in Michigan.If you’re betting on Silicon Valley stars like Google, Tesla, and Uber to free you from your horrorshow commute with autonomous driving technology, don’t.
  But given the state of car technology UX, this doesn’t bode well

• A “grammar vigilante” sneaks around at night fixing an infuriatingly common error on public signs
  In the world of grammar sticklery, there’s no rest for the weary. A video published today by the BBC shows an anonymous “grammar vigilante” roaming the streets of Bristol, in the UK, adding apostrophes where they’re missing and covering unnecessary ones.
  I can almost picture the massive spotlight, illuminating the clouds with an apostrophe – to the grammar cave!

• Soviet women snipers
  Sniper Lyuba Makarova on the Kalinin front. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, hundreds of thousands of Soviet women sprang to join the war effort, enlisting as nurses, clerks, cooks — and snipers.
  Women can be killers too.

• Everything Is Broken
  Once upon a time, a friend of mine accidentally took over thousands of computers. He had found a vulnerability in a piece of software and started playing with it. In the process, he figured out how to get total administration access over a network.
  If you are at all nervous about IT Security, skip this one… gives me the heebee-jeebies!!

• This is how the next World War starts
  With one miscalculation, by one startled pilot, at 400 miles an hour. And now that Russia is determined to destabilize the West, this scenario is keeping the military establishment up at night.
  OK, time to build a nuclear bunker…

• Living a Lie: We Deceive Ourselves to Better Deceive Others
  People mislead themselves all day long. We tell ourselves we’re smarter and better looking than our friends, that our political party can do no wrong, that we’re too busy to help a colleague.
  Flipside holds true as well “I am not as smart as my colleagues”.

• Treating depression is guesswork. Psychiatrists are beginning to crack the code.
  Here’s a frustrating fact for anyone who has been prescribed medication or therapy for depression: Your doctor doesn’t know what treatment will work for you.
  Advances in this area are heartening, I know too well that current approaches are very hit or miss.

• Ethics can’t be a side hustle
  In the last few months I’ve had a lot of designers ask me “Where can I do good work?”And they don’t mean “good” as in quality. They mean good as in “on the side of the angels.” They look at the world, they see a garbage fire, and they wanna help put it out. That’s commendable.
  Something for everyone to heed.

• For 18 years, I thought she was stealing my identity. Until I found her
  A woman apparently using my name meant a nightmare of unpaid traffic fines and a criminal record. But when I tracked her down, a different story emerged.
  Journalism 101: let the story write itself. This could’ve been a piece on identity theft, but then, it wasn’t.

Last year I bought a 12.9″ iPad Pro to replace an ageing 2012 MacBook Air which, like its owner, is noticeably slowing as time passes.

I did my usual round of research before making the jump.

I love my MacBook, is does everything I need but the screen is a shortcoming, especially these days switching from iPhone/iPad to the MacBook was jarring. I could’ve gotten a retina screened MacBook but that’s when the second consideration kicked in (our old friend money).

For a lot less moolah I could get a gorgeous big retina screen, if I switched to an iPad and having seen pictures of the 12.9″ retina screen I was very tempted.

I had an iPad Air and a bluetooth keyboard already so had a sense of what I could, and couldn’t, do if I switched operating systems. I then spent 20 mins or so in the Apple Store trying the iPad Pro out and came away convinced I could make the switch.

And I’ve been pretty happy with the decision. Over the past year or so I’ve rarely used my MacBook and, other than still needing to get a better keyboard, if feels like it was the right thing to do. Also, the Apple Pencil is a thing of simple wonder (and no, I can’t draw for shit, but it sure is fun trying).

But.

Well, of course there is a but…

The other day I was looking for some old photos and needed to fire up my MacBook to attach an old external drive. It was odd going back to a laptop (I use one at work but it’s Windows and that switch is odd enough) and I had to stop myself from touching the screen several times.

However, after about 10 mins the old muscle memory returned and it felt… faster, quicker, I felt like I wasn’t being hindered by the device I was using, something I hadn’t really noticed when I started using the iPad Pro, probably because I was busy re-learning how to do things, rather than noting how quickly I was managing to do them.

The iPad Pro hardware is much faster to react to things within an app but as I Alt+Tab’d my way around the MacBook I realised that one area where the iPad is lacking is in just this kind of multi-tasking. It is possible to do what I was doing on the iPad but because it’s using iOS, and crucially I have to take a hand off the keyboard to four finger swipe between apps, it left me with the impression that I was working faster on my MacBook than I could manage with my iPad.

And it was noticeable enough that it’s been bothering me (bothering me enough to write a post about it!).

What was going on?

Was it just because I’ve been using macOS (OSX) for so long now it’s more familiar than iOS, so feels more comfortable and, somehow, ‘faster’? Was it because I still don’t feel like iOS is fully suited to ‘work’ (even though I’ve been using it that way for a while now)?

I’m not sure, and maybe it’ll just take me more time to feel comfortable with iOS as my main interface. But (there’s that word again) it’s been a year, so if I’m not used to it by now, well, will I ever be?

Maybe it’s because I use a computer all day at work (an IBM ThinkCentre black box with a keyboard and a mouse), and have done for cough years, and that re-enforces the notion of ‘getting things done’ that is still mentally mapped to that form of working, hands on keyboard. Or maybe it’s my physical model that needs to adjust to the mix of movements that iOS requires? I can’t help but think that periodically lifting a hand to the screen and away from the primary input device still feels wrong.

Or maybe it’s because I’m a power user, I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts and inherently, because of the limitations of iOS in that department, it will never feel as fast.

Who knows.

The only problem I have now is that the thought is in my head and the lure of new shiny is strong.

Because, new shiny!!

And I am weak.

So so weak.

P.S. This is not a long winded way of saying I bought an new MacBook. Honest.