I’m a freak: a computer programmer that doesn’t drink coffee. I don’t drink tea either. Or hot chocolate (unless I’ve just been swimming with dolphins in the seas off New Zealand and hypothermia is a possible concern). I like ice cold drinks: Fruit juice, orange squash, Coke or 7UP, and mostly just water. One of [...]
About 2.5weeks ago I was ridiculously sleepy in the middle of the day, couldn’t think and was basically wiped out. It was like having the flu only without the fever or any actual sickness. I eventually realised that a lot of the symptoms pointed to Seasonal Affected Disorder. Yes folks, I haz the sad. After [...]
A criticism levelled at the iPad is that it’s just for browsing the web, watching movies and playing games. Since I have such a crap broadband connection, I don’t watch movies and downloading massive games is out the window too. After some experimentation, I’ve found a few really good apps for actually doing some productive [...]
I won’t lie. One of the reasons for buying a new iPad was so that when we’re away in Kerry I could backup the images, show them off to family and hopefully get a head start on editing them. I’d hoped PhotoSmith would be the answer but version 1 left me a bit cold: yes, [...]
I’ve recently started listening to quite a few podcasts, particularly at work or in the car using my fancy iPhone dock. Here’s my favourites: Ruby Freelancers: I’m not a freelancer (yet, maybe) but this podcast is full of really good information. How to find clients, manage with clients, contracts, expectations — all good info for [...]
I spent this Saturday at BizCamp Limerick — a thoroughly enjoyable, interesting and educational experience. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend every presentation but here’s some brief notes from those I did attend. Mary Carty gave a great introduction to email marketing: It’s free; Be personal; Start a conversation; Get permission, never buy a list; Make it [...]
I took two days holidays last week to attend the FOWA Dublin conference and thought I’d contribute to the wealth of blog posts on this event: Ryan Carson gave a very practical, actionable talk about starting a small web business. A terrific start to the event and well worth listening too. If nothing else, it [...]
My review rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an inspirational book; not in that fluffy, chirpy plastic way of too many popular books but in the shear darkness of the author’s story and his attitude during it. Part of the appeal of this book lies in the historical account from a survivor of the [...]
My review Rating: 4 of 5 stars First off, you’re probably not going to get to a 4 hour week and certainly not working as an employee. However, this book is a must read simply because of the way the author makes you look at things differently and turns established notions on their head. It’s [...]
My review rating: 4 of 5 stars A very interesting book about how an overabundance of choice creates stress and depression, particularly for a certain class of people (maximisers). Interestingly, it seems that I’m not a perfectionist but a maximiser (someone who always tries to find the absolute best course of action/choice). As an example, [...]