Ross's Micro Blog

The brilliant Chaz Hutton on drawing comics, even if you can’t draw!

https://medium.com/@chazhutton/how-to-draw-comics-when-you-cant-actually-draw-dd0b8b684562

Today, I took the boy to a cartoon-drawing workshop in a library. A brilliant free activity. I didn’t quite know what I was getting into, but I think I had more fun then he did! https://rosswintle.uk/2018/08/cartooning/

Some in my industry rally against the use of the knowledge-assuming word “just”. (As in “Just do this thing”)

But you can avoid the word “just” and still assume a heap of knowledge and make someone feel stupid.

Maybe I should be posting more about what I do, rather than what others are doing. But…there are challenges in that. https://rosswintle.uk/2018/08/what-i-do/

Creating and Consuming – why this is a tricky thing to get the balance of, and why I want to try and get back to creating: https://rosswintle.uk/2018/08/creating-and-consuming/

I confess, this is not really the day I had planned.

If all the broken things could fix themselves that would be awesome.

Thanks.

Weird A’ Level results/going to Uni fact: The grades I needed to get my first choice Uni place were a LOWER points score than my second choice Uni.

(Do they still assign “points” to grades?)

This sucks. Twitter – which, early on, was built on the work of third party developers using their API – are locking their API down and forcing people to use their own app. This is incredibly sad.

I’ve mentioned my “SchoolBot” a few times. My crazy idea to have a central “brain” for useful primary school information. I took some time to write up what this is, what it does, why I made it, and what its status is.

https://rosswintle.uk/2018/08/about-schoolbot/

Gosh, I’m completely incapable of short-form writing. 🙄

Not a bad afternoon with two small kids in tow!

#dadOps

✅ Visit library, sign up for summer reading challenge, get books, ask about re-registering
✅ Visit outlet centre, do mini treasure hunt
✅ Buy drawing pads for holiday
✅ Coffee + playtime
✅ Buy holiday clothes
✅ 👋 to Mum at work
✅ Buy milk & things for tea
✅ Get boy a haircut

Will I, one day, think “I wish I’d paid more attention to BlockChain in the late 2010’s and not dismissed it as hype?”

Really feeling like I like #Vue computed properties and #Laravel‘s accessors – feels so much like functional programming, which I LIKE!!

After Tim Nash’s security talk last week, and other various things that I’ve read or that have happened (e.g. https://w4e.uk/brewhack) I find myself thinking: how is the internet not 100% in the hands of malicious hackers right now? How is it not just a broken mess?

As an introvert I do sometimes feel like I have a parenting tank. And right now it’s quite empty.

I have walked the fine line between a) giving my child pocket money, the freedom to spend it as they please and to learn about money and its limitations and saving and spending and b) controlling what they own…

…and my child now has a talking watch with games on it.

🤷‍♂️

No one’s listening here are they?

No?

OK. Rant:

Small IT companies: STOP PRETENDING YOU KNOW HOW TO DO WEB HOSTING.

Proper web hosting companies are cheaper than you and better than you at this job.

Thanks.

Rant Over

The other day I saw an ISS pass and tracking the same path and speed just ahead of it was a fainter light. I THINK it was the SpaceX Dragon supply capsule on its way back to earth. Amazing. 😎😯

The NHS choices site is really rather good. Enables easy comprehension of medium/long form technical content even on mobiles. Great job!! 👍