Recursive

Tag: Personal

  • Going Mac – Part 3

    So it seems I’m not going back. I still use a Windows machine for the family PC, but here I am on another MacBook Pro for work.

    Install Brew with this

    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

    Then save the following as a Brew bundle file, `Brewfile`

    tap "homebrew/bundle"
tap "homebrew/cask-fonts"
brew "n"
brew "powerlevel10k"
brew "zsh-autosuggestions"
brew "zsh-syntax-highlighting"
cask "alfred"
cask "font-fira-code"
cask "gitkraken"
cask "hyper"
cask "jetbrains-toolbox"
cask "notunes"
cask "rectangle"
cask "whatsapp"

    and run brew bundle.

    Install Oh My Zsh with

    sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

    Aliases to add to the end of ~/.zshrc:

    alias ls="eza"
alias l="eza -la"
alias c="clear"
alias cat="bat"

  • BBC Homepage Beta Using jQuery

    The BBC Beta Homepage is using jQuery, but unfortunately it’s ugly.

    I should qualify that – I think it’s a good move to make the homepage more personalisable, but does it have to look so Web2.0?
    Big text was a fad a year ago, but it’s too informal for an internationally recognised and respected news source, and it makes it look so childish – I dread to think what the new CBBC sites would look like!

    I realise this is only a beta, and may well change considerably, but without a bit of a shrink I won’t be likely to use it as a homepage tab.

  • Recursive Moved Itself

    The highly observant amongst you may have noticed that I have moved this blog to my personal domain, jezmckean.com.
    You should have been brought to this domain automatically, and I hope to fix the multitude of links online, but need the automatic move for those I can’t fix.
    I’ve done this because I’m working to separate my freelance business, jazzle.co.uk, from my personal stuff.

    Eventually, the blog subdomain at jazzle will be replaced with a work related one.

  • Baby Clothes & Gifts

    Some online companies have fantastic customer service and deserve to be mentioned.

    The latest of these I’ve dealt with is LouLouBee, who I contacted after discovering they are one of just two UK companies who sell Wry Baby products. (The other was very slow to respond and only stocked one item anyway.)

    LouLouBee were so friendly when I contacted them, asking for a particular product, and then again when I realised I’d made a mistake when ordering. I was even given some discount codes (which I gave to a work colleague) after I thanked them for being so helpful.

  • Rename Terrorism

    If only [tag]terrorism[/tag] were renamed to ‘mild trepidation-ism‘ it wouldn’t be so effective.

    Fortunately, I live in the [tag]UK[/tag], [tag]England[/tag] specifically, where our stiff-upper-lip-ed-ness prevents us from being too affected by [tag]terrorist[/tag] attacks.
    It’s only when services are damaged that the country is really slowed.

    Clearly there are some who unfortunately bear the brunt, often physically, in these attacks. Life for them, and their family and friends, may well be permanently changed.
    But we have to put things in perspective: many many more people are killed by smoking than by terrorists in the UK; many more people are injured in simple DIY accidents than by terrorists. So why be so scared of it?

    Being terrified by such a slim statistic is no way to live a life.

    Calling it ‘Terrorism’ only serves to make it more powerful.

  • Why I might leave my bank: The NatWest Card Reader

    Update, over 10 years later… I didn’t switch.

    nwcardreader.jpgI have received in the post a Card Reader from NatWest.

    They have designed this device to beef up the security around the (excellent btw) online banking.

    The flaw? The fact that we will eventually have to take the damn thing everywhere you go. And the card of course.

    The whole point of online banking is, afaiac, the fact that you can use it anywhere. Now we will only be able to use it IF we have the card reader with us, IF we have the card with us, and IF it actually works. And IF the battery isn’t dead.

    I regularly use NWOLB at home and at work, so what do they suggest? “You could use someone else’s.” Well that’s just stupid.

    Further issues:

    • I have two accounts with NatWest, both of which are accessible with the same login credentials. However, only one of those accounts has a card new enough to use this card reader. When will I therefore be forced to start using the card reader? I don’t know, but I expect that they will send me a new card (meaning my saved card details at various sites will have to be updated) and probably another card reader.
    • nwcardreaderpackaging.jpgThe amount of plastic, cardboard and paper used to send the card reader is shameful. From the outside in: Plastic postage bag, cardboard box, plastic tray, cardboard box (again), bubble-wrap, plastic bag.
    • It is my joint account which is ready for the card reader, but the other holder (the gf) wasn’t informed, and certainly wasn’t provided with a reader. She has also used NWOLB from work, so that’s four places we already use the service, i.e. three places we now won’t be able unless we carry this thing with us. Which we obviously can’t both do.

    I am happy to pay the few extra pennies it would take to cover the fraud that this device might prevent.
    I am happy to take the risk that it is my account that is compromised if they just abandon this daft device.

    I am genuinely considering moving to another bank if this reader turns out to be compulsory.

  • Scientology Is A Cult

    I just wanted to use the word ‘[tag]cult[/tag]’ it since it enrages them so.

    Religions generally preach peace, forgiveness, etc., yet it appears [tag]Scientology[/tag] is all about brain-washing, coercion, and the elimination of anyone who even considers any contrary beliefs.

    How anyone can defend such behaviour is beyond me.

    I am glad to learn that its requests to be recognised as a [tag]religion[/tag] here in the [tag]UK[/tag] have been rejected, but am concerned that it could still happen.

  • Run away from Dogma

    Lifehack: 10 MORE ways to create a breakthrough in your life.

    Run away from any kind of dogma. Dogma is the product of a closed mind. It’s an idea with a threat attached. If you suffer from dogma, get it out of your life. Let it go. Kick it out. Try thinking the opposite. Treat it like a crazy joke. Do anything you can to get rid of it. It’s the greatest source of barriers to breakthrough.

    I was surprised (and happy) to see an American openly recommending avoiding religion, even if he did include it as part of a greater collection. I then read that the author, Adrian Savage, is in fact an Englishman.

    He’s right though – traditions often stand in the way of innovation, and what’s more traditional than religion?

  • Neglect

    I’ve been neglecting this blog.

    The main reason is maybe because I’ve lost a lot of my time freedom by going and getting a real have to commute to the office and work regular hours job.
    But it could also be because I’ve not had much to talk about.
    Which in turn could be because I’ve got the new job.
    Which suits my blog’s name quite well.

  • Kenya: Reef Walk: Starfish

    On the last full day of the holiday, after the gf had injured her foot, I went on a guided walk out to the reef.
    It was about a kilometer out, and I was shown various creatures by the beach boy (who was probably my age actually).

    Starfish

    This is a male starfish (the females are 5 sided blobs), and I was told that there are also green and blue versions of this.
    You can see some damage to the end of the lowest ‘arm’ – this is where it had been nibbled at by a __ (I forget), and it was unable to move away from it. (I have video of Spider Starfish moving – it’s quite bizarre that they can even choose a direction to move!)