Nick Jordan

Watching TV

Nick — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:07:21 +0000

There’s something fascinating about time-lapse photography. This is just a simple video of me watching a bit of TV in the evening, but the accelerated time makes even this rather mundane activity take on a whole new life.

Google Buzz

Nick — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:27:42 +0000

A quick poll.

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Sheldon Rocks!

Nick — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:12:13 +0000

Jim Parsons, the Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper, plays a huge succession of different characters in this cancer charity video. Joyful, absolutely joyful.

Homeopathy is Nonsense

Nick — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:40:04 +0000

A nice little article about tomorrow’s planned protest against companies like Boots selling this snake oil despite stating that they have no evidence that it works.

Homeopathy does not work beyond placebo, it is a menace to public health and a drain on the limited resource of the NHS. It is an 18th century quack medicine consisting of magical rituals practised by deluded, cargo-cult “doctors” that has no place in government thinking, and it should not be endorsed by the registered pharmacists who are at the frontline of public health in the UK.

Hear, hear!

Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed

Nick — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:06:59 +0000

If you haven’t yet come across Show of Hands, here’s a great place to start. I’ve liked this song for a while now, and every time I hear it I like it more. It’s a really good dig at the bankers and politicians who have got us into our current financial mess. Enjoy.

Job Hunting

Nick — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:32:22 +0000

I was made redundant just before Christmas. It wasn’t unexpected; in fact I had a couple of weeks’ garden leave before the redundancy was confirmed. I decided to take a couple more weeks over over the holiday period to relax and contemplate my future, which I think was a good idea. As of yesterday I’m actively seeking employment as a Web Developer, working primarily with PHP and MySQL, so if you know of anything or would like a copy of my CV, please get in touch.

Update: I have now found a job, which I start on Monday 18th January. I’m very glad to have found something so quickly and I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into it.

Good Morning, Sir

Nick — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:12:57 +0000

I hope everyone had as good a Christmas Day as I did. Good food, plenty of booze and great company – what more could you ask for? I also managed to get some lovely presents. Vally bought me something I’ve wanted for ages – an alarm clock from Voco, which features the voice of Stephen Fry and provides a lovely, gentle way to wake up in the morning. I tried it out today, of course. I have to play with my toys.

Today I may be having a wander around the shops before indulging in more nice food and drink. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.

First Impressions of Google Wave

Nick — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:23:26 +0000

I’ve been playing with the preview of Google Wave for a few days now and overall I’m quite impressed. It’s still a little rough around the edges but I think that by the time it’s launched in 2010 it’ll be much better. And as developers start to build extensions it’ll become even more useful. I’m already pretty happy to use it for collaborating with friends on small projects and as a replacement for email and IM as Google intend. The only downsides are that it clearly uses a lot of Javascript and users with older machines may not be entirely happy with its speed and that it’s a bit more complicated than regular email and instant messaging.

Incidentally, I have a number of invites to give away, so if I know you and you’d like one, drop me a line.

Music Streaming On My Phone

Nick — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:40:43 +0000

I have a Nokia 5800 mobile phone, which I really love. It’s easily the best mobile I’ve ever had. I’ve recently been playing with the podcast client, which is pretty good, and also the Last.fm client, Mobbler, which is great. But until Spotify release their client for my phone, something I’ve been awaiting eagerly, I wanted something that would allow me greater control over what I listen to. At this point, step forward MeCanto. Sign up, install the software on your computer and also the phone client and you’re away. Instantly, you can listen to all your music on the move, regardless of how large your collection is. The software uploads your collection (limited to a speed you can control) to the MeCanto servers, from where you can stream it to any computer with a browser or to your phone. And if it hasn’t been uploaded yet that’s OK as long as your computer at home is on, as it’ll grab whatever you want to listen to from there.

The service even preserves the file structure on your computer and allows you to connect multiple machines, so a whole family could share a collection with each other. I really am very impressed. It doesn’t quite do away with the need for an MP3 player, since the 3G/WiFi coverage required isn’t yet universal, but it comes very close indeed. Top marks.

Update: The Spotify client for Symbian phones is now available! Point your mobile’s browser at m.spotify.com to get it.

file:///C:/Users/nick/Documents/job/Nicholas%20Jordan%20-%20CV.doc

A Hymn to Tea

Nick — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:34:44 +0000

I’ve been showing this to friends for ages and thought it was about time I shared it with the rest of the world. Enjoy!