84 years ago today a thirteen-year-old girl was given an autograph book, bound with red-and-white checked cloth, for her birthday. She decided to use it as a diary and chronicle her life; tragically, only for the next two years. That was Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, born in Germany, who became an unassuming...

A few days ago I was introduced to someone. It was a brief encounter while I passed through a room of people with a friend. My friend introduced me: "Hi Colin, nice to see you again. This is my friend David" Colin: "Ah, good to meet you Dave". I immediately stepped in, "Hi Colin, please call me David". I've never...

I recently took part in the excellent Over/Under weekly series, hosted by Hyde on LazyBear. I was asked to rate and comment on a few topics, and over/under rate them. As part of my response on Hyde's blog I had the opportunity to pose one question to the next participant. This week I learned that my question was...

Can anyone tell me anything about these? I know almost nothing about them. They were my dad's, but I have no idea when he bought them, why, or how old they are. He passed away six years ago. Mum moved house four years ago, and as part of the tidy up I came across these. She has no information about them. I know it's...

Another weekend, another Saint's Day in our village in Spain. Someone arrives very early in the morning and creates this just outside our door, at the foot of a set of about fifty steps up towards the church. There will be a procession later past it, and a few others around the village. Im not religious, but I love...

It watches over me, constantly. I feel it judging me, intrusively. From above, assuming. Taunting me, regularly. Overseeing me, intentionally. With regularity, pulsing. The desire to touch it, possibly. Press the red button, boldly. For what purpose, pausing. I acknowledge it, respectfully. I feel no fear,...

Each week Hyde at Lazybear asks a fellow blogger to respond to a set of prompts, deciding if each topic is over- or under-rated. There's also one random question set by the previous week's participant. Hyde also responds to the cues. It was an honour to be asked by Hyde to take part in the Over/Under series this...

I met a man today. A stranger. I spoke to him. Setting the sceneIt's a miserable day. Wet, damp, cold. It's June, and I can only assume mother nature didn't get the memo that it's summer. Anyway, it's Scotland so we're used to random seasons. I grasped the opportunity to take the dog a walk as I'd calculated...

It's amazing where you can end up when wandering the Web. Today I woke up at 3:30am. I had a drink of water, then lay back down. Normally I just go back to sleep. For some unknown reason I picked up my tablet and had a quick look online, reading a few blog posts from sites I follow. On James' Coffee Blog, I stumbled...

I have blogged before about why I like to support as many of the small, independent developers that I can. Specifically those who develop software that I actually use. Nothing is really free, and people have taken a lot of time and effort to produce some of the amazing tools I use every day. Of course, as part of...

It's that time again where I rant reflect on the impact of AI on my life. Those who follow along will know I have no time for such Automated Ignorance. The uninformed may see it as the next big thing; something new and sparkly; the enhancement to their dominance. Recently I was incandescent (i like a bit of...

I guess we all have a favourite part of the day. A moment in time that you look forward to, perhaps for a specific reason. For me, I have one standout point in the day that I always enjoy. You may well scoff, but it's a moment where I will accept no interruptions. I feel bereft if I have missed it, and look forward...