What I Learnt Today

Today I learnt that Ronnie Corbett is still doing his thang. Who would have guessed?

I also learnt that Apple owners have bigger dongles.

Thanks to both Mukesh and Donna for forwarding this to me.

What I Learnt On 13th January in other years

13th January 2016 It is amazing that anyone’s luggage ever makes it to its destination

Preparation – 

Three words to keep in mind – Simplicity, clarity, brevity.

‘Start with the Beginner’s Mind’ by  looking at things from the point of view of your audience. 

‘Plan Analog’ – plan your talk away from your computer, on paper.

What is your absolutely central point? Why does it matter.

“If the audience could remember only one thing (and you’ll be lucky if they do), what do you want it to be?”

Remember that you are crafting a story – Keep things simple, using examples and stories. A presentation is never just about the facts.

Design

People cannot read a slide and listen to you at the same time. 

If your slides consist of bullet points with everything you are going to say, people will not listen to you. (they can read faster than you can speak).

The purpose of a slide is to enhance, but not replicate, your narrative. If used, slides should consist of strong visual images.

Presenters too often use their slides for two functions that are better fulfilled by other means – they use them as speakers notes, and to be handouts or lecture notes. (”I know you can’t read this slide, but…..“)It is better to have written notes to prompt you to remember the flow of your talk, and to prepare separate handouts containing detailed information that you want people to know, (or provide a web link). 

Delivery

Be completely present – Presentation requires your full presence at that time and place.

You need solid content and logical structure, but you also have to make a connection with the audience.

What I Learnt On 12th January in other years

12th January 2016 I found this humerus…

12th January 2014 10 Amazing Ways to Stop Overeating, and other scientifically based life changing tips

There are two kinds of computer users – those who have lost data in a crash, and those who are about to.

It appears that a blackout in town this morning corrupted the database of our software program – which caused a problem when the server was restarted.

Bloody rain.

Some measures you can take may prevent this from happening to you.

These include

– having an Uninterruptable Power Supply (or backup battery), that can ‘order’ your server to shut down in an orderly fashion if the mains power is interrupted.

– a RAID system (where data is copied to two drives at the same time) is a godsend when you have a hard drive crash.

But neither of these prevented our database from becoming corrupted.

When you have a ‘mission dependent’ failure at work, as a cold sweat breaks out on your forehead, you may find yourself willing to pay anything for a timely backup, 

And now that all your photos, movies and music live on your hard drive, you need a reliable plan at home also.

Remember that taking a backup is half the work. You need to regularly perform a check restore of a backup to make sure that is working, and complete!!!!!!!

In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, many sites have recently posted good advice about backing up your data.

What I Learnt On 11th January in other years

11th January 2016 Look up here I’m in heaven – Vale David Bowie

Our family motto is ‘If it Ain’t Broke, it Ain’t Ours’.
It has also been very wet up here in the Northern Rivers this last month.

These two facts are bad news for mobile phones – we have acquired some expertise in drying them out.

Water is the natural enemy of electronic devices, and will generally void any warranty. (The manufactures put moisture detectors in the devices – they change colour when they get wet. This is the first thing a repairman will check, and will go no further if it shows a colour change).

Alex’s phone spent yesterday enjoying the summer rain. (Pant’s pockets in the washing machine have also been a good source for our experiments)

If your phone or ipod gets wet, Will the ‘electronic genius’ suggests you follow the same steps he does.

1. Turn it off immediately. If it is off, do not turn it on to see if it works.Sometimes the phone will work when it first gets wet, but the moisture insidiously damages the insides over the next few days. 
2. Open the case, remove the battery, if you can (which you can’t on an iPod or iPhone) 
3. Blow the air from a hot hair dryer over the phone, battery and cover till there are no signs of moisture, and then some extra. This takes 10-15 minutes. 
4. Make a ‘phone paella’. Put some dry, uncooked rice in a bowl and bury your phone and battery under the rice. (Rice is hygroscopic – which if I remember my chemistry correctly means it absorbs moisture from the surroundings)  
5. Leave in the rice overnight, and check it all in the morning. 

Hopefully you won’t need this advice. Some phones will be so wet that they are unsalvageable. Others will take quite a bit of water without damage. There will be some ‘in-between’ occasions when this treatment may make a difference.

Have you any experience of wet phones? Let us know in the comments.

What I Learnt On 10th January in other years

10th January 2016 Cricket bats in the wild

Today I finally defeated the God King – freeing mankind from our struggle against repression, and securing the Infinity Blade for the forces of good!

What I Learnt On 9th January in other years

9th January 2016 Meraesthesia Aphonia – that phantom phone in pocket feeling

9th January 2012 TUAW Best of 2011 Awards