One of the highlights of last week’s New Adventures conference, which I attended as part of Booking.com’s recruitment away-team, was Robbie Manson’s talk on mindfulness. His thoughtful presentation, coupled with a laconic, deliberate delivery made him sound like the smartest Scot you’ve ever met.
I like Getting Things Done. I really do. But, ever since reading the book and subscribing to the philosophy, I’ve had trouble nailing down a process that entirely works for me. At the core of Allen’s recommendations is this idea of a “trusted system” and it’s that aspect that I have struggled with. I’ve tried… [read more]
2011 was an odd year. I’ve been bouncing back and forth to my hometown for fifteen years, moving away then moving back in ever-decreasing circles, but until last year I’d always stayed in the UK. And yet, to claim that our move to Amsterdam in April was something of a big deal is put to… [read more]
Back at the junction of 2010 and 2011, for whatever reason, I neglected to record a retrospective of the previous year’s music-listening activity – or indeed, any sort of look back at the preceding twelve months. These gaps in recorded history niggle at me; like a lot of anally-retentive computer nerds I am an inveterate… [read more]
These road signs strike me as slightly scary. The caption reads “Area protected by DNA-spray” but it’s not entirely clear how that process works. Will the spray somehow extract my own DNA for later identification purposes? Perhaps it will make bits of me drop off for police retrieval. Or maybe the sign is trying to… [read more]
Finally the scaffolding and coverings have been (mostly) removed from the new Stedelijk Museum at the south-west end of Museumplein, and the new building is looking pretty impressive. Like so much modern Dutch architecture it is big on counterweighted overhanging parts (see for example the various hotels and things up near the central library),… [read more]
Last Sunday it was Amsterdam’s annual Sinterklaas parade, when the Saint and his ‘helpers’ arrive on the boat from Spain and parade through the streets of Amsterdam distributing sweets and biscuits to the children lining the route. As Nicholas is the patron saint of the city (as well as children and sailors) there is an… [read more]
Well, that sucks. Facebook are currently displaying a notification at the top of my News page informing me that they will no longer support blog RSS imports as of November 22. I can’t really see what the benefit of this decision is to Facebook. They will be losing a huge amount of content, all of… [read more]
I was recently asked whether an online portfolio is a must-have for web designers and front-end developers applying for work. I thought it was an interesting question, and deserving of further examination. One of my responsibilities at Booking.com is hiring new design talent, and inevitably part of that involves reviewing applicant CVs. The job description… [read more]
I cycled past the #OccupyMuseumplein “protest” this morning; looks like they have a ways to go before they reach the scale of #OccupyWallStreet or #OccupyRome…