Ignite 4
Mar 8th
Right, I’m blogging about this. I wasn’t going to, but I feel the urge to now, so here goes….
Firstly, I ask you to consider one thing. Could you stand on stage, in front of 100 strangers and talk about something that you are passionate about?
I suspect most of us would say “No way“. With that in mind……..
What is Ignite? Let me tell you (well, let O’Reilly tell you as it is….!)
Ignite goes global—from March 1-5, 2010, 50+ Ignites will take place in cities around the world. Upwards of 10,000 entrepreneurs, technologists, DIYers, creative professionals, and enthusiastic knowledge-seekers will gather in local pubs, theaters, and other convivial venues for an evening that is a unique blend of networking, information, and fun, encapsulated in the Ignite motto: “Enlighten us, but make it quick.”
In talks that are exactly five minutes long, Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds.
Understand now? Cool. So this was Cardiff’s 4th Ignite, after 3 pretty awesome ones (2 in particular because of the speakers 
). I know how hard it is to get up on stage, in front of 100 – 150 people (most of them strangers) and talk about something that is passionate to you. You’re never going to please everyone.
The planning and effort that goes into organising these events is epic. My input was minimal (really, setting up the slides, and introducing people on stage. Oh and buying the speakers drinks if I could find them!). The effort that Claire Scantlebury and Neil Cocker put in, along with Rob Ashelford at the WMC was insane. And yes, it was all done in their free time, to make the evening good for everyone who came. Also a massive thanks to Ruby Samba, who kindly played at the after party in Ffresh, absolutely amazing.
And all in all, I think it was a good event. Ok, so some of the speakers were different. But if it was the same every time, then people wouldn’t want to come, would they? Variety is the spice of life. One of the best things about Ignite is that as the hosts, we get to see the slides before the event, but have no idea what people are actually going to stand up and say. It’s as exciting for us as it is for you!
So yes, after this event one journalist wrote an article that, in my opinion, was a bit harsh. But, that is my opinion on that article, and I’m entitled to it, just as they are entitled to write what they did. What upset me was that it got published on a popular website with such appalling grammar and spelling, even getting names wrong, and using old pictures from previous events. I just think if you’re going to be critical, at least get the basics right out of respect. But that doesn’t reflect badly on me, I didn’t write it. That’s all.
Personally, I think the only fault from this event was that we didn’t have more speakers. And to be honest, we were let down at the last minute with this, which is a risk you take when everything going on is voluntary.
And that’s Ignite, a free event, where 95% of the people there come for the social side of it, and to hopefully be enlightened by the speakers. If it doesn’t float your boat, that’s absolutely fine, and lets not be too harsh about Journalists, after all, it’s their job to spark opinions, get people talking etc, it’s just unfortunate that it’s Ignite that got picked on this time.
So that’s that. A massive thanks to all the speakers, and to everyone who came along. It takes a lot of guts and courage to stand up on stage and discuss something you are passionate about.
Now ask yourself, “Could I do that?”
If the answer is “Yes“, then get in touch, Ignite Cardiff 5 is already in the pipeline 
Looking back…..
Feb 26th
Every now and again I try to take a step back from everything going on around me, regroup, and reassess where things are heading, what path my personal life is taking and how things can be changed.
This weekend, I’m back in Norwich for various reasons, so thought I’d spend some time analysing things that have happened recently, from my “outside” perspective.
Whilst doing this, I kept on hearing my Gran’s voice in my head, saying certain sayings. For example, she always compares modern day events to what they would have been like during the war. I thought I’d look up some of these sayings, and bring them into my outsiders perspective. Make sense? No? Well, read on, it might become clear…!
The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without. – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Pretty self explanatory I guess. To put into my perspective, I feel like I’m in some kind of self-destruct mode. I try to defend myself as much as possible, it’s human nature after all, but recently, looking back, I can see now that it’s really made me worse inside, even if the exterior seems to be ok.
War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man. – Napoleon Hill
It really is a dog-eat-dog world we live in. There’s this lady who gets my train most days. Now, there used to be a time where a man would give up his seat for a woman, without any hesitation. Ok, so most of the time people give up their seats for the elderly, disabled, pregnant and so on, but if you’re fit and well, it’s a real free-for-all. So yes, this lady, every day, she basically takes a run up on to the train, barges through to ensure that *she* has a seat. Not a thought for anyone else. It’s petty, I know, but there are elderly people left standing, and it is only a 15 minute ride, but that is not the point. We just seem to have lost that community spirit, you know what I mean?
War is never a solution; it is an aggravation. – Benjamin Disraeli
As I look back over the past few months, I have to admit that at times, I’ve been guilty of raging war in scenarios where it wasn’t needed, and it has indeed aggravated people. Mainly in my personal life, I have been all to quick to snap, react and later regret my actions, by which time I’ve caused the aggravation and made things a whole lot worse. If I just took that time to think “Is this really the best thing to do now?” or “Maybe I’ll just let it simmer, and hope it doesn’t boil over”, then maybe I could have avoided such aggravation.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. – John F. Kennedy
Ok so not everything that I’m looking back over can be controlled by my actions, but, enough of it can for me to make a big difference in the way things have been, and will be for the rest of the year. But basically, if things need to change, then they need to be actioned quickly and effectively, before either the damage is irreversible, or unfixable at all.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s far too easy for us to kind of self destruct, to become our own enemy. And when this mindset sets in, it’s blows the petty, stupid things even more out of proportion (see *all* of the above, really!)
Sometimes, once you’ve stepped back to see what’s really going on, things just become so much clearer.
I’ve had similar thoughts, check out the Related Posts tab at the bottom to read of my musings!
my365, and other 2010 resolutions
Dec 30th
We all do it. The moment the clock strikes midnight on Thursday night, we will all feel that sense of “new start”. All be it just another day, psychologically the sense of starting a new year makes us all feel like we have the chance to start fresh. Which is cool.
So, this year, I have three resolutions (I’m not happy with just one, if I cock it up I feel down. With 3, I have three chances to get at least one of them through to June, right?!?!)
Here they are:
- my365. Recently, I’ve really got in to my photography again. New camera, loads of new accessories and friends who share the same interest has really got me in to just randomly going out and snapping away. So in 2010, I’m undertaking my own 365 challenge. A photo for every day of the year. I’ve adjusted some of the rules to suit my own needs (its a marathon, not a sprint, so I’m allowing myself to back-date pictures to specific days if i miss one, for whatever reason). My main rule: 1 picture each day, and the picture HAS to be taken that week. No reusing stock or anything.I actually spent a couple of days over Christmas making a my365 section for this website, integrated with Flickr and twitter, so I (and other people, if interested!) can keep track of my progress. Its nothing special, and most certainly hasn’t been cross browser tested yet, but come January 1st my365 will be up and running properly.
- Use my Gym membership (Wooo!). Ok, so this is *everyone’s* resolution, but for the first 6 weeks of the year I’m attempting to gain weight by hitting the gym at least 4 times a week, and eating the right stuff. I know this one won’t last (its pretty impossible to keep to a gym schedule when you have flexi time at work, that’s my excuse anyway!)
- No drinking on a school night. More so with the run up to Christmas, I found myself out later and later with work the next morning. Silly. So I plan to stick to one simple rule, Monday to Thursday evenings. I can go out or whatever, but, I must remain within the legal driving limit with regards to alcohol. To be honest, I don’t enjoy getting drunk really (I do, I just don’t like the next day!), so I’m cutting it out. Done.
That’s my three.
Wish me luck!!!
The Noughties
Dec 30th
So Friday see’s the start of a new decade. 10 years since we all thought the world would come to an end with the “Millennium Bug”. We’re all still here, right? :p
Ten years that have really flown by, and to be honest, have seen the most significant changes (personally) that I’ve experienced in my life-to-date.
To begin with, I’ve graduated (2:1 Hons in Internet Computing). I never thought that would happen (not because of a lack of self confidence, just because I never really “planned” to go to University. It’s one of those things that just happened). My 4 years at Aberystwyth (2002 – 2006) have been by far the best 4 years of my life, memories that I will never forget.
Secondly, I’ve moved away from my home city of Norwich, to Cardiff. Coming up to two years here now, but having the freedom to just pack up and move is something I really don’t want to let go of. I’ve met some awesome people here in Cardiff, and again it’s been one of those changes that has just felt right, you know what I mean?
I’ve also learned to drive. A simple thing, I know, but it’s just added to my freedom. I’m regretting not learning earlier (I didn’t bother until I graduated, as I wouldn’t have been able to afford a car and University). Still, my two years at College in Norwich (2000 – 2002) wouldn’t have been the same if I was the driver on all the random road trips!
Finally, I think I’ve changed so much over the past 10 years. I’ve experienced so much that I never thought I would, and achieved things that I didn’t think possible. Even now, as I write this, it makes me smile to look around me and see the friends and family I have, the opportunities I’ve been given and grasped, and the potential that 2010 and beyond has to offer.
On that note, I’m going to stop typing before this sounds like a speech from an award ceremony!
To 2010, may it be a fantastic year for us all
Paramore – Fricking Awesome
Dec 15th
I can’t even begin to describe how good Paramore were last night, so instead, I’ll let the videos do the, errr, singing.
Burnout
Nov 14th
I’ve been a web developer for over 3 years now (professionally), and a lot longer if you go back to when I first ever started to code (anything). It’s not a job for me, it’s a hobby and a passion, and something that I never want to stop doing. But still, every now and again, I get “Project Burnout”, where I just lose the concentration on a single piece of work, for varying reasons. This hasn’t happened for months now, but following on from an article I’ve just read, I thought I’d do a little post….!
So, I’ve tried to identify the reasons for burnout in web development, so I can try to reduce the likelihood of this happening in future projects I develop on, and if it does happen, try to establish likely causes and get round them:
- Lack of information – there is nothing more frustrating that not knowing exactly what needs doing before starting. Going in “blind” can have such a negative effect before you’ve really hit the code.
- Long projects – Occasionally, projects over run, and keep slipping further and further past the original deadline. Eventually, something has to give; and normally, its the developers willingness to continue working on the project until things are tidied up. Slippage causes upset and frustration for everyone, and that’s not a good mindset to be working in.
- Disruptions – Unavoidable, of course. But if they are kept to a minimum, we can hopefully minimise number 2!
- Paired Programming – It’s inevitable that a developer will always think their work can be better. That’s just us. So the longer a single developer spends on a piece of work, the more chance there is of them re-factoring when its not really needed. Introducing paired programming may not be the most cost effective method in the short term, but in the long run, it can have a massive improvement on the code produced, and the attitude of the developers involved.
- Let the developers have creative freedom – Again, 99% of developers will *want* to do things in the “coolest” way possible, using the latest technologies. This might add time to a project, but it could also increase the drive of the developer throughout.
Of course, the points above are based on my own personal opinions on what could cause burnout, from experience throughout my career, and in no way a criticism or reflection of my current employers development methods / teams, because, they are awesome. I’m extremely lucky with my current job, in that we are actively encouraged to use latest technologies, work together and such.
Many people think that a web developers job is easy and relaxed. Especially when they see staff rooms with games consoles etc for the staff to use. The Psychological effects of immense concentration for long periods of time are huge, and personally, I think web developers are high-level risks for burn out, which is exactly why they need that environment to just get away from it all.
(This blog post was inspired from a Wikipedia article relating to the Psychological effects of Burnout)
Spotify
Nov 8th
I love Spotify. I use it every day, and have many playlists (both collaborative and private). I’m a Premium subscriber too, and can thoroughly justify spending £10 a month for all the music.
But.
Spotify is lacking some real key features in my opinion. So, I thought I’d share:
- Sorting – At the moment, my playlists are all over the place. Just a simple “Sort by…” feature would be cool. Alphabetically would do the job a treat
- Downloaded tracks – Ok, so when I’m driving, I like to play my downloaded tracks instead of cocking about with weak 3g signals and so on. But, I’m limited to one playlist. Ideally, I’d like to be able to shuffle all my “downloaded” songs, or make a playlist on-the-fly from said downloaded songs.
- Add entire album to playlist on iPhone. In the main app, I can drag an album on to “new playlist” and it’ll save (duh) as a new playlist, titled nicely. I’d like to do that on my iPhone too, really
- Play in the background!!!! I know this is an Apple restriction, but I think (and hope) its only a matter of time before I can load Spotify AND text people. Really, Apple should just let go…..
That’s it for now, there will be more I’m sure!
Video of moi!?
Oct 31st
Unfortunately so! This is the video from the talk I did at Ignite Cardiff 3. I won’t go into detail, other than the basics:
- 20 Slides
- Auto rotate every 15 seconds
- Karaoke Style (Claire and Neil made the slides, I had 2 days to write the “content” for the talk)
Enjoy (if you can!)
Ignite Cardiff #3
Oct 17th
Ok, so, last Thursday I did another talk at Ignite Cardiff, (the 3rd Ignite in Cardiff, my second Ignite talk). This talk was different to the previous one, because it was a “Karaoke” talk. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the people watching), this didn’t involve any singing on my behalf (although, thanks to earlier speakers, the singing was covered!) Karaoke presentations involve the organisers (the amazing @Claire_s and @neil_raygun, from @boxuk and @nocci) creating a set of random slides, and myself and Rob (the other Karaoke speaker) having 3 days to create our talks (on anything we like) to match the slides.
Needless to say, 3 days of prep turned in to one night or mad googling (whilst England were playing….distractions!) to try and find something that would match the most random slides ever. Not helped by the fact that one of the slides, I can’t look at because I will start to giggle, and those of you who know me will know that once I start, I can’t stop.You’ll notice in the videos / images linked below that I’m holding my book. Yes, its naff doing a presentation with notes to prompt you, but my memory is poo, especially on a subject I know / knew nothing about it!!
Cut a long story short, Ignite Cardiff 3 was amazing, as always. All the speakers were awesome, anyone who has talked at Ignite before will appreciate how hard it is to stand up in front of 200 people and talk, so fair play to everyone that takes part.
Hopefully (or not) my speech will be online in Video format very soon, but for now, check out these videos of other Ignite speakers from the evening. or have a gander through some of the photos.
Ace all round
Mark
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