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On the Importance of understanding what you are writing about

Byrichard
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Nick O’Neill needs to do more research. Most of what he writes is speculative based on two or three months of research rather than sociological research. He goes after trends and gut feelings. As a result whilst his content is interesting to keep a track of it’s not relevant to the type of content I am looking for.

Podcasters and social media people need to take a more academic approach to their writing. I’ve found myself angry with what Leo laporte and other podcasters have said. Some of them are really pro certain technologies and boasting about their advantages without taking a media tech and society view.

What I mean by this is that technology and communication are cyclical. What was really common in older media is going to become common in new media as more people come to use it. Radio and letter writing are what podcasting and e-mail are to their contemporary period.

It’s the same with the iphones being bricked. There was such an outcry within the early adopter crowd that you’d think technology has never evolved. We all know that more apps would be created for the Ipod touch and iphone for example.

It’s interesting to see how things are evolving and how by looking at previous technological trends we can see how the future will take place. Those who write about technology need to have a media studies background for a proper, well based understanding of their topic of conversation.

If you want historical information you want to find professors and their PhD thesis, the same should be true about technological writing.

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Reading versus Videos

Byrichard

When I’m online I love reading. I read articles everyday. I see what people are doing. I see what’s happening in the world through text. When I see some information that may be of interest to me in video form I’m lazy. I hardly ever bother watching that video. I’d much prefer to have the text version.

I’ve often watched mobuzztv and Iused to enjoy watching the videos but recently I find myself watching them less and less, probably in part due to bandwidth constraints.

I especially avoid watching certain types of interviews because they’re dull. The interviewer has a bad technique and there’s no editing. I don’t want to hear someone talk for three minutes for something that can be summarised into one sentence. It’s a shame that video bloggers have not yet learned how to conduct proper interviews.

An interview should be well researched, both material wise, knowing what the person knows about the topic and then charisma wise. Get an interesting subject but unresearched and the questions won’t give good information. Get a poor speaker and there’s a good chance the audience will lose interest and stop listening.

get some cut aways and illustrate what the person is saying. Talking heads are boring.

Finally avoid being arrogant, don’t gloat because you’ve got an interview with someone most people have never heard of or care about.

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What I learned after three weeks with a cat

Byrichard

What I learned after three weeks with a cat is that they’re easy to take care of. Cleaning up the litter tray takes seconds and providing them with food two to three times a day is simple. It’s also simple to keep them entertained. A ball of string on a string and a laser pointer are great toys. They also enjoy shredding rolls of toilet paper so it’s good to be careful.


They like to go on a balcony and watch birds and they like to sit and “watch” a pipe. Don’t be tricked though. They are not watching the pipe. They are listening to the noises as people open and close taps, and as the pressure changes within the pipes make noise. I know because I tapped on the pipe and saw the cat stare intently at the source of the noise at his eye level.


If you’re planning to do anything then it’s a good idea to lock the balcony door. If he gets out he will stare at birds on rooftops for hours. As he’s happy to do this for hours at a time you may find yourself procrastinating for much longer than you would like.


Paradoxically this same cat will then nap during the afternoon and evening. He likes to go on the shelf where I have my clothes. He likes to investigate every bag and he is curious about everything he can find.


He loves investigating the lights that he sees on the ceilings during the day and night. I don’t mean incandescent bulbs. I mean the reflection that comes from cars, trucks and other vehicles as their windshields reflect light. He also likes the lights from these vehicles at night. He will sprint after, and try to catch them if they are in range.


Cats are independent and they don’t need your company for long. They’d be just as happy to see you for 20 minutes as you bring them food and then disappear, as to see you every few hours. If you spend too much time with a cat he will no longer care.


Keeping a window open so that the car can go onto the balcony and come back is unpleasant in cold weather, and those hours of exploration will result in you wearing clothes as if you were sitting outdoors for hours.


He comes in to have a drink of water and then he goes back out to explore. After a few more minutes he comes back in, meows and has some food before heading back outside again. This goes on for hours until it’s time for the next nap or you decide that it’s time for the human to go out.


I know that you can’t compare taking care of a toddler and a cat but I’d say that taking care of a toddler is more rewarding despite being much messier. You can play with a toddler and you can teach them new things. When you speak to them you see that they understand what you’re saying.


After three weeks of cat sitting I know two things. The first is that I am able to serve and it will live normally. The second is that they’re so independent that if you’re looking for an empathetic being you’re better served by being an uncle.


On Tuesday evening I go back to my normal life and we will see whether I miss having the company and responsibility of a cat. It’s easy to look after a cat. They take care of themselves. Being woken at 6-7 in the morning is fine.

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Indoor Training With The Elite Qubo Fluid

Byrichard

The Elite Qubo fluid is a home trainer using a viscous fluid to provide resistance when you’re cycling with your road bike indoors. It is easy to assemble and within minutes you can start using it. 


https://youtu.be/ulhpwTRvAfo


These devices cost less than apartment bikes and allow you to train with your existing bike within the comfort of your own home or garage over the winter months when wind, rain or snow would make cycling outdoors less practical. 


They also have the advantage that they’re cheaper than a gym membership and more flexible. My issue with gym memberships is that if you spent an equivalent amount of money you could buy some nice machines and keep them at home. With the equivalent of two years of gym membership you could buy an elliptical machine and use it from the comfort of your own home. 


I tested it twice today. The first time I tested it on the balcony for a few minutes just to get a feel for it and then I moved it and the bike indoors and trained for 23 minutes. 


With such a device you vary the intensity of the resistance by pedalling faster but also by changing gears. If you want more resistance you can shift up a gear or two and if you want to recover you can shift back down. This provides you with the intensity that you want. 


After the 23 minute workout I touched the radiator unit and it was very warm to the touch. I didn’t see how long it takes to cool down. When you are done with the workout you can remove the bike in seconds, fold away the trainer and store it out of the way until the next time you use it. 


If I setup the cateye device on the bike I am currently using I could log the distance and cadence of my training and observe the progression as well as get an estimate of the simulated distance I am riding. 

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On Smoke Filled Kitchens

Byrichard

Last night I was sitting in my room surfing the web and thinking about a variety of things when I could smell burned so i checked the heater. Cold. Visual inspection of my room, nothing apparently a problem. I decide to go outside my bedroom towards the kitchen and open the door. Oh fuck, the room was filled with a dense smoke and a pot was on the hob. I rushed to the window and opened it to disperse the smoke. I then moved the pan from the hot hob to a cool one, turned off the power to the unit and opened the second window.

once that was done I opened the kitchen door and the flat door to create a draft that would take the smoke out of the kitchen. It worked. I checked the pan and poured water into it. Some idiot had left two chicken legs to cook without keeping an eye on. If I haden’t gone to investigate the fire alarm might have gone off and flames may have made this more serious than it was.

I really want to say that I believe at least one of my flat mates to be an absolute idiot for doing something so stupid but I’m afraid that individual will read what I wrote.

Apparently it’s not unusual for kitchens to be found extremely warm because students had left the hobs on overnight. Most probable cause, after reading certain threads on facebook would be drunk students. They think they’re sober enough to cook something so they heat the hobs and start to cook, decide to nap for ten minutes and fall asleep.

At least the only damage is to the pan and two chicken legs. No one was harmed, no going off of the fire alarm and no material damage to university property.

Happy Valentine’s

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