Haje’s Brain

So, by now you probably can’t have failed to notice that I’m taking off on a grand tour of Europe - I’m expecting it’ll take about 3 weeks, and that by the end of it, I’ll have done about 3,500 miles.

Of course, being a complete and utter geek, I’ve been looking into how I can keep all my friends and family posted while I’m on the road - and I think I’ve found a solution. Brightkite is a brilliant website which does location-based blogging, but which is also deliciously Web 2.0 in that it spreads its love around. So, I think everything is set up correctly, which means that I can use the rather brilliant Brightkite for iPhone app - it uses the GPS unit built into my iPhone, allowing me to micro-blog (up to 140 characters) and post photos directly to the Brightkite site. From Brightkite, the feeds are picked up by other services, and depending on what you’re interested in, you can choose to see what I’m up to. (more…)

There are a few companies that have gone all out to ensure that they do customer service the right way - interestingly, big companies tend to not bother all too much.

Virgin in general, and Virgin Wines in particular, are an exception: They really get it right. I recently cancelled my ‘winebank’ scheme with them, which resulted in a surprisingly positive customer service experience. (more…)

What is a laser maze? Well, imagine a darkened room filled with smoke, where you can see a series of laser beams. If you can get from one end of the room to the other without tripping a laser beam, then you’ve made it. Of course, this is pretty damn hilarious when done at a party where everyone is a little bit drunk anyway. Which was exactly the circumstances through which I was introduced to laser mazes; A few months ago, my friend Gwyn set up a laser maze for a party I had, and it was an all-round smashing success.

I’m not entirely sure how Gwyn built his laser maze (I know Rails and a laptop were involvec), but once the hang-over wore off the next day, I decided I simply had to build my own. Except I decided to play the lovely game of one-up-man-ship with Gwyn; My laser maze would have to be completely self-sufficient, without needing a laptop to function. (more…)

The Swedish JAK bank (site in Swedish) is, in effect, a strongly ethics-driven co-operative bank which has declined to have any external commercial interests. It lends money to its approx 30,000 members free of charge, and has managed to stay in business doing so since 1965. Wikipedia has more.

Also; Documentary about JAK on YouTube (part 2, part 3, part 4)

The world’s best-selling eBook reader - the Amazon Kindle - has received an upgrade, which has the mind-bendingly original name Kindle 2.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love technology, and I drool at the thought of being able to carry 1,500 books with me in a third of the space of a MacBook Air - with 2 weeks worth of battery life… It’s pretty amazing stuff. Sure, the Kindle has a fantastic 241,164 books available, including the amazing Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which, if you haven’t read it, would be a fantastic first download to your digital eReader. There’s even thousands and thousands of free books available for download on your Kindle! (more…)

There, I said it. But I also mean it. I woke up this morning to about 3 – okay, perhaps 5 – centimetres of snow on the ground. Enough to persuade me that riding a motorcycle to the station might not be the
wisest option. So instead I take the bus, who – despite driving very carefully indeed – nearly spins out on the first sharp bend.

Anyway, so I made it to the station in about 45 minutes instead of 20 minutes (very careful bus driver), and I arrive to discover that all the trains are either 45 minutes delayed (!) or cancelled altogether. Now, I don’t want to appear cynical, but a train weighs… what… 200 tonnes? 300? I completely fail to understand how a loosely conglomerated alliance of snowflakes can stop a six thousand horsepower colossus of steel. (more…)

Slumdog Millionaire is a movie released late in 2008. It was directed by Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 days later and Sunshine fame). It is set in Mumbai, and tells the story of Jamal Malik, a young man who chances his way onto the Indian version of Who wants to be a millionaire - or `Whowantstobeamill-in-air’, as the presenter hilariously continues to call it, after an 18-year old life as an orphan trying to get by in the Indian slums… (more…)

I lived in London for about 18 months, during the bulk of which I was with Be Internet. You may have heard of them, they offer internet connectivity which is, quite frankly, ludicrously fast. I never quite managed to measure how fast, but it was upwards of 20 mbps download and probably around 2mbps upload. In fact, I frequently had significantly faster internet at home than at work.

Be was fantastic, in that they Just Worked: Blisteringly fast, 100% uptime, and - the one time I had to contact them about something (I needed the IP addresses to their DNS servers) - quick and highly skilled customer service who answered the question you asked, rather than waffling randomly for no reason (yes, BT Internet customer service, I’m looking at you). (more…)

I don’t think anyone but myself has ever seen me with a moustache - and there’s an excellent reason for that: I look like a 1980’s throw-back child molester. But this year, I’m participating in Movember, which means that for the whole month of November, I’ll be growing a mo.

At the beginning of the challenge, I gallantly said that I was going to try for a Clark Gable, but frankly, that’s probably just wishful thinking. My moustache is ginger, for one thing.

So anyway, if walking around with one of these abominations on my face makes me look ridiculous, then why do I bother? Because it’s all for an excellent cause, of course… (more…)

Well, you wonder why my desktop background’s black?
Why you never see bright colors on my Mac?
And why does my crypto-clearance seem to have somber tone?
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I turn on. (more…)