The Value of Tribes
I've found the idea of tribalism to be increasingly useful in understanding political behaviour. Faced with the need to make a decision based on incomplete information, people may often attempt to understand how others like them are behaving and behave in that fashion. This isn't really a new insight; politicians have been playing to group identities forever.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons I've always been so uncomfortable with tribalism, particularly in politics. It's so open to manipulation and abuse by the unscrupulous.
Donate them to a good cause, recycle them... What do you do with your old computers and phones?
My old computers have mainly cascaded down the family, before eventually leaving the family via a gift, or breaking and heading to the recycling centre. So, my last laptop is now with my mother-in-law, the iMac before last is at my brother's place in France. And my brother-in-law is using my very first iBook still.
The only computer I've "used to death" was my iMac G4, which finally died after 6 years of use. I'm typing this on its replacement.
My old phones have traditionally gone to recycling, but my last iPhone went to a member of my extended family.
<blockquote>
My old computers have mainly cascaded down the family, before eventually leaving the family via a gift, or breaking and heading to the recycling centre. So, my last laptop is now with my mother-in-law, the iMac before last is at my brother's place in France. And my brother-in-law is using my very first iBook still.<br />
The only computer I've "used to death" was my iMac G4, which finally died after 6 years of use. I'm typing this on its replacement.
My old phones have traditionally gone to recycling, but my last iPhone went to a member of my extended family.
What Adobe is Still Good At
I sometimes think Adobe is fighting the wrong fight. The current spat between the two over Flash is well documented (and I rather like Jeff's take on it). But Adobe's real strength, to me, is in its Creative Suite product, and Photoshop in particular. And last night I had my first chance to play with the latest version of it. I've been looking forward to the new Content Aware abilities (see posts passim), because I'm in the process of digitising and restoring a whole bunch of old family photos.
Here's what I started with last night:
Faded, damaged, parts of the edges missing. It's not in a terrible state, but it would be pretty time-consuming to restore under previous versions of Photoshop.
30 minutes later, extensive use of the content-aware tool and this is the result:
And, you know what? I'm pretty pleased with that. I intend to go to work with some more challenging images in the next few days.
Telegraph reviews the new Photoshop
CS5 has four major improvements that – on paper – jumped out at me. The most exciting is content-aware fill – and when I first used it on one of my photos, my jaw dropped.
I had taken a picture of a French manor house, which was perfect, except that a gardener was standing in front of it. Using the lasso tool, I drew very roughly around the man and pressed Delete. The Fill dialogue box appeared. Into that, I chose content-aware fill. Photoshop, almost magically, replaced the gardener with the brickwork and the climbing plant that he was standing in front of. It was as though he had never been there
I've just bagged my upgrade, and will be playing with it tonight - I'm really quite excited now.
Do you want a 3D TV? Why or why not? And will you ever get one?
No. No. No.
Also, no.
I'm at my limit with TV repurchasing. First it was Dolby Digital Stereo, and then widescreen, and then surround sound, and then flat panel TV of various sort and now HD. And those all actually improved the viewing experience. 3D? Not so much. I'm quite happy to head along to a cinema for a couple of hours, pop on the X-ray specs and enjoy the 3D experience in the dark. At home, watching a movie with my wife? No.
I'm far more interested in the shift towards downloadable and streaming traditional content than yet another "innovation" in home movie watching. This feels like another gimmick to try and sell us another round of TVs - and I'm not playing.
<blockquote>
No. No. No.<br />
Also, no.
I'm at my limit with TV repurchasing. First it was Dolby Digital Stereo, and then widescreen, and then surround sound, and then flat panel TV of various sort and now HD. And those all actually improved the viewing experience. 3D? Not so much. I'm quite happy to head along to a cinema for a couple of hours, pop on the X-ray specs and enjoy the 3D experience in the dark. At home, watching a movie with my wife? No.
I'm far more interested in the shift towards downloadable and streaming traditional content than yet another "innovation" in home movie watching. This feels like another gimmick to try and sell us another round of TVs - and I'm not playing.
Where Were You When Gordon Brown Resigned?
Well, two of the major parties that went into this General Election were promising change, and they have delivered on that promise, but not in a way many of us expected.
Gordon Brown has stepped down, and New Labour slips from power 13 years after it swept to a landslide victory. When New Labour came to power, I was sat at home, celebrating. When Gordon Brown resigned, I was, rather prosaically, in my car, driving home from work and listening to Radio 4. While I feel no sadness in the political passing of Brown, I’m not exactly celebrating the arrival of Cameron in No. 10 either.
As I tweeted once I was home: .bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/1930642/header.png) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}
Appear to have left work under Labour and arrived home under the Tories...
Adam Tinworth
adders
The truth is, no-one really knows what this coalition government will bring. We’re in unexplored territory, and that’s intriguing.
I have, despite myself, really enjoyed the days since the election. The possibility of something different has opened up in British politics - and, while that potential may turn out to be illusory, we are very much just at the end of the first act. We have plenty of drama ahead - the revelation of the full cabinet, the deals that have been done of policy to pull this coalition together, the fight for the soul of the Labour party in the leadership election - and thus have a long way to go until we know what the new status quo is.
If your heart and soul is in the Labour Party, you have reason to be despondent tonight. For the rest of us, well, we’re living in interesting times. Somehow, a party with a large, working majority never seemed very interesting to follow. This curious alliance of the centre left and the (claimed) centre right? This should be very interesting indeed.
My (Personal) First Reactions to the General Election
I've become something of an internal hung parliament myself.
The journalist in me is delighted. Think of all the stories that will emerge from this situation - the political deals that will be done, the knife-edge votes, the constant possibility of a fallen government. Oh, and a second election within the year - two at the outside. Brilliant.
Another part of me - the part that wants to buy a house and start a family - is a little nervous that we don't have a majority government, that the massive deficit will not be addressed properly, and that the markets will panic, harming the economy. A related, but far from identical, part of me is gutted that the LibDems didn't make more progress in the polls.
And a last, but vocal, part of me is glad that whatever emerges from this mess will be a government that will have to govern by consensus and debate, rather than just pushing their own, narrow agenda through with their majority.
As soon as a few of these parts of myself manage to form a coalition, I'll let you know. ;-)
Baptismal Photos
I've been a wee bit busy of late - playing catch-up at work, after a few days off sick, and away for a christening at the weekend. Here's a few photos from the event in lieu of a real post:
