What’s all this Johnny Foreigner type?

After all that bollocks from the Hon J. Rees-Mogg, MP about banning the metric system from the Commons, I thought the Brexit-loving Tories would at least get this right. That #Brexit bill is typeset in Palatino. That was designed by a German. Come on, people, don’t you want to use British typefaces? Tell Johnny Foreigner […]

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How to come third in a mayoral election

One mayoral candidate recently asked me for my advice. I won’t name who it is, since I want those who contact me to know I’ll keep their communications in confidence.    Now, the first thing to do is to get a time machine and ask me the same question 18 months earlier.    But I […]

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Volvo: boxy, but good

Long before Mad Men, and before I got into branding in a big way, I had an interest in advertising. One of the greatest send-ups of the industry was the 1990 Dudley Moore starrer Crazy People, set in the advertising industry against a politically incorrect—actually, cruel and inaccurate—look at mental health. It’s one of those […]

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I’m still doing election campaign posters, just not what you thought

If I think so little of Big Tech, why do I remain on Twitter?    Because of some great people. Like Dan, who Tweeted:   If Boris Johnson’s Leadership campaign slogan isn’t ‘Give Britain a BJ’ then he’s not the man I though he was. — Dan (@AceMcWicked) June 24, 2019   Followed by:   […]

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Spoiler alert: The Avengers’ endgame

I’m hearing the young people talk about this lately. But we already know how The Avengers ends.    Then they come back with some new cast members years later. John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and Tara King (Linda Thorson) on board a rocket. You may also like Not quite a remake, but similar Is your favourite […]

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How to get a perfect 10 in reliability on Windows 10

I’ve had a great week with my new laptop, though it exhibits some of the same traits I’ve frequently seen with Windows 10: settings’ windows vanishing when attempting to load. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, demo PCs I’ve seen at the store have terrible reliability history scores, and mine is no exception. It […]

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2019: replicants beware

Quick Tweet for the Blade Runner fans. It’s now 2019, which means Deckard has received his latest assignment. Some of those Nexus 6s are going to be retired. On a side note, if you didn’t get your Cherry 2000 out of Zone 7 in 2017, you’re shit out of luck.#BladeRunner — Jack Yan 甄爵恩 (@jackyan) […]

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A more honest computing glossary

  Since (mostly) leaving Facebook, and cutting down on Twitter, I’ve come to realize the extent of how outdated traditional computing definitions have become. To help those who need to get up to speed, I’ve compiled a few technobabble words and translated them into normal English.   app: in many cases, an extremely limited web […]

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How Silicon Valley and the Soviet Union are alike

Anton Troynikov’s banner on his Twitter account. I really enjoy Yakov Smirnoff’s old jokes about the Soviet Union, and the Russian reversal that is often associated with him. In the 21st century, I’ve used the odd one, such as, ‘In Russia, Olympics game you!’ and ‘In America, internet watch you!’. I’m sure I’ve done wittier […]

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Behind the scenes

Agent: Yes, that’s correct, we promise we can find you a job, no matter what. Applicant: That’s great! You can help me? Agent: Of course. Now, let’s look at your academic transcript. The Agent studiously examines the transcript. Agent: Oh, dear, this isn’t very good. Applicant: Um … Agent: It says you have a very poor average, that you scored 16 […]

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