Random Thoughts

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12 Aug 2023

Learning to Enjoy Building for the Web (Again)

A few years ago, I fell out of love with building for the web. I still did it but it felt like a constant struggle to keep up with the ever-evolving technologies and complex frameworks. I always felt behind, and...
10 Jul 2023

Firefox Extensions I Can't Live Without v2

Back in 2007, I wrote a blog post about my favorite Firefox extensions that I used all the time. However, over the years, my browsing habits changed, and I eventually switched to Chrome. But now, I’m back to using Firefox...
27 Jun 2023

The Quest for a 'Simple' Smartwatch

My trusty old smartwatch recently stopped working. It was a Garmin Vivomove HR, a minimal hybrid watch with regular watch hands and a tiny hidden screen that showed notifications and messages. It served me well for quite some time but...
03 Jun 2022

Jubilee Crown Papercraft – and how I made it

To celebrate Queen Elizabeths Platinum Jubilee I designed a little papercraft version of her crown.In fact, I’ve recently gotten into making papercraft toys, both building, and designing them. Most of the designs I have built are from FoldUpToys – a...
04 Jun 2020

Learning is hard, and so is React

This tweet from Kelly Vaughn caught my eye recently. It came a couple of days after another tweet from Brad Touesnard who said “I have run out of empathy for people whining about having to learn React”.I really sympathise with...
05 Feb 2019

How I Learn in Public

I build a lot of stuff, and I release most of it publicly. I have 20 WordPress themes on Pro Theme Design, but I’ve been making themes for over 10 years now so I’m quite confident there. Last year I...
05 Jan 2019

2018 In Review, and Plans for 2019

2018 was a mixed bag for me. Initially I didn’t feel like I did much in the last year; but now it’s written down in front of me – perhaps I did more than I realised.2018 in ReviewPro Theme DesignSelling...
04 Jan 2017

2016 – a Year Reviewed

What a year – when 2016 started I didn’t expect it to play out as it did. It was an eventful year in more ways than one.Personally the biggest change was becoming a father. My son, Sebastian, was born on...
10 Aug 2016

It’s All About Me

Marketing & self promotion is definitely my weak point. It’s something I feel I should be better at (or hire someone to do) but I just never feel the motivation. I enjoy building things, so that’s what I tend to...
26 Jul 2016

My Rules to Live By

There’s a few rules that I live by, that have helped to get me where I am. You’ve probably heard of all of them, but I thought I’d write them down and explain how they have benefitted me! 🙂You don’t...
28 Jun 2016

Growing Up

A lot has happened in my life in the last year – so much that I’ve probably missed some things. In an effort to remember what’s happened I thought I’d break the blogging silence with a post summarising how and...
11 Oct 2014

Adobe Dreams (and What I Replaced Adobe Software With)

I’ve managed to move entirely away from using Adobe software but this recent video from Adobe looks incredibly enticing. It’s basically a great big bunch of ideas for things that could be possible in the future. They’ve focused on Microsoft...
29 Mar 2014

The Psychology of Done – or – How to Not do Things

I work on a lot of projects – as do many creatives. I have the day job at Miniclip – and then in my spare time I am renovating my house, and making WordPress themes, playing video games, and even...
17 Jul 2013

Queen Elizabeth II and Me

Last weekend I went to the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace in London. Not only did I get to walk around the royal gardens, but I also got to see, meet, and try many of the products that have the...
08 Jul 2013

A Redesign for 2013

It’s only been a year since I last redesigned Binary Moon – I’m generally content to redesign, and then sit on things for a while, let it stew and evolve. However a lot has changed in the last year. Design...
25 Jan 2013

Please Just Tell Me What You Want!

The web industry moves really fast and there is always a lot to do – time is precious. Many of us get dozens – sometimes even hundreds – of emails a day.As such it can be quite frustrating to get...
23 Nov 2012

Experiments With 3D Printing

When I was 13 I saw Toy Story at the cinema – and I instantly knew that 3d art was what I wanted to do. I had always been a doodler – I liked drawing cartoons and inventing things. I...
31 Oct 2012

Grovember – Raising Awareness of Bowel Cancer

A few months after I met Jo, who is now my wife, she said that she thought I looked good with a beard. Since this meant I didn’t have to shave, and since it got the thumbs up from my...
24 Sep 2012

iPhone 5 and the Golden Age of Computing

I found the reactions after the iPhone 5 announcement last week really interesting. Everyone knew the iPhone 5 was coming, and all the rumour blogs had announced almost everything presented. Before it started we knew many of the announcements. So...
15 Aug 2012

My 3D Art Portfolio

I moved house last year and we’ve slowly been going through the boxes of junk weeding out the rubbish when, a couple of days ago, I found my old video game art portfolio.I must have made this in 2002/ 2003...
19 Jun 2012

Pushing Myself to the Limit

South-downs Way I always like to challenge myself. I generally go for mental challenges, trying new technologies and coming up with new ideas. I feel that it’s the best way to learn and expand my mind – however I tend...

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