Desperately seeking (A Pattern Language)
It’s common to hear people say “These days, you can find it all on the internet” or “You can find everything on Google”. It’s true in principle, but that’s like…
How blogging helped me make the best cup of coffee ever
One of the nicest things to happen this year was a surprise gift of coffee all the way from Lebanon. And all because of a blog. Last year, I did…
In praise of (occasional) marginalia
As you leave the Institute of Education library, there’s a montage of photographs showing the awful things that people have done to books, like water damage and coffee stains, highlighting…
IT tips: how to stop Chrome opening your pdfs
I love Chrome, but I hate the way it takes over your pdfs and opens them in the browser. I also hate the way this isn’t straightforwardly configurable on the…
Zorn’s ‘Grammar’ online, for all your polka mazurka needs
I got my copy of Zorn’s ‘Grammar’ via Abe Books a few years ago, but it occurred to me that it must surely be out of copyright, and digitised by…
Happy National Libraries Day – especially to Tooting Library and the IOE
I’m no Luddite. I was an early-adopter of computers and the internet. I earn about 25% of my salary from playing the piano, and 75% from being a pretty expert…