2025-11-18 05:58:50
One thing I always tell people at work (apart from "it depends") is “the closer you get to launch, the less you know”.
This is becoming very apparent at work this week as we start to spec a new product for a client. Unpicking everything that was demonstrated in the pitch and writing requirements, and assumptions — of which there are a few.
As a product nears deployment, the amount of information needed for it to be a success increases exponentially; designers need more answers than strategists, developers need more answers than designers, testers and IT have sooooo many questions.
For this reason, we have to have fuzzier and fuzzier estimates the further out from now we get.
I learned today this is called the Cone of Uncertainty! Developed for the chemical industry in the 1950s, the Cone of Uncertainty (or funnel cone) shows the ideal path but flanked by ever widening "possible" paths.
You will have, undoubtedly, seen this on weather maps showing predicted hurricane trajectories. Very narrow at one end where we can pinpoint the hurricane's actual position now ("known knowns") but more bulbous and indistinct later on as the "known unknowns" begin to affect the trajectory.
So, too, our project plans must allow a degree of flex as we near launch and discover myriad "unknown unknowns" that couldn't have been predicted but must be dealt with urgently.
2025-11-17 04:22:59
Courtesy of Katherine via Nic Chan's "People & Blogs" interview, I learned about intentionally blank pages.
Having read a book or two in my time, I've seen these blank pages; usually a quirk of the way books are bound in bundles of evenly numbered pages that doesn't always align exactly to the number of printed/written pages.
This is a print-only phenomenon — digital books and websites don't have those printing constraints. But, in memory of those pages being lost to the endless march of technology, the "This Page Left Intentionally Blank" Project is calling on us, the webmasters of personal sites, to add an intentionally blank page to our websites.
You can find mine at /blank. What a lovely idea.
2025-11-17 03:45:24
I went for a walk this week; took the dog out early doors, pre-dawn. I thought it was a bit blowy. When I got home my wife informed me there's a yellow weather warning for a named storm coming in.
Storm Claudia took out some trees, cars, and houses. We escaped the worst of it; the bins were thrown around and fence panels dislodged. I had to drag one out of the road at near midnight to prevent accidents.
Visited the new Havas Village Manchester offices this week. They are currently rather sterile and corporate but, hopefully, some personality will get injected once we're are in and "being creative". The weirdest thing, though, is I can see my old house from my new desk…
I threw a roll of film through my replacement Minolta SRT303 and posted it to Photo Hippo for development and scanning. The mirror return mechanism is a little sticky which wasn't mentioned in the listing! It shouldn't affect the final images though, it just creates a bit of an annoying distraction while shooting. Hopefully, it'll not be an issue until I can get it lubricated.
I am now pretty convinced there are two tawny owls; one in the big tree by the field at the end of the village and one in the copse by the cemetery. Although, with a top speed of 80kph (50mph) and near-silent flight, one could have easily beaten me.
The hour is come but not the man
Susan Cooper, "Greenwitch"
2025-11-16 04:08:43
I was skimming through a children's book on demolition today (kids love construction vehicles) and read about the crew hosing the site down to make it less dusty.
So, what's all that about then?
Many of the materials buildings are made of produce particulates when crushed; concrete, stone, wood.
These particulates are hazardous for several reasons. In large quantities they can hinder vision, be harmful to wildlife, and be difficult to clean up. In smaller quantities, they can cause respiratory problems for workers and clog machinery.
Water mixes with the dust in the air and the weight of the liquid pulls the harmful dust down to the floor when it causes less damage and is easier to clean up meaning work can conclude quicker.
2025-11-14 19:41:15
I am currently working on a project that requires localisation for providing native language content to various diaspora and migrant communities. As a curiosity, I wondered just how many distinct languages there.
According to Ethnologue, there are approximately 7,159 separate languages in current use.
This number changes frequently though as new languages are discovered — something that actually blows my mind! The count also drops as languages become extinct. Nearly half of that 7000 are considered "endangered" with less than 1,000 speakers.
Even in Britain, where I live and British English is the official language, there are 13 other languages spoken around these Isles.
2025-11-14 19:03:26
Ad Infinitum drop another single, "Regicide", with their new "electronica" tinge. Big fan of Melissa Bonny and her numerous projects; concerned the electronic direction might overlap Ad Infinitum with Rage of Light. A solid offering though — I'm looking forward to a full length album.
Classic Katatonia down-tempo sludgy doom metal on KISS cover "A World Without Heroes". Don't ask me how but it has a "Spaghetti Western end theme" vibe to it. Better than the original, not as good as Cher's version.
Getting a lot of airtime this week is "No Man's Sky: Journeys" by 65daysofstatic and Paul Weir. Apparently not a soulless product tie-in but a snapshot of a work that has been evolving for nine years. Or a new interation of an infinite soundtrack to an infinite universe. Or 80 minutes of gorgeous sci-fi bangers. Or all of the above.
Lush, expansive, lonely — this doesn't sound like a video game soundtrack or a rock album. Gorgeous.
Absolutely banging djent-y metalcore from Poppy on her new single "Bruised Sky". Clearly hanging out with Courtney LePlant has rubbed off. B-Side "Unravel" is a soaring anthemic track that wears its early noughties' influences proudly on its sleeve. Another album I'm looking forward to.
Michigan rapper, NF released his second EP, "FEAR", this week. Six tracks of typically vulnerable lyrics that are all listenable — even the Machine Gun Kelly collab. Stunning cover art!
Finally, no Emmelie de Forest, it's too early for Christmas music! I will review your "Kisses for Christmas" EP at a more appropriate time!