My Most Important Bit of Kit

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As people search for the ultimate in shiny mobile blogging tools, I'm sometimes asked.. "What's your most important bit of kit?"

In the past, without thinking, I've said my smartphone. In reality it's my sim card and the data connection that it offers. I have countless ways of documenting what's around me. Various smart phones and their apps, flip cams, hybrid cams, audio recorders a laptop and iPad. 

Without mobile data though, anything I record or create on these mobile devices isn't set free till I reach some form of WiFi. I am yet to experience ubiquitous or even half decent wifi coverage anywhere in the UK. In fact in many of the places I work there is very little useable wifi. In my opinion, the broadband infrastructure in the UK is a joke. Especially where I live in rural Cambridgeshire. I have better data transfer via 3g than my home broadband connection. Not being much of a city dweller, it's always been like this.

Mobile Data for me is not a luxury. It's an absolute necessity. It enables me to do what I do. Share and make stories from anywhere, with anyone with an internet connection.

In amongst my birthday cards this year was a sim card. It was a gift from @VodafoneUK.  An experiment.  For one year I have unlimited mobile data anywhere in the world. My phone was already on Vodafone but I ported my number over to this new sim so throughout this year my data use can be monitored. Not the content. Just the amount.  Vodafone did not ask me to do anything other than carry on as usual. They didn't ask for a banners on my site. They didn't ask for online content expressing my love for them and no money has changed hands.

It's a bargain as far as I'm concerned but I can't let it go unrecognised. Mobile date is vital to what I do. Every video I upload, Audioboo I make and tweet I send depends on it. I was on a great Vodafone contract before but there has always been a cost issue with international data.

I know VodafoneUK have always worked closely with bloggers, enabling, sponsoring, equipping. I'm now looking forward to seeing what they do with this information. How they can make mobile data cheaper, easier, faster.

I am more than happy to be a part of this experiment but can't promise i'll let the guys at VodafoneUK get away without any recognition. Having my data sponsored for a year is a really big deal to me. Especially as I have all kinds of adventures planned.

There will be a big shakeup for everyone regarding access to mobile data this year, both at home in the UK and while travelling abroad. I use a lot of data. We are all using more and more every year. I hope that by working with VodafoneUK and letting them see what kind of data I am using they can make more informed decisions in order to lead the market and give great value to all their mobile customers. I have been one of those customers for over 10 years. My work for the last six years has depended on a decent data connection.

It's easy to forget how valuable that little sim is. It's tucked away in your phone, out of sight, out of mind. Until that is you don't have a connection. Which for me is only when in London surprisingly. Underground. :) 
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I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted March 9, 2012
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Instinct grows my beard. Shaving is merely maintenance.

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I don't grow a beard. Thankfully it grows itself. This allows me to achieve something visible to all with very little effort on my part.

I like it. It's a mask, its warm in winter, handy with an open face helmet on a motorbike and often it gives people the wrong impression of me. And there is much fun to be had in challenging peoples first impressions.

If it starts getting in the way of my joy of food though, I treat it like a farmer would a hedge that encroaches on a right of way. I hack it back.

Sometimes though, like this morning, I just feel the need to shave it off and start again. A metaphorical burning of the stubble. A facial spring clean. When I'm really old I think I'll take it's growth more seriously. There are some epic beards on wizened men and I find these bearded elders the most interesting of people. Their sponge-like faces soaking up stories, history. When I grow up I want to be like them.

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted March 9, 2012
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The Unveiling of the Life and Works of Alan Turing #bpark

I was invited to Bletchley Park for the unveiling of new exhibits entitled 'The Life and Works of Alan Turing'.
Whilst there I grabbed the following two videos on my flip cam. An introduction from Sir John Scarlett, Chairman of the Bletchley Park Trust and following talks from Captain Jerry Roberts,  Bletchley Park wartime Codebreaker, Sir John Dermot Turing and James May who finally went on to officially cut the ribbon on the new exhibits.

Part 1 (13:32)

Part 2 

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted March 6, 2012
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Images from TippingPoint Newcastle #TPNewcastle

Photos from Newcastle University and the TippingPoint Conference.

Here are some audio recordings.

More info on http://TippingPoint.org.uk and http://Amplified10.com/TPNewcastle

Or search the hashtag on twitter.. #TPNewcastle

 

..And a video from @NancyCampbelle

 

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Filed under  //   arts   environment   iphone   photograhy   tpnewcastle  
Posted February 23, 2012
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Triumph Scrambler Designs from @SpiritOfThe70s

My beloved Triumph Scrambler 900 is with Spirit Of The 70's for customisation.

Some people change their bike every year. I've had a few bikes but this one is for keeps and I feel it's time I made it something even more special. Even more mine.

I fell in love with my Triumph seconds after pulling out of the dealers for a test ride. They had let me out on the Scrambler while they prepped the Triumph Street Triple I was there to try ..and potentially buy.

And yet I left on the Scrambler. It was everything I wanted in a bike. The ride, the sound, the simplicity. And it wasn't tuned like a Speeder Bike. It's a timeless bike as much fun at 30 as it is at 90 (allegedly).

I have been too-ing and fro-ing ideas and photos with the guys from @Spiritofthe70s for a couple of weeks now and feel the final bike design will look something very much like one of these above.

I have my favourite. Which one is yours?

This is my bike as it looks now.. 

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Filed under  //   900   custom   motorbike   scrambler   spiritofthe70s   triumph  
Posted February 19, 2012
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Browse the censored internet on your iPad

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 I'm trying out 'Covert Browser' on the iPad. It's not a cheap app at £1.99 but I can't find anything else Tor enabled in the official app store.

If the integration of the open source version of Tor is working correctly then this app should offer not only unmonitored Internet browsing but also access to content that is blocked because of your ip's geographical position.

I have just tested the app on my iPad by watching a video from ColbertNation.com. Normally blocked in the UK, the site loaded fine and the videos i tried played without delay or issue.

Although the app has a few things it needs to iron in the design department, I can see this becoming a handy tool for anyone with an iPad that doesn't want to mess around with VPN's and proxy's and would much rather just click on an app.

If you do live in a country where content is regularly blocked it may be worth you opting for something less browser based by adding some VPN settings into your phone from RaptorVPN.com

For more information on Tor visit TorProject.org

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Filed under  //   Tor   censorship   covert browser  
Posted January 31, 2012
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Celebrate the Mundane

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I could make a quick coffee in the morning. I have a quality bean to cup machine that can grind, brew and pour a fresh cup in no time at all.

I prefer the ritual of hand grinding though.

While I weigh, grind & shape a cone of coffee grounds in a pre-heated dripper, I can't help but feel solace in that moment.

Nothing else exists.

We have so many rituals in our life but doing something in a ritualistic way, can become systematic, automatic and before you know it the day has gone & you don't remember living it.

Rituals give us a sense of security or certainty and of course this is very comforting but when you are present in what you are doing, you are recognising the meaning in that moment.

When sat in the maelstrom of your working day, lost in the feeds, trying to make sense out of the noise, don't judge the person sharing their cup of coffee or their lunch. As is often said, "It's the little things."


"What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution."
~Henri Fredreric Amiel


One single black coffee, and its creation, empties my mind, restores focus and clears a path towards.. I hope.. great things.

Celebrate the Mundane. There's meaning there if you want to find it.

 

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted January 25, 2012
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Boost your WiFi for 20p

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If like me you rely on a 3G MiFi to get a decent internet connection both at home and while mobile, I highly recommend you get one of these little suckers.

If I hang my MiFi in a window, at home or on a train, it can make the difference between a an Edge/3G signal or 'full bars' on HSDPA.

You can find a packet of 'suction hooks' in varying sizes in most pound shops. I got 5 for.. You guessed it, a pound.

(Be warned, some air stewards can get a little nervous when you hang a solar charger in your window mid flight.)

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted January 16, 2012
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On Air Sign

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Certainly one of my favourite gifts over Christmas was my LED lit 'On Air' sign. It arrived via international post just in time and yesterday I received the customised front you see in the photo saying 'documentally ON AIR.'

So I don't have to get up and switch on the mains power adapter, I've bought a remote controlled mains plug. This allows me to turn up to four devices on and off from the comfort of my desk.

When not being photographed, the sign sits in the window of my Garden office @Docuden facing out and warns those approaching that I'm 'on air' and not to disturb until the light goes out. I may be streaming live video, recording audio into Audioboo, or recording video to edit later. It has also come in handy when being interviewed on the phone.

It certainly looks less suspicious than a 'Do Not Disturb, I'm in the shed.' sign.

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted January 4, 2012
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Fixing Things

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Last night I crawled into bed with my kindle and couldn't help but notice my little reading light was lying in two pieces on the bedside table.

I assumed that like me, my little boy has a keenness to take things apart to see how they work. At two and a half though, taking things apart means snapping them in half.

For how incredibly useful the little light is, It's not an expensive piece of tech. It was a present but I think you can buy them for about seven quid. Never-the-less I just spent a good chunk of an hour fixing it.

Why fix it?..

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I feel we live in a pretty disposable society. You only have to go down your local Tip (Recycling Centre) to see that. The act of repairing something, no matter how cheap, has a lot of other value attached to it apart from the obvious saving money benefit.  Learning new skills and helping the environment for starters. Not to mention the feeling you've achieved something. A small win over the god of chaos and whoever the patron saint of binning perfectly good stuff is. For this reason I like to at least have a go at fixing stuff.

There are lots of things that I can't fix. Our education and banking systems. Most cars. And yesterday evening I had some digital kitchen scales in bits on the kitchen table. No matter what I did the display still kept giving me an error message. I salvaged some parts and the rest had to be chucked.

My best investment this year has been a glue gun. I am not exaggerating when I say It has saved me hundreds of pounds in the few months I have had it.

On the whole, fixing stuff is incredibly rewarding so if you get the chance please give it a go. At the very least you will see how stuff works.

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I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Posted January 3, 2012
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