Life

Fun in Dubai, meeting up with a friend I did ski instructor training with – we’ve hung out in Canada, and Sydney, and now Dubai, but never the UK… despite us both being British! Then quick turnaround, headed to Berlin to hang out with another friend over from Australia, which was awesome, I’ve missed her so much. And got the keys to the apartment I’m subletting from the start of January. I’m excited to come live in Berlin and hopefully add to my 4 words of German…

This past week or so has ended up being a vacation, which I seem to have scheduled rather than planned. But still – I’ve taken so little time off this past year, a long weekend for the Luminale in Frankfurt, and a ski trip that I missed because I was stuck in NYC have been the extent of my vacation plans! So I feel refreshed and energised and excited to get coding again. Also, more clarity of thought than I feel like I’ve had lately – there’s something about stepping back from your day to day that helps you see it more clearly, I think.

Work

Just bits and pieces that couldn’t wait, and a couple of hours between naps and flights sorting out screenshots etc for the app store.

I am pretty psyched that I have nothing scheduled Jan/Feb and can just focus… since the iOS app is details away from shipping, I’m going to start porting to Android soon. Will be fun!

Media

Went a bit mad and bought 24 novels in one go. Maybe a fit of excitement after dwelling in the regency period for so long. Finished with Venetia, one of my faves. Read One Hundred Christmas Proposals, which is a (thankfully short) follow up to One Hundred Proposals which I had quite liked, but it was nauseating. Also read Saving Grace, by Jane Green, which was great, and The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes which I loved, highly recommend, Keyes is such a great author (I wish I could find all her books for Kindle). Getting Rid of Matthew was OK, and Not Without You by Harriet Evans, I really, really liked.

Still plodding through The Black Swan. It seems to be about 10% content, and 90% random stuff about the guys life, which I am not particularly interested in.

Product links Amazon.

Published

• Some Thoughts About Harassment
• Corporate Feminism Part 2: How to Help
• #iOSDevUK: Steve Scott: Sherlocked! Deprecated! Changed! AKA “Do Apple Hate Developers?”

A new edition of Technically Speaking is out.

On The Internet

• The Most Hated Woman on the Internet – http://buff.ly/1wGT6CV 
• I love this TED talk, so glad it is now a Famous Speech Friday: Sheena Iyengar’s TED talk on the art of choosing” http://buff.ly/1Gjq7Gu 
• The White Guy Problem – fantastic critique of “not all white people”, particularly “not all white men” http://buff.ly/1sijKAw  /via @felsull
• This is a cute idea, all the minutes, a Twitter “clock”. http://buff.ly/1IMXmEa 
• OMG this on describing WiT as brave “They’re not going to the frontlines of a war zone. They’re going to write code.” http://buff.ly/1uLSxBo 
• @handee: porn star to attend computing conference http://www.hannahdee.eu/blog/?p=1357  that’ll make the discipline look friendly to the ladies, yeah!
• Sleepy kitty! http://buff.ly/1BQcw9L 
• If I knew any children I would buy them this – @zippykit SMART PUPPET – Build & learn interactive soft electronics http://buff.ly/1xpahIQ 
• Time management: think of it in terms of assets and debts – http://buff.ly/1svJVxW 
• @fawnapril: Great post about ‘well-meaning’ white people who perpetuate white supremacy. Important for white people to read! http://bellejar.ca/2014/12/15/leigh-anne-tuohy-racism-and-the-white-saviour-complex/ …
• @Geek_Manager: I get a LOT of email. Here’s how I deal with it using @mailstromapp @Mailbox & some Gmail tricks from @lifehacker: http://blog.geekmanager.co.uk/2014/12/14/dealing-with-lots-of-email/ …
• The Best Places to Be an Expat – http://buff.ly/1sA0A9r 
• @TessaJeanMiller: Very proud to have worked on this piece with the *braver than brave* @lizseccuro: I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat: http://thebea.st/1GqiyO4 
• This is good, I think, Career Choices You Will Regret In 20 Years – http://buff.ly/1AhVwp4  /via @andrew_low
• The 10 Most Wrong Things About Bill Cosby Asking The Black Media To Stay Neutral – http://buff.ly/1397Xbo  /via @felsull
• Many apps operate under the assumption your phone is always connected to you, in pockets women don’t really have. http://buff.ly/1uUpGLt 
• Really interesting – Working hours: Proof that you should get a life – http://buff.ly/1wYm41b  in @theeconomist
• @ZJemptv: A cis person made a philosophical argument about trans stuff that’s probably better than anything I’ve ever written http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-made-for-man-not-man-for-the-categories/ …
• Wow this, the loneliness of being a female eng, being called aggressive – http://buff.ly/1yXMWtf  /via @triketora
• Love this, especially the ending “I’m 40. I Don’t Want to Be a Mom. Now What?” http://buff.ly/1uS4cOl  /via @felsull
• This Is Why You Don’t Have a Mentor – http://buff.ly/1szlmjH 
• @MissDestructo: Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales Isn’t Taking Any of Gamergate’s Threats, Tells Them Off Spectacularly http://www.themarysue.com/jimmy-wales-not-taking-gamergate-crap/ … via @TheMarySue
• @emilyst: Occasionally I find a thing on Reddit worth reading. https://i.imgur.com/FsJkGSV.jpg 
• Love the transparency here – From Open (Unlimited) to Minimum Vacation Policy – http://buff.ly/1DLEt4A  /by @roidrage
• Lena Dunham: Why I Chose To Speak Out http://buff.ly/1J1Fq8O  /via @triketora
• This blows my mind. http://topsy.com/trackback?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.catehuston.com%2Fblog%2F2014%2F02%2F19%2Fprocess-and-culture%2F …
• I like this from @kwugirl – Some thoughts on giving feedback effectively –http://buff.ly/1sErcAr 
• I love this letter from Albert Einstein to Marie Curie (from 1911) – http://buff.ly/1sErCqp  /via @dontgetcaught