February 2016 in the Life of Ben (Blog)
New Mattress from Warren Evans (13th February 2016)
Enjoyed the experience of trying out the products at one of their shops. Reviewed their Shoreditch branch on TrustPilot for all the details so far.
First Stir-Fry in N1 (13th February 2016)
Almost immediately set off my smoke alarm as the oil started to smoke. These gas hobs are the hottest burning I’ve ever seen. Even %frac14; is enough to boil an open pan of water!
Opened windows, put pan on windowsil and got a chair to push the test button on the alarm. That switched it off.
Resumed at a lower heat, keeping the window open and succeeded. Used half a box of veg and half a pack of chicken. A dash of soy sauce while cooking turned out very nice and light.
Future Plans
Found a stir fry vegetable recipe from Jamie Oliver while looking for what oil to use. A very neat site and something I could actually step towards doing. (Bought some vegetable oil from the corner shop for £1.)
More down-to-earth-guides include the promisingly named startcooking.com guide to stir fry.
Stir frying could be a good way to start using fresh food, cooked fast and clean. Minimal washing up after, too.
The Website Obesity Crisis (13th February 2016)
Video from Maciej Ceglowski. A title I already agreed with but it seemed a bit incendiary to watch during dinner. After leaving it in the background for well over a month (see also: Page Parking on Alertbox) I finally dragged it onto my larger screen and watched it over my first stir fry in N1.
It starts with a professional introduction from a presenter. Then the speaker takes the stage and opens with a disarming and charming reassurance that the contents will not be incideniary. The tone of the piece is earnest, optimistic and has a sort of playful detachment from the subject. Quips and jokes are present and are subtle, like a good seasoning.
The actual content follows the reassurance. It is a straightforward exhibit of articles about page bloat which are themselves bloated. Spoiler alert: later in the video is a page from Apple which is dozens of MB without even using video.
Adverts are covered from a high level business perspective. There are political views mixed in. There are no specific solutions because we all know how to do performance better – or can easily find out with an hour of reading.
The video identifies the aspects beyond developer control. It suggests equally high-level changes to our industry and even society may be needed. In an entertaining way.
Not the video I expected. Glad I finally watched and would urge you to do the same.