Life – David Ball's blog

Things I learned in 2016

Things I have learned this year, in no particular order: Continue reading Things I learned in 2016

Forget Pokemon Go, we played the best augmented reality game in Italy

Everyone (including me) seemed to get hooked on Pokemon Go this year, when it first came out. Several of us at work would go for a walk, and collect Pokemon along the way, and it was amazing to see many others doing the same, young and old.

At the height of this fashion, we went for a holiday to Venice, and I swapped one augmented reality game for another, one which really made the trip. Continue reading Forget Pokemon Go, we played the best augmented reality game in Italy

I think many people voted Brexit for all the wrong reasons, blaming immigrants who aren’t at fault

I’m still upset that our nation has voted to leave the EU, and risked financial crisis for no actual benefit.

When I woke to the news I immediately felt sick with worry, worry about the uncertainty to come. The value of the pound had immediately plummeted and I realised that I still needed to buy Euros for our upcoming holiday to Venice. That’ll be more expensive now than a couple of days ago. Continue reading I think many people voted Brexit for all the wrong reasons, blaming immigrants who aren’t at fault

My answers to a quiz about the EU referendum

I’ve been on the fence about the EU referendum. It’s a difficult choice, especially when you have to choose between supporting one of these:

david cameron and boris johnson

Which is like choosing whether to eat dog poo, or horse poo. Both will leave a nasty taste in your mouth.

Today took one of those quizzes that you often see linked on Facebook. I thought it might be interesting to share my opinions about each point, and you can see the decision at the end that the quiz thinks I should vote. Continue reading My answers to a quiz about the EU referendum

Who needs actual reality when you have VIRTUAL REALITY!!

I’ve noticed for quite while that some Youtube videos have a little cardboard symbol:

I’ve seen some of the 360 videos before, and I think the first was this awesome Star Wars scene, that you can look around in 3D:

On a whim, I decided to get a Google cardboard to see if it’s a decent experience, and now I’m hooked! Continue reading Who needs actual reality when you have VIRTUAL REALITY!!

Paper forms that annoy me

I was recently sent a form through the post to complete. Yes an actual paper form, like from Victorian times!

Annoyed already that I had to do this on paper with a pen, and without handy browser autocomplete, the first thing the form asked really annoyed me. Continue reading Paper forms that annoy me

What I did in 2015

2015 is over and dead. But from the ashes rises 2016. Which it is today. January the 1st in fact.

Here’s what I did last year:

Published an Android app called “What’s Glob been up to?” on the Google Play store. More about that here.
Got married.
Got a new job.
Published an Android game called BotSumo on the Google Play store. More about that here.
Climbed an apple tree (see top pic).
Went to Carcassonne (also played Carcassonne in Carcassone).

Helped create an interactive display for the museum.

Spent ages on a game about a giant space turd, which nobody liked, and even I hated by the end. I uploaded it to Newgrounds – see here (requires Firefox & the Unity player).
Grew a beard, then shaved it off.

Created some graphics for my brother’s card game – which he still hasn’t finished:

Created this blog! I’ve listed the most viewed articles from 2015 here.

Leaving Silktide

So Monday was my last day working for Silktide. I’ve been there 10 years, so the move to a new company will no doubt be a shock to me!

Especially as I’m going back to agency work. Something I’ve not done in about 4 years since Silktide decided to give up on web design.

In 10 years I’ve seen the company change from web agency, into a software company working only on our own products. I miss working with clients, working on short projects you can hand over to a happy client. My problem with working on software is that you’re detached from the customer (unless obviously you’re in a role that deals with them). So it’ll be nice to speak to smart people and help them achieve whatever it is they need a web agency for.

The best time since the move to software was when we turned Nibbler (the free website testing tool) into a social experience, where users could claim websites and add to an online portfolio. Some users really loved it, especially the leaderboard showing the top 10. It was nice to get involved in that community and get to know users. That’s the sort of thing that really gets me excited, seeing people enjoy using a product I’ve worked on, and getting useful feedback. Unfortunately though, the decision was made to strip Nibbler back to be much more simple where there’s zero interaction.

Working on a string of projects that will never see the light of day, and one which the threat of it being discontinued hanging over it like the sword of Damocles saps quite a lot of my morale, so I’ve not been enjoying my work for quite a while, which is why I’m glad to be moving back to a type of work which I think will make me happier.

I’ll miss all the guys there a lot though, they’re a great, very talented bunch. And the office banter is fantastic. Hopefully I’ll still see them often, as I’m only moving a couple of doors down.

So, two life changing things in the space of a month, getting married, and switching jobs! Both took a lot of preparation and stress, which is now mostly almost over.

Desk dinos & robots

I had a fairly substantial collection of robots and dinosaurs on my desk. I’ve brought them home. Not sure now what to do with them!

Leaving presents

I love the Lego games, and was so happy to get this as a leaving present from the Silktide gang. I was going to do something more productive in the time before I start my new job, but I’ve now constructed this. It’d be rude not to play at least just a little bit…

This is my other leaving present. Jess bought me a “SquattyPotty”. I had no idea what it was until I watched the hilarious video (here).

The science is sound, and Jess is clearly looking out for the health of my colon, but I had absolutely no idea how to react when given this as a present.

Nobody has ever given me a pooing aid before.

Out of software

Biggest irritation right now, I don’t have an Adobe Creative Cloud licence at home, so can’t use Photoshop or Flash, and I wanted to use this time for working on a fun side project. It costs more than I’m willing to pay for only working on hobby stuff, dammit!

What I will be doing though is learning Zurb’s Foundation. I’ve always been a fan of Bootstrap, and this looks similar, so shouldn’t take long to learn.