Frivolity – Tech, writing, and tech writing

Virtual Reality

Inspired by the apparantly untrue tale that eBay was invented to let founder Pierre Omidyar’s then fiancée trade Pez dispensers, one of the first things I used the site for was to track down a beloved toy from my youth: the View-Master. And despite how the world and technology had changed in the intervening *cough* couple of years *cough*, it was still a bit magical to look at those 3D images again.

Roll on another *cough* couple of years *cough* (it’s very dusty in here, isn’t it?), and View-Master has arrived in the 21st century with a virtual reality (VR) compatible version of their iconic viewer – complete with a little clicky lever on the side for interaction/navigation. 🙂 You’ll need an iPhone/Android phone and apps to do anything with it: it’s pretty much a plastic version of Google Cardboard, but has springs and latches and a wriststrap to keep your phone that little bit more protected (though they do call out that the View-Master is not designed to be a protective case).

Pokemon Go!

We’ve been playing Pokemon Go (PG) with the boys for a week now, and we’re having great fun. It’s proved an excellent incentive to persuading small people to go out for a walk, and we’re clocking up steps on our FitBits like never before. The walks take a fair bit longer than usual as we have to pause regularly and zig-zag along our nominal route to hit as many pokestops and gyms as possible, and to catch wild Pokemon(s?). We’re also having fun spotting other folks playing, and chatting with cheery strangers who think it’s cute to see a family out gaming together. I’m not sure when I last saw a phenomenon like it. If you haven’t started playing yet but think you might like to, here are a few tips from our experiences. Continue reading “Pokemon Go!”

Lose weight by drinking cold drinks!

In honour of the time-honoured New Year’s resolution of losing weight, my co-conspirator Dave calculated how to do so by doing no more than drinking cold beverages. 🙂 What to know more? Read on! Continue reading “Lose weight by drinking cold drinks!”

Bad Tech Writing – #2

The second last bullet point in the Unpacking instructions that came with my father-in-law’s new lawn mower seem to have lost something in translation… (Crucially, a “not”!)

Lego Ideas Research Institute

Lego Ideas is a nifty project that allows folks to submit their visions for Lego products, then the public gets to vote, and the most popular ideas get official kits! There are some really nice ideas in the running at present – I’m hankering for the London Natural History Museum myself.

Dave recently surprised me (plus a number of other sciencey women in his circles) with the Research Institute kit which includes a paleontologist, an astronomer and a chemist – all female characters. I got stuck into my kit straight away and loved the builds – they’re all small (built on a 6×6 base plate), but have some nifty design characteristics: the constructions of the dinosaur fossil and the telescope are particularly fun. Continue reading “Lego Ideas Research Institute”