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Source: https://andypiper.wordpress.com/feed/

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14. <title>The lost outpost</title>
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16. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk</link>
17. <description>technology, society, life</description>
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34. <title>Personal cards</title>
35. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2024/03/19/personal-cards/</link>
36. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2024/03/19/personal-cards/#respond</comments>
38. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
39. <pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2024 23:45:14 +0000</pubDate>
40. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
41. <category><![CDATA[business cards]]></category>
42. <category><![CDATA[career]]></category>
43. <category><![CDATA[freelance]]></category>
44. <category><![CDATA[identity]]></category>
45. <category><![CDATA[moo cards]]></category>
46. <category><![CDATA[work]]></category>
47. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=4157</guid>
48.  
49. <description><![CDATA[About my new cards. I've tried to capture my skills, abilities and interests. They feature details from two different designs of my pen plotter artwork. &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2024/03/19/personal-cards/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Personal cards</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
50. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default has-lightbox">
51. <figure class="alignleft size-medium is-resized"><a href="https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/674165160771625072"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" data-attachment-id="4160" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2024/03/19/personal-cards/aa6a623e-916b-4298-89f8-07999a4099ba/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?fit=2159%2C2159&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2159,2159" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1710488459&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.2200000286119&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA" data-image-description="&lt;p&gt;Three square business cards.&lt;/p&gt;
52. " data-image-caption="<p>Three square business cards.</p>
53. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?fit=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1" alt="Three square business cards. Two show a decoration of detail from two different black and white abstract designs. The third shows the text from the reverse: Andy Piper freelance technologist consultant | speaker maker | podcaster" class="wp-image-4160" style="width:240px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=1536%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=2048%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?resize=1088%2C1088&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AA6A623E-916B-4298-89F8-07999A4099BA.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></figure></div>
54.  
55.  
56. <p>I&#8217;ve been getting to more events lately (casual meetups, small conferences, academic workshops, etc); but, I&#8217;ve been dissatisfied with my answer when I was asked the question &#8220;what do you do right now?&#8221; &#8211;  because I often start to talk about a specific project.</p>
57.  
58.  
59.  
60. <p>I&#8217;ve got a number of interesting but limited (in time) pieces of work right now, and I&#8217;m excited to be involved with them; but ideally, I don&#8217;t want to describe myself and my capabilities in terms of what I&#8217;m doing for any one client, since I may not be continuing with a specific role for a longer term. It also hasn&#8217;t felt ideal to hand out a card for the studio, podcast, or with one of my client &#8220;hats&#8221;, since doing so doesn&#8217;t signal availability for &#8220;other things&#8221;.</p>
61.  
62.  
63.  
64. <p>So, time to refresh my business cards. I&#8217;m still using <a href="https://refer.moo.com/s/andypiperuk8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MOO</a> (<a data-type="link" data-id="https://andypiper.co.uk/2006/09/19/flickr-mini-cards/" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2006/09/19/flickr-mini-cards/">after all these years</a>) &#8211; I&#8217;m happy with what they offer. The cards feature details from two different designs of my pen plotter artwork from <a href="https://forgeandcraft.co.uk">the studio</a> (original framed pieces, as well as prints, are <a data-type="link" data-id="https://shop.forgeandcraft.co.uk/category/art-prints-and-plotter-art" href="https://shop.forgeandcraft.co.uk/category/art-prints-and-plotter-art">available in the store</a>). I&#8217;ve gone with the recycled cotton finish this time around.</p>
65.  
66.  
67.  
68. <p>For the tagline, I&#8217;ve tried to capture a number of my skills, abilities and interests, without limiting myself to a single niche. </p>
69.  
70.  
71.  
72. <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>freelance technologist; consultant | speaker | maker | podcaster</strong></p>
73.  
74.  
75.  
76. <ul>
77. <li>I&#8217;ve been working professionally in <em>Developer Relations</em> for ~15 years, most frequently in the Developer Advocate role, but within that I&#8217;ve also leaned in to Partner Engineering, management, and team leadership at different times; and, I&#8217;ve also worked with public policy and moderation teams, as well as on some complex technical integrations. </li>
78.  
79.  
80.  
81. <li>This year, I&#8217;ve also run booths at events (including at State of Open Con 2023 for the Open Source Initiative, at tech events for OpenUK, and at FOSDEM 2024 for Mastodon); and, I&#8217;ve been speaker coordinator for a major 2-day conference (State of Open Con 2024). </li>
82.  
83.  
84.  
85. <li>I love to speak at events myself, and I&#8217;m honoured to have been invited to <a href="https://qconlondon.com/keynote/apr2024/where-art-history-technology" data-type="link" data-id="https://qconlondon.com/keynote/apr2024/where-art-history-technology">deliver the closing keynote at QCon in London</a> next month. </li>
86.  
87.  
88.  
89. <li>Our weekly podcast <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz" data-type="link" data-id="https://gamesatwork.biz">Games at Work dot Biz</a> is a fun ongoing element of life &#8211; it keeps me up-to-date with what is going on at a macro level in technology trends, and has always been a great opportunity to explain and educate. Find us in your favourite podcast app!</li>
90.  
91.  
92.  
93. <li>The <a href="https://forgeandcraft.co.uk">Forge &amp; Craft maker space and art studio</a> is also a big part of my current identity.</li>
94. </ul>
95.  
96.  
97.  
98. <p>What can I do to help you? Potentially, a range of things: through running a developer program for a technology project, to providing guidance and advice around current technology trends (fractional CTO roles), to senior community leadership and management. I have 20+ years of experience in the Open Source movement, and contributing to projects at every level.</p>
99.  
100.  
101.  
102. <p>I&#8217;m continuing to work on my online presence, but <a href="https://andypiper.omg.lol" data-type="link" data-id="https://andypiper.omg.lol">my landing page</a> is a good starting point to find out what I&#8217;m working on (plus, the omg lol domain seems to entertain people!)</p>
103.  
104.  
105.  
106. <p>If you&#8217;d like to book time with me for consultation, you can <a href="https://calendly.com/andypiper" data-type="link" data-id="https://calendly.com/andypiper">find my bookable calendar here</a>; you can <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/andypiper" data-type="link" data-id="https://github.com/sponsors/andypiper">sponsor me on GitHub or book a session with me and your team here</a>; or, <a href="https://ko-fi.com/andypiper" data-type="link" data-id="https://ko-fi.com/andypiper">simply buy me a coffee / fund my habit of trying out new gadgets over here</a>.</p>
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115. <item>
116. <title>Six (and a bit) months on Team Mastodon</title>
117. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/12/27/six-and-a-bit-months-on-team-mastodon/</link>
118. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/12/27/six-and-a-bit-months-on-team-mastodon/#respond</comments>
120. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
121. <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 14:58:44 +0000</pubDate>
122. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
123. <category><![CDATA[API]]></category>
124. <category><![CDATA[developer relations]]></category>
125. <category><![CDATA[devrel]]></category>
126. <category><![CDATA[fediverse]]></category>
127. <category><![CDATA[Fosdem]]></category>
128. <category><![CDATA[mastodon]]></category>
129. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=4076</guid>
130.  
131. <description><![CDATA[I was officially part of the Mastodon core team for a good part of 2023; here’s a look at what I worked on and delivered for the project.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/12/27/six-and-a-bit-months-on-team-mastodon/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Six (and a bit) months on Team Mastodon</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
132. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
133. <p>Back in May, Eugen <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/may-update-82941004">announced that I’d joined the team at Mastodon gGmbH</a>, to look after Developer Relations. I was helping out in different ways, and getting to know the community across different Fediverse projects, since the start of the year; it was great to be able to spend a small portion of my freelance time working on something that I personally believe in, that I’m excited about, and where I can bring relevant experience to bear in multiple areas.</p>
134.  
135.  
136.  
137. <p>The initial six month arrangement technically wrapped up at the end of November, and I thought it might be nice to reflect on what I was able to achieve over that period (I’m also excited to be able to continue this work going into 2024). Some of the work was very much “behind the scenes” / “under the radar”, so it is less straightforward to document here, but here are some of the larger and more visible outcomes.</p>
138.  
139.  
140.  
141. <ul>
142. <li>I worked on a <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper/improving-mastodon-developer-documentation-12cm">full update of supporting libraries and client apps for the website</a>. This is now much more complete and vibrant! I’m a particular fan of the <a href="https://joinmastodon.org/apps">niche “retro computing” section</a> of the site, since it directly intersects with my other interests in tech.
143. <ul>
144. <li>I’d also like to use this space to again, say <strong>Thank You</strong> to the large number of developers that spend their time building libraries, tools, and full Mastodon apps, for the platform. We appreciate you!</li>
145. </ul>
146. </li>
147.  
148.  
149.  
150. <li>I refreshed the <a href="https://github.com/mastodon">GitHub organisation</a> &amp; project look-and-feel, setting up an organisation-level README, and links to our Code of Conduct across all of our projects.</li>
151.  
152.  
153.  
154. <li>I worked on cross-project and cross-instance collaboration channels. This is a little more difficult to document because there are a lot of channels (Mastodon, Discord, Signal, GitHub / other source control communities, face-to-face and 1:1 meetings), but I’m hopeful (and I believe) that I’ve been successful in bringing folks together in meaningful ways over the course of the year.</li>
155.  
156.  
157.  
158. <li>I attended a number of workshops on behalf of the team &#8211; the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosted a series on challenges to moderation and safety in distributed social networks, the <a href="https://dtinit.org/docs/dtp-federated-miniconference-report">Data Transfer Initiative ran an excellent conversation</a>, and I’ve had several contacts with folks via <a href="https://fediforum.org/">Fediforum</a>.</li>
159.  
160.  
161.  
162. <li>I talked about Mastodon and the Fediverse to Developer Relations-specific audiences at DevRelCon in London, and at the Dublin DevRel meetup (<a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/06/devrel-in-the-era-of-community-everywhere/">recording here</a>).</li>
163.  
164.  
165.  
166. <li>I represented and spoke about Mastodon at <a href="https://2023.allthingsopen.org/">All Things Open</a> (alongside my personal attendance). Stickers!</li>
167. </ul>
168.  
169.  
170. <div class="wp-block-image">
171. <figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" width="400" height="400" data-attachment-id="4075" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/12/27/six-and-a-bit-months-on-team-mastodon/img_0584-2-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C2000&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2000,2000" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.78&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1697463370&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.86&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0036630036630037&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0584-2-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?fit=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1-400x400.jpg?resize=400%2C400&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4075" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?resize=1088%2C1088&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/img_0584-2-1.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An array of tech-related stickers on a tabletop, featuring Mastodon logos</figcaption></figure></div>
172.  
173.  
174. <ul>
175. <li>I worked with the triage team that <a href="https://renchap.com/blog/">Renaud</a> established to significantly burn down the backlog of <a href="https://github.com/mastodon/documentation">documentation</a> and <a href="https://github.com/mastodon/joinmastodon">website</a> issues. There was a particularly large burst of activity around this during November and December, and this was also part of <a href="https://24pullrequests.com/users/andypiper">my 24 Pull Requests contribution</a> this month.
176. <ul>
177. <li>there is a lot more still to do here, and contributions are welcomed. We want to rebuild the documentation website in a format that is more closely aligned with the <a href="https://joinmastodon.org/">joinmastodon.org</a> site, and would love to have some help with that.</li>
178. </ul>
179. </li>
180.  
181.  
182.  
183. <li>I secured a table for the project at <a href="https://fosdem.org">FOSDEM</a> 2024, and I will be working with Renaud and others to run that presence.</li>
184. </ul>
185.  
186.  
187.    <blockquote data-instance="macaw.social" data-post-id="111450306983226781" class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed">
188.        <p>Excited to announce that the <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon" class="u-url mention">@<span>Mastodon</span></a></span> project will have a stand at <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/FOSDEM2024" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FOSDEM2024</span></a> &#8230; February this year was my first time at <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/FOSDEM" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FOSDEM</span></a>, and this time I&#39;ll be there with a project I support! Looking forward to it. <a href="https://fosdem.org/2024/news/2023-11-20-accepted-stands-fosdem-2024/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">fosdem.org/2024/news/2023-11-2</span><span class="invisible">0-accepted-stands-fosdem-2024/</span></a></p>
189.        <p class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed-author">
190.            &mdash; Andy Piper (<a rel="mention" class="u-url mention" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/author/andypiper/">@<span>andypiper</span></a>@macaw.social)
191.            <a class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed-link" href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper/111450306983226781">2023-11-21T19:58:45.211Z</a>
192.        </p>
193.    </blockquote>
194.  
195. <script src="https://macaw.social/embed.js" async="async"></script>
196.  
197.  
198. <ul>
199. <li>With the aim to maintain a range of different relationships and channels of conversation, I’ve also been actively having discussions with organisations and supporting groups such as <a href="https://about.iftas.org/">IFTAS</a>, <a href="https://www.fastly.com/lp/fediverse/">Fastly</a>, Fediforum, and more.</li>
200. </ul>
201.  
202.  
203.  
204. <p>I’d love to spend more time with the Mastodon team and contribute in even more ways; from the perspective of building a sustainable freelancer lifestyle, it is only a small part of my time, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andypiperuk" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andypiperuk">I’m open to other opportunities</a>.</p>
205.  
206.  
207. <div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
208. <figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="739" height="591" data-attachment-id="4079" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/12/27/six-and-a-bit-months-on-team-mastodon/img_1317/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?fit=2600%2C2080&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2600,2080" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1703690396&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.69&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;25&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0034965034965035&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_1317" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?fit=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?fit=400%2C320&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=739%2C591&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4079" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?w=2600&amp;ssl=1 2600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=400%2C320&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=150%2C120&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=768%2C614&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1229&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1638&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=1200%2C960&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?resize=1088%2C870&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_1317.jpeg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mastodon in Malta! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f1f2-1f1f9.png" alt="🇲🇹" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></figcaption></figure></div>
209.  
210.  
211. <p>Looking forward to 2024! FOSDEM next, and then, <a href="https://dsmw.cs.princeton.edu/attendees" data-type="link" data-id="https://dsmw.cs.princeton.edu/attendees">Princeton</a>…</p>
212. ]]></content:encoded>
214. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/12/27/six-and-a-bit-months-on-team-mastodon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
215. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
218. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
219. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">4076</post-id> </item>
220. <item>
221. <title>Half-frame photography</title>
222. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/</link>
223. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/#comments</comments>
225. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
226. <pubDate>Mon, 27 Nov 2023 23:30:36 +0000</pubDate>
227. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
228. <category><![CDATA[35mm]]></category>
229. <category><![CDATA[alfie type]]></category>
230. <category><![CDATA[film]]></category>
231. <category><![CDATA[half-frame]]></category>
232. <category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category>
233. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=4025</guid>
234.  
235. <description><![CDATA[Back in 2022 I backed a Kickstarter campaign for a half-frame film camera with switchable lenses - the Alfie TYCH. Now that it arrived, here are some of my observations.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Half-frame photography</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
236. <content:encoded><![CDATA[    <blockquote data-instance="macaw.social" data-post-id="111484516342491591" class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed">
237.        <p>I backed the Alfie TYCH half-frame film camera on Kickstarter, and have finally gotten around to trying it out. Here are a few of the shots I&#39;m happiest with, from a recent trip to Glasgow. Ilford 400 film. <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/Film" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Film</span></a> <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/StreetPhotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>StreetPhotography</span></a> <a href="https://macaw.social/tags/BlackAndWhite" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BlackAndWhite</span></a></p>
238.        <p class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed-author">
239.            &mdash; Andy Piper (<a rel="mention" class="u-url mention" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/author/andypiper/">@<span>andypiper</span></a>@macaw.social)
240.            <a class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed-link" href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper/111484516342491591">2023-11-27T20:58:38.607Z</a>
241.        </p>
242.    </blockquote><script src="https://macaw.social/embed.js" async="async"></script>
243.  
244.  
245. <p>It has been quite a long while since I posted about photography on my blog (I&#8217;m sad about that, when I remember that when I started writing here, the tagline for the site was <em>&#8220;photography, technology, life&#8221;</em>), so let&#8217;s change things!</p>
246.  
247.  
248.  
249. <p>Back in 2022 I backed <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davefaulkner/alfie-tych/description" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davefaulkner/alfie-tych/description">a Kickstarter campaign</a> for a half-frame film camera with switchable lenses &#8211; the <a href="https://alfiecameras.com" data-type="link" data-id="https://alfiecameras.com">Alfie TYCH</a>. I remember that one of the things I noticed about the project is that the creator Dave Faulkner is based in a place I used to live&#8230; beyond that, I have dabbled in film from time to time, and I was intrigued by the flexibility of switching lenses and the idea of making a film &#8220;last longer&#8221; considering the cost. It is not a very cheap entry point &#8211; it&#8217;s not a disposable 35mm camera, and for the price it is also not an SLR or DSLR &#8211; but I went ahead and backed the project, as I liked the idea.</p>
250.  
251.  
252.  
253. <p>Fast forward to a couple of months ago when my TYCH arrived&#8230; I didn&#8217;t have an immediate cause to break it out, until about a fortnight ago when we went on a short trip. My reward enabled me to choose some film with the camera, and I picked up some Ilford black and white rolls. First impressions: the camera itself is dinky &#8211; it fits pretty much in the palm of a hand/in and out of a coat pocket, so it is great for street photography. I&#8217;m not going to do a full-on review here &#8211; firstly I don&#8217;t have my camera to hand as I type this; secondly, I&#8217;m not a film camera expert; and finally, there&#8217;s another good review over <a href="https://austerityphoto.co.uk/whats-it-all-about-alfie-the-alfie-tych-two-roll-review/" data-type="link" data-id="https://austerityphoto.co.uk/whats-it-all-about-alfie-the-alfie-tych-two-roll-review/">here</a>. Go read that &#8211; I thought it was good!</p>
254.  
255.  
256.  
257. <p>So, why am I writing about it, if not to fully review? Well, to share some thoughts and personal observations.</p>
258.  
259.  
260.  
261. <ul>
262. <li>The TYCH is a nice little camera &#8211; as mentioned, it fits in my pocket, so it was super handy on a trip where I got to spend most of a day to myself wandering around and exploring Glasgow (a city I haven&#8217;t visited, it turns out, for about 15 years &#8211; I knew I&#8217;d been there back when I worked at IBM, but it turns out it must have been pre-Foursquare/Swarm or TripIt recording of my travels&#8230; Gmail&#8217;s memory stretched back further)</li>
263.  
264.  
265.  
266. <li>35mm film is pretty expensive &#8211; I&#8217;m seeing prices around about £20 for a 36 exposure roll (without really shopping around), so stretching that to ~72 images is a nice trick.
267. <ul>
268. <li>&#8230; however, I hadn&#8217;t really connected it with the fact that you essentially have 2 portrait-format images in a landscape-format full frame, so those times I turned the camera sideways for a portrait shot, was basically redundant.</li>
269.  
270.  
271.  
272. <li>it took me some time to get used to getting the wind-on right with the TYCH &#8211; there&#8217;s a small white indicator that shows up as you wind, and I missed it a lot when I was starting out with the camera.</li>
273. </ul>
274. </li>
275.  
276.  
277.  
278. <li>I played it pretty safe for the first film, given I was getting used the camera: I basically stayed with the default lens and ISO throughout the roll. When I wanted to finish it off, I was back in the studio, and most of the pictures I shot indoors suffered from that &#8211; not thinking about focal length, ISO and exposure resulted in more unsuccessful images&#8230; lesson learned on that.</li>
279.  
280.  
281.  
282. <li>I haven&#8217;t needed to have film developed for <em>years</em>! Fortunately, the <a href="https://austerityphoto.co.uk/whats-it-all-about-alfie-the-alfie-tych-two-roll-review/" data-type="link" data-id="https://austerityphoto.co.uk/whats-it-all-about-alfie-the-alfie-tych-two-roll-review/">review on Austerity Photo</a> made me aware of the existence of <a href="https://photohippo.co.uk">Photo Hippo</a> here in the UK, and they did a great job of getting my photos back to me online quickly. Thanks, team!</li>
283. </ul>
284.  
285.  
286.  
287. <p>That&#8217;s all, really &#8211; I posted a few of the shots on Mastodon, but here are some more &#8211; I&#8217;m definitely not going for a Pulitzer prize for photography, but I&#8217;m learning, and enjoying the TYCH. I&#8217;ve done the smallest amount of post-processing in Adobe Lightroom, primarily to crop and level as needed. As with the images I posted on Mastodon, there&#8217;s an accidental-but-nice double exposure in this set, which I&#8217;m quite happy with (and I&#8217;ll also happily recommend <a href="https://www.cafewander.com/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.cafewander.com/">Cafe Wander</a> as a great spot for breakfast in Glasgow, while I mention it).</p>
288.  
289.  
290.  
291. <p>Time to revive <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/andypiper" data-type="link" data-id="https://flickr.com/photos/andypiper">my Flickr account</a>, perhaps? Not sure; these days, if you&#8217;re a Fediverse fan, you&#8217;ll mostly <a href="https://pixelfed.social/@andypiper" data-type="link" data-id="https://pixelfed.social/@andypiper">find me sharing photos on Pixelfed</a>.</p>
292.  
293.  
294.  
295. <figure data-carousel-extra='{"blog_id":1,"permalink":"https:\/\/andypiper.co.uk\/2023\/11\/27\/half-frame-photography\/"}'  class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
296. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="541" data-attachment-id="4042" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000009/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?fit=1800%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1800,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084609&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000009" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?fit=222%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?fit=400%2C541&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4042" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=400%2C541&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4042" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=400%2C541&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=222%2C300&amp;ssl=1 222w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=111%2C150&amp;ssl=1 111w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=768%2C1038&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=1136%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1136w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=1515%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1515w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=1200%2C1622&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?resize=1088%2C1471&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000009.jpg?w=1800&amp;ssl=1 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
297.  
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300. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="622" data-attachment-id="4032" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000011/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?fit=1536%2C2389&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1536,2389" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084614&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000011" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?fit=193%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?fit=400%2C622&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4032" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=400%2C622&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4032" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=400%2C622&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=193%2C300&amp;ssl=1 193w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=96%2C150&amp;ssl=1 96w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=768%2C1195&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=988%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 988w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=1317%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1317w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=1200%2C1866&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?resize=1088%2C1692&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?w=1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000011.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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304. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="544" data-attachment-id="4040" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000012/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?fit=1790%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1790,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084614&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000012" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?fit=221%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?fit=400%2C544&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4040" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=400%2C544&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4040" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=400%2C544&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=221%2C300&amp;ssl=1 221w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=110%2C150&amp;ssl=1 110w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=768%2C1044&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=1130%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1130w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=1507%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1507w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=1200%2C1631&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?resize=1088%2C1479&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000012.jpg?w=1790&amp;ssl=1 1790w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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308. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="570" data-attachment-id="4036" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000017/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?fit=1672%2C2384&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1672,2384" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084624&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000017" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?fit=210%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?fit=400%2C570&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4036" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=400%2C570&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4036" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=400%2C570&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=210%2C300&amp;ssl=1 210w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=105%2C150&amp;ssl=1 105w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=768%2C1095&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=1077%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1077w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=1436%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1436w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=1200%2C1711&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?resize=1088%2C1551&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000017.jpg?w=1672&amp;ssl=1 1672w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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312. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="548" data-attachment-id="4038" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000013/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?fit=1777%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1777,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084614&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000013" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?fit=219%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?fit=400%2C548&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4038" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=400%2C548&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4038" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=400%2C548&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=219%2C300&amp;ssl=1 219w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=110%2C150&amp;ssl=1 110w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=768%2C1052&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=1122%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1122w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=1496%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1496w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=1200%2C1643&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?resize=1088%2C1490&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000013.jpg?w=1777&amp;ssl=1 1777w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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316. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="578" data-attachment-id="4033" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000018/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?fit=1607%2C2323&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1607,2323" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084624&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000018" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?fit=208%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?fit=400%2C578&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4033" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=400%2C578&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4033" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=400%2C578&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=208%2C300&amp;ssl=1 208w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=104%2C150&amp;ssl=1 104w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=768%2C1110&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=1063%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1063w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=1417%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1417w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=1200%2C1735&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?resize=1088%2C1573&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?w=1607&amp;ssl=1 1607w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000018.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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320. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="540" data-attachment-id="4030" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000022/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?fit=1801%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1801,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084624&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000022" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?fit=222%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?fit=400%2C540&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4030" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=400%2C540&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4030" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=400%2C540&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=222%2C300&amp;ssl=1 222w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=111%2C150&amp;ssl=1 111w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=768%2C1038&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=1137%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1137w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=1516%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1516w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=1200%2C1621&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?resize=1088%2C1470&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022.jpg?w=1801&amp;ssl=1 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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324. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="551" data-attachment-id="4037" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000024/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?fit=1731%2C2386&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1731,2386" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084629&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000024" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?fit=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?fit=400%2C551&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4037" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=400%2C551&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4037" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=400%2C551&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1 218w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=109%2C150&amp;ssl=1 109w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=768%2C1059&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=1114%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1114w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=1486%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1486w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=1200%2C1654&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?resize=1088%2C1500&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000024.jpg?w=1731&amp;ssl=1 1731w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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328. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="551" data-attachment-id="4031" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000025/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?fit=1678%2C2313&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1678,2313" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084629&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000025" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?fit=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?fit=400%2C551&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4031" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=400%2C551&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4031" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=400%2C551&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=218%2C300&amp;ssl=1 218w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=109%2C150&amp;ssl=1 109w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=768%2C1059&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=1114%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1114w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=1486%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1486w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=1200%2C1654&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?resize=1088%2C1500&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025.jpg?w=1678&amp;ssl=1 1678w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
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332. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="546" data-attachment-id="4051" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000007/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?fit=1781%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1781,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084609&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000007" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?fit=220%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?fit=400%2C546&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4051" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=400%2C546&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4051" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=400%2C546&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=220%2C300&amp;ssl=1 220w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=110%2C150&amp;ssl=1 110w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=768%2C1049&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=1124%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1124w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=1499%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1499w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=1200%2C1639&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?resize=1088%2C1486&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000007.jpg?w=1781&amp;ssl=1 1781w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
333.  
334.  
335.  
336. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="606" data-attachment-id="4050" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/000022-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?fit=1607%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1607,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084624&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000022-2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?fit=198%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?fit=400%2C606&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4050" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=400%2C606&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4050" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=400%2C606&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=198%2C300&amp;ssl=1 198w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=99%2C150&amp;ssl=1 99w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=768%2C1163&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=1015%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1015w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=1353%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1353w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=1200%2C1817&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?resize=1088%2C1647&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?w=1607&amp;ssl=1 1607w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000022-2.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
337.  
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339.  
340. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="570" data-attachment-id="4049" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/000025-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?fit=1706%2C2433&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1706,2433" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084629&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000025-2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?fit=210%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?fit=400%2C570&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4049" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=400%2C570&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4049" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=400%2C570&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=210%2C300&amp;ssl=1 210w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=105%2C150&amp;ssl=1 105w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=768%2C1095&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=1077%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1077w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=1436%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1436w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=1200%2C1711&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?resize=1088%2C1552&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000025-2.jpg?w=1706&amp;ssl=1 1706w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
341. </figure>
342.  
343.  
344.  
345. <p>Finally, here&#8217;s one of the usable images from indoors at <a href="https://forgeandcraft.co.uk">the studio</a> &#8211; taken during the Wimbledon Art Fair a couple of weekends back. More to come on that, shortly. You can also <a href="https://metapixl.com/@forgeandcraft">follow our studio on Pixelfed</a>.</p>
346.  
347.  
348.  
349. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="564" data-attachment-id="4044" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/attachment/000036/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?fit=1592%2C2244&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1592,2244" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SP-3000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1701084639&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Andy Piper 2023&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="000036" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?fit=213%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?fit=400%2C564&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=400%2C564&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4044" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=400%2C564&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=213%2C300&amp;ssl=1 213w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=106%2C150&amp;ssl=1 106w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=768%2C1083&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=1090%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1090w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=1453%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1453w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=1200%2C1691&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?resize=1088%2C1534&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/000036.jpg?w=1592&amp;ssl=1 1592w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
350. ]]></content:encoded>
352. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/11/27/half-frame-photography/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
353. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
356. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
357. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">4025</post-id> </item>
358. <item>
359. <title>A peek into the studio</title>
360. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/</link>
361. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/#respond</comments>
363. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
364. <pubDate>Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:49:36 +0000</pubDate>
365. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
366. <category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
367. <category><![CDATA[axidraw]]></category>
368. <category><![CDATA[computer art]]></category>
369. <category><![CDATA[forge and craft]]></category>
370. <category><![CDATA[pen plotter]]></category>
371. <category><![CDATA[plotter art]]></category>
372. <category><![CDATA[wimbledon]]></category>
373. <category><![CDATA[work in progress]]></category>
374. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3990</guid>
375.  
376. <description><![CDATA[Glimpses of some art pieces in progress, using an AxiDraw pen plotter.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">A peek into the studio</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
377. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
378. <p>In my <a href="https://buttondown.email/andypiper/archive/andys-discoveries-and-musings-issue-9-from-there/" data-type="link" data-id="https://buttondown.email/andypiper/archive/andys-discoveries-and-musings-issue-9-from-there/">most recent newsletter</a>, I wrote a bit about our maker studio space, <a href="https://forgeandcraft.co.uk">Forge &amp; Craft</a>.</p>
379.  
380.  
381.  
382. <p>There&#8217;s a lot more to say about the reasons for starting the space, how I&#8217;ve approached getting myself organised (or, um, not&#8230;), and what I&#8217;m working on. Next month is the winter edition of this year&#8217;s <a href="https://www.wimbledonartfair.com/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.wimbledonartfair.com/">Wimbledon Art Fair</a>, so right now, I&#8217;m deep into working on some pieces for display and sale there.</p>
383.  
384.  
385.  
386. <p>Since <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper/getting-arty-with-a-pi-3dk9" data-type="link" data-id="https://dev.to/andypiper/getting-arty-with-a-pi-3dk9">building a Brachiograph plotter</a> back in April, I&#8217;ve been fascinated by mechanical creation of art, and bought an <a href="https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/902" data-type="link" data-id="https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/902">AxiDraw</a> SE/A4 machine to scratch the itch to do something more meaningful. Strong recommendation towards the AxiDraw, and <a href="https://www.evilmadscientist.com/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.evilmadscientist.com/">Evil Mad Scientist Labs</a> who manufacture and support it &#8211; it&#8217;s an outstanding machine, user-upgradable (I added the coreless servo upgrade), and the support from the company and the community around the machines and software are fantastic. Expensive, but extremely well-made and supported.</p>
387.  
388.  
389.  
390. <p>In preparation for the show, I&#8217;ve been getting interested in the history of computer art going back to the 1960s and 1970s, and specifically the work of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Nees" data-type="link" data-id="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Nees">Georg Nees</a>, one of the pioneers in this space. It has been a nice mix of my background as an historian; looking at generating pieces using code; and also, experimenting with how the materials interact.</p>
391.  
392.  
393.  
394. <p>Here are a few glimpses of some of the works in progress.</p>
395.  
396.  
397.  
398. <figure data-carousel-extra='{"blog_id":1,"permalink":"https:\/\/andypiper.co.uk\/2023\/10\/26\/a-peek-into-the-studio\/"}'  class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
399. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="286" data-attachment-id="3999" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/img_0663/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?fit=5069%2C3621&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="5069,3621" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.78&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1698153464&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.86&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0035211267605634&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0663" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?fit=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?fit=400%2C286&amp;ssl=1" data-id="3999" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=400%2C286&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3999" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=400%2C286&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=150%2C107&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=768%2C549&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=1536%2C1097&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=2048%2C1463&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=1200%2C857&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?resize=1088%2C777&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0663.jpg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">I love this statement from Nees&#8217; 1972 Montreal portfolio</figcaption></figure>
400.  
401.  
402.  
403. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="300" data-attachment-id="4000" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/img_0474/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1696864490&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.22&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0474" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4000" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474-400x300.jpg?resize=400%2C300&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4000" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=150%2C113&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?resize=1088%2C816&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0474.jpg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Detail of a modified version of Nees&#8217; &#8220;Schotter&#8221; piece, plotted onto handmade paper</figcaption></figure>
404.  
405.  
406.  
407. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="225" data-attachment-id="3997" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1920,1080" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?fit=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-id="3997" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=400%2C225&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3997" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=150%2C84&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?resize=1088%2C612&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Frame-25-10-2023-09-56-43-2.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Prototyping bronze gel Uniball (final piece on different paper) with a cellular design</figcaption></figure>
408.  
409.  
410.  
411. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="300" data-attachment-id="3998" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/img_0675/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1698165563&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.22&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0675" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-id="3998" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675-400x300.jpg?resize=400%2C300&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3998" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=150%2C113&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?resize=1088%2C816&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0675.jpg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">White and silver Posca paint pens on black card</figcaption></figure>
412.  
413.  
414.  
415. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="300" data-attachment-id="4002" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/img_0682/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1698238977&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.22&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0682" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4002" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682-400x300.jpg?resize=400%2C300&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4002" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=150%2C113&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?resize=1088%2C816&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0682.jpg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Grey and black fineliners in different widths on white paper</figcaption></figure>
416.  
417.  
418.  
419. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="400" data-attachment-id="4001" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/img_0684/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?fit=2974%2C2974&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2974,2974" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1698239988&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;9&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0684" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?fit=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4001" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684-400x400.jpg?resize=400%2C400&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4001" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=1536%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=2048%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?resize=1088%2C1088&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0684.jpg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An as-yet-untitled piece plotted in greys and black on white paper</figcaption></figure>
420.  
421.  
422.  
423. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="400" data-attachment-id="4003" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/img_0679/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?fit=2990%2C2990&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2990,2990" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 15 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1698167018&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;9&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;320&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0679" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?fit=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1" data-id="4003" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679-400x400.jpg?resize=400%2C400&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4003" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=1536%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=2048%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?resize=1088%2C1088&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_0679.jpg?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An as-yet-untitled piece plotted in white and silver on black card</figcaption></figure>
424. </figure>
425.  
426.  
427.  
428. <p>The <a href="https://www.wimbledonartfair.com/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.wimbledonartfair.com/">Wimbledon Art Fair</a> is a free event, with over 150 different artists in their open, working studio spaces &#8211; if you&#8217;re able to pop in between November 16th to November 19th, it would be a delight to see you.</p>
429.  
430.  
431.  
432. <p>I&#8217;ll just leave this here, and get back to getting ready for the event!</p>
433.  
434.  
435.  
436. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://www.wimbledonartfair.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="203" data-attachment-id="4005" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/waf_red-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?fit=2385%2C1212&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2385,1212" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="WAF_RED-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?fit=300%2C152&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?fit=400%2C203&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=400%2C203&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-4005" style="width:843px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=400%2C203&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=300%2C152&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=150%2C76&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=768%2C390&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=1536%2C781&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=2048%2C1041&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=1200%2C610&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?resize=1088%2C553&amp;ssl=1 1088w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w, https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WAF_RED-1.png?w=2217&amp;ssl=1 2217w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></figure>
437. ]]></content:encoded>
439. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/26/a-peek-into-the-studio/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
440. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
443. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
444. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3990</post-id> </item>
445. <item>
446. <title>DevRel in the era of &#8220;Community Everywhere&#8221;</title>
447. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/06/devrel-in-the-era-of-community-everywhere/</link>
448. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/06/devrel-in-the-era-of-community-everywhere/#comments</comments>
450. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
451. <pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2023 11:26:37 +0000</pubDate>
452. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
453. <category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
454. <category><![CDATA[developer advocacy]]></category>
455. <category><![CDATA[developer relations]]></category>
456. <category><![CDATA[devrel]]></category>
457. <category><![CDATA[fediverse]]></category>
458. <category><![CDATA[mastodon]]></category>
459. <category><![CDATA[open source]]></category>
460. <category><![CDATA[platforms]]></category>
461. <category><![CDATA[presentations]]></category>
462. <category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
463. <category><![CDATA[talks]]></category>
464. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3963</guid>
465.  
466. <description><![CDATA[I recently gave a talk about Developer Relations and "Community Everywhere" - where communities are gathering online, and why it is important to continue to connect with them.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/06/devrel-in-the-era-of-community-everywhere/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">DevRel in the era of &#8220;Community Everywhere&#8221;</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
467. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
468. <p>Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to the <a href="https://www.devrelmeetup.com/">Dublin #DevRel Meetup</a>, organised by my friends at <a data-type="link" data-id="https://www.voxgig.com/" href="https://www.voxgig.com/">Voxgig</a> &#8211; all about <em>Developer Relations in the era of “Community Everywhere”</em>. I covered a range of the current and emerging social platforms where we can connect with our communities, and later in the session I talked more specifically about what’s new in Mastodon 4.2.</p>
469.  
470.  
471.  
472. <p>What is &#8220;Community Everywhere&#8221;? Well, it&#8217;s <a href="https://www.feverbee.com/communityeverywhere/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.feverbee.com/communityeverywhere/">something that Richard Millington wrote about not too long ago</a>. As I cover in the talk, <a href="https://adrianspeyer.substack.com/p/the-community-everywhere-buzzword" data-type="link" data-id="https://adrianspeyer.substack.com/p/the-community-everywhere-buzzword">not everyone believes that this is something new</a> &#8211; but, as <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper/thoughts-on-dev-rel-in-the-post-twitter-era-2k8a" data-type="link" data-id="https://dev.to/andypiper/thoughts-on-dev-rel-in-the-post-twitter-era-2k8a">I&#8217;ve written about before myself</a>, a core responsibility of a Developer Relations professional is to go where the developers are, and as there are <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/18/when-social-networks-are-like-pokemon/" data-type="link" data-id="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/18/when-social-networks-are-like-pokemon/">a number of new platforms</a> around at the moment, it&#8217;s an opportunity to learn, explore, and get comfortable with some different tools and ways of communicating.</p>
473.  
474.  
475.  
476. <p>A small hiccup meant that after about the 5th slide the presentation was no longer being shared into the online recording, but the <a href="https://speakerdeck.com/andypiper/developer-relations-in-the-era-of-community-everywhere">full slide deck is here</a> if you want to follow along with the talk, and I&#8217;ve also got a set of <a href="https://pipr.co/devrel-ece">notes and links for the talk online</a>.</p>
477.  
478.  
479.  
480. <p>Here’s the video.</p>
481.  
482.  
483.  
484. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
485. <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="739" height="416" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pl72q_ZLz_4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
486. </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">September DevRel Meetup &#8211; Andy Piper &#8211; Community Everywhere</figcaption></figure>
487.  
488.  
489.  
490. <p>The organisers also invited me to talk about the <a href="https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/" data-type="link" data-id="https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/">new release of Mastodon, version 4.2</a>. This is the first major version to have come out since I started helping the team, and it&#8217;s a pretty big deal as it introduces a few major features that folks have been looking for, notably <em>opt-in search</em>. In the second part of my section of the meetup, I talked a bit about version 4.2, and also shared a few tools that I use regularly that give me additional features and ways to keep up with the conversations around the communities I want to connect with. The notes are again available at the same link posted above.</p>
491.  
492.  
493.  
494. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
495. <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="739" height="416" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cXks_mt3laY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
496. </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">September DevRel Meetup &#8211; Andy Piper &#8211; Mastodon 4.2 and third party tools</figcaption></figure>
497.  
498.  
499.  
500. <p>tl;dr (aka didn&#8217;t watch / or check the notes) &#8211; there are a few third-party apps and tools that I use regularly to help me to stay up-to-date. In particular, I love (and choose to pay for) <a href="https://murmel.social" data-type="link" data-id="https://murmel.social">Murmel</a> and <a href="https://fediview.com">fediview</a> which email me daily summaries of links or conversations I might otherwise miss in the reverse-chronological timeline. I also use some browser extensions that add a few niceties to the experience, such as <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/graze-for-mastodon/epocinhmkcnjfjobnglchpbncndobblj" data-type="link" data-id="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/graze-for-mastodon/epocinhmkcnjfjobnglchpbncndobblj">Graze</a> and <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/streetpass-for-mastodon/fphjfedjhinpnjblomfebcjjpdpakhhn">Streetpass</a>.</p>
501.  
502.  
503.  
504. <p>Thanks to Sinead and Richard for having me talk at the meetup, and for continuing to support the DevRel community with great content each month &#8211; there&#8217;s also a <a href="https://www.voxgig.com/podcast" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.voxgig.com/podcast">good podcast from Voxgig</a> that you should check out.</p>
505. ]]></content:encoded>
507. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/10/06/devrel-in-the-era-of-community-everywhere/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
508. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
511. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
512. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3963</post-id> </item>
513. <item>
514. <title>Tech in the tent</title>
515. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/25/tech-in-the-tent/</link>
516. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/25/tech-in-the-tent/#respond</comments>
518. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
519. <pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 2023 20:12:16 +0000</pubDate>
520. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
521. <category><![CDATA[3dprinter]]></category>
522. <category><![CDATA[blinkenlights]]></category>
523. <category><![CDATA[camping]]></category>
524. <category><![CDATA[electronics]]></category>
525. <category><![CDATA[leds]]></category>
526. <category><![CDATA[lighting]]></category>
527. <category><![CDATA[maker]]></category>
528. <category><![CDATA[micropython]]></category>
529. <category><![CDATA[pimoroni]]></category>
530. <category><![CDATA[plasma2040]]></category>
531. <category><![CDATA[rp2040]]></category>
532. <category><![CDATA[tent]]></category>
533. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3893</guid>
534.  
535. <description><![CDATA[We went camping, but I still managed to do some making (with LEDs, RP2040, and MicroPython)&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/25/tech-in-the-tent/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Tech in the tent</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
536. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
537. <p>We’re just back from a week or so camping, in the wilds of mid-Hampshire.</p>
538.  
539.  
540.  
541. <p>It’s more-or-less the end of the season &#8211; the youngsters are back to school, the summer has wound down, so the sites are nice and quiet; although the weather is at risk of being more mixed than usual. As it happened, we were pretty fortunate on that front, and managed to get set up and broken down in the dry.</p>
542.  
543.  
544.  
545. <p>As a maker and techie, I sometimes get a bit antsy when we’re away like this (and when it isn’t <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2022/07/09/my-2022-so-far/">EMFCamp</a>&#8230; [1]). Fortunately, this time, I had a task that needed solving using technology &#8211; in this case, an RP2040 and some MicroPython.</p>
546.  
547.  
548.  
549. <p></p><p>Our tent is a very nice size, and we have space to sit and relax inside, but particularly in the evenings as the days get shorter at this time of year, the lighting situation leaves a lot to be desired. We’ve got a couple of battery-operated / rechargable camping lanterns, but wanted something more adjustable and that would cover more of the space, more evenly.</p> <p>Like any good maker, I went camping <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper/111059272892732378">prepared</a> &#8211; with a soldering iron, massive power supply, and a roll of LEDs&#8230;!</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="Xnapper-2023-09-25-19.28.55.png" width="514" height="600" border="0" src="http://andypiper.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/xnapper-2023-09-25-19.28.55.png?resize=514%2C600" alt="Embedded Mastodon post with the text: &quot;Just spent a bit of time setting up lighting for the tent. Fortunately, like any prepared #maker, I happened to bring soldering iron, solder mat, trimmers, #pimoroni Plasma 2040 #rp2040, and a lot of LEDs along on the camping trip. /cc @Raspberry_Pi TODO: a nice case for the Plasma 2040; I did not bring a #3dprinter with me to this field in Hampshire!&quot;" data-recalc-dims="1"/></p> <p>First off, let’s briefly mention the power. I take a large <a href="https://amzn.to/48sQeOk">Jackery Explorer 500 battery</a> with us, along with <a href="https://amzn.to/3PokgtK">the same brand&#8217;s solar panel</a> for recharging (when it doesn’t rain…!). This trip, I also added an <a href="https://amzn.to/3PxZxnl">Anker 548 Power Bank</a> as an extra power source; however, the solar panel uses a different connector than the newer battery expects, so I also picked up <a href="https://amzn.to/456Ejmx">an XT60 adapter</a>, which allows us to use the panel with the Anker as well, when needed. Works nicely, and we got the sunshine needed to stay topped up <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/2600.png" alt="☀" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p> <p>The lighting arrangement is simple. I cut the strip of WS2812B LEDs to length to fit the arch of the tent (this was the primary reason that I waited until we were actually on-site, to do this piece of work). The strip is inside a rubberised sleeve, which is handy for weather. At the “business end” of the LED strip, I’m running a <a href="https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/plasma-2040?variant=39410354847827">Pimoroni Plasma2040 board</a> &#8211; essentially, a Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) board specialised for driving lights, with a 4-way screw terminal, some extra push buttons, and a (as-yet-unused) StemmaQT/Qwiic connector, all with a USB-C connector. I’ve soldered the required wires to the LED strip and protected the connections with heat-shrink.</p> <p>Code is (of course, if you’ve followed any of my IoT/embedded interests in the past few years) in MicroPython. I flashed the board with the latest Pimoroni MicroPython build, and &#8211; for now &#8211; trivially adapted some example Neopixel code to enable us to switch between two lighting formats, and also to switch the lights off again.</p>
550.  
551.  
552. <div class="wp-block-syntaxhighlighter-code "><pre class="brush: python; auto-links: false; gutter: false; title: ; quick-code: false; notranslate">
553. # TODO:
554. # - improve colour/brightness (currently a "dumb" division)
555. # - save/reload state
556. # - I2C sensor / input
557. # - (hardware) case for board
558.  
559. import plasma
560. from plasma import plasma2040
561. from pimoroni import RGBLED, Button
562.  
563. NUM_LEDS = 156
564.  
565. led = RGBLED(plasma2040.LED_R, plasma2040.LED_G, plasma2040.LED_B)
566. led.set_rgb(0,0,0)
567.  
568. button_a = Button(plasma2040.BUTTON_A)
569. button_b = Button(plasma2040.BUTTON_B)
570. button_boot = Button(plasma2040.USER_SW)
571.  
572. led_strip = plasma.WS2812(NUM_LEDS, 0, 0, plasma2040.DAT)
573.  
574. led_strip.start()
575.  
576. while True:
577.    if button_a.read():
578.        # dim white
579.        for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
580.            led_strip.set_rgb(i, round(253/3),round(244/3),round(220/3))
581.        led.set_rgb(round(253/3),round(244/3),round(220/3))
582.    if button_b.read():
583.        # bright white
584.        for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
585.            led_strip.set_rgb(i, round(253/1.2),round(244/1.2),round(220/1.2))
586.        led.set_rgb(round(253/1.2),round(244/1.2),round(220/1.2))
587.    if button_boot.read():
588.        # off / black
589.        for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
590.            led_strip.set_rgb(i, 0, 0, 0)
591.        led.set_rgb(0, 0, 0)
592.  
593. # for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
594. #     led_strip.set_rgb(i, round(253/3),round(244/3),round(220/3))
595. </pre></div>
596.  
597.  
598. <p> </p><p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="IMG_0361.JPG" width="429" height="600" border="0" src="http://andypiper.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/img_0361.jpg?resize=429%2C600" alt="Plasma 2040 board connected to LED strip, showing the heat shrink." data-recalc-dims="1"/><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="IMG_0269 2.JPG" width="429" height="600" border="0" src="http://andypiper.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/img_0269-2.jpg?resize=429%2C600" alt="Plasma 2040 board attached to a white USB-C cable, with an LED indicating power, hanging inside a tent with blue and black canvas." data-recalc-dims="1"/><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="IMG_0268 2.JPG" width="599" height="337" border="0" src="http://andypiper.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/img_0268-2.jpg?resize=599%2C337" alt="LED script arching through a blue tent, lit dimly." data-recalc-dims="1"/></p> <p>Before you shout at me &#8211; yes, I know that having a bare board hanging there like that is “sub-optimal&#8221;, so next steps are to wrap it in some nice 3D printed case, as well as considering how or whether to use the Qwiic port… I’m thinking a rotary control for dimming would be more flexible than button presses. As noted in the code comments, it would also be very handy to have the state saved internally when the board is disconnected from the battery.</p> <p>So anyway, that was a fun camping trip (with added making). Back to regular living situations, now.</p>   <p>How about you, how’ve you been?</p> <p>&#8212;</p> <p>[1] I am also now convinced that I need to <a href="https://hackaday.com/2023/08/19/chaos-and-camping/">get to CCC</a> one year! </p> <p> </p>
599. ]]></content:encoded>
601. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/25/tech-in-the-tent/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
602. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
605. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
606. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3893</post-id> </item>
607. <item>
608. <title>When social networks are like Pokémon</title>
609. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/18/when-social-networks-are-like-pokemon/</link>
610. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/18/when-social-networks-are-like-pokemon/#comments</comments>
612. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
613. <pubDate>Mon, 18 Sep 2023 20:13:43 +0000</pubDate>
614. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
615. <category><![CDATA[bluesky]]></category>
616. <category><![CDATA[cohost]]></category>
617. <category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
618. <category><![CDATA[fediverse]]></category>
619. <category><![CDATA[hive]]></category>
620. <category><![CDATA[mastodon]]></category>
621. <category><![CDATA[microblogging]]></category>
622. <category><![CDATA[nostr]]></category>
623. <category><![CDATA[pebble]]></category>
624. <category><![CDATA[post]]></category>
625. <category><![CDATA[Social networking]]></category>
626. <category><![CDATA[social networks]]></category>
627. <category><![CDATA[t2]]></category>
628. <category><![CDATA[threads]]></category>
629. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
630. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3890</guid>
631.  
632. <description><![CDATA[… Gotta Catch ‘Em All! I’ve been trying out as many shiny new things as I can. There are a couple of reasons: I find that folks often ask me for opinions on new technologies; and, I have a view that unless I do try things, I may miss something that’s really interesting or that&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/18/when-social-networks-are-like-pokemon/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">When social networks are like Pokémon</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
633. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
634. <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>… Gotta Catch ‘Em All!</em></h3>
635.  
636.  
637.  
638. <p>I’ve been trying out as many shiny new things as I can. There are a couple of reasons: I find that folks often ask me for opinions on new technologies; and, I have a view that unless I do try things, I may miss something that’s really interesting or that might have a future impact.</p>
639.  
640.  
641.  
642. <p>The events of last year and specifically last November when Twitter began to be burned to the ground, caused another surge of innovation and interest around possible alternatives. I’m not about to go through them all extensively in this post, but really just wanted to share where you can find me.</p>
643.  
644.  
645.  
646. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Where you (might) find me</h3>
647.  
648.  
649.  
650. <p>Primarily, <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper">I’m on Mastodon</a>, and have no plans to be anywhere else in particular (more about this in a moment). For the sake of balance and information, here are some other places you can find my content.</p>
651.  
652.  
653.  
654. <ul>
655. <li>I have accounts on <a href="https://post.news/@/andypiper">Post</a> and on <a href="https://www.hivesocial.app/">Hive</a>, but barely open either app. Hive doesn’t have a web presence for me to point you at, even. I’m not sure about the policies of either platform, and neither really stuck.<br /></li>
656.  
657.  
658.  
659. <li>I’m on <a href="https://cohost.org/andypiper">Cohost</a>. It feels very Tumblr-y. I haven’t used it very much, but I see a few interesting features, and it definitely doesn’t seem to want to be any of the other existing networks, it feels more new and different.<br /></li>
660.  
661.  
662.  
663. <li>I’m on <del>T2</del> <a href="https://pebble.is/andypiper">Pebble</a>. Pebble was called T2 until today, but that was always a temporary name, which I realised. A couple of former Twitter people are involved over there. It feels very friendly, but so far I have a limited network, and drop in from time to time.<br /></li>
664.  
665.  
666.  
667. <li>I’m <a href="https://staging.bsky.app/profile/andypiper.me">on Bluesky</a>. Back when this was initially kicked off from inside of Twitter as the notion of a new protocol that would not be corporately-owned, it was very interesting to me, and I made some small efforts to talk to Parag about it when the initial recruitment was going on, and even referred some folks for conversations (who are not involved, in the end, possibly due to being more on the “existing standards are good” side of things &#8211; I have no idea). It feels very “early-Twitter crowd, but with more late-Twitter snark and memes”. I like it, and it has some good ideas, but:
668. <ul>
669. <li>Jack Dorsey. He fooled me twice already, so I’m incredibly wary.</li>
670.  
671.  
672.  
673. <li>The team&#8217;s efforts to stand back from having any kind of political / moderation position is, in my opinion, not a good one, and likely to lead to bad things on the platform(s).</li>
674.  
675.  
676.  
677. <li>I’ll believe in the federated bit when I see it; I’m actively working in a current, large, federated environment across platforms, and it is complicated. I think there will continue to be pushback from users who just want a Twitter-like, single server, experience, vs any move towards true decentralisation.</li>
678.  
679.  
680.  
681. <li>I don’t feel like I get a lot of engagement there. As with all of these different platforms, though, there’s an argument that I don’t get a lot of engagement because I don’t spend a lot of time there, which may be valid.<br /></li>
682. </ul>
683. </li>
684.  
685.  
686.  
687. <li>I’m on <a href="https://www.threads.net/@andypiper">Threads</a>, because, Facebook and Instagram. It’s&#8230; OK. It started off <em>really badly</em>, only pushing celebs and other stuff I had no interest in. That has calmed down a lot, and I see a lot more folks I recognise from my other networks on there. I’m interested in seeing how Threads moves forward with federation and ActivityPub (and, noting that I work on the Mastodon project, I have to say that I’ve been pretty impressed with their approach and conversations around this so far). Definitely an app I pop into at least as often as Bluesky.<br /></li>
688.  
689.  
690.  
691. <li>I’m not on Nostr. See above re: Dorsey, and I don’t love the whole blockchain element to it either.</li>
692. </ul>
693.  
694.  
695.  
696. <p>There are links to other places I have profiles &#8211; not just on social “microblogging”-style sites &#8211; at the end of <a href="https://andypiper.me">my main landing page</a>.</p>
697.  
698.  
699.  
700. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The Fediverse</h3>
701.  
702.  
703.  
704. <p>Fundamentally, though, <em>I’m all in on the <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/tag/fediverse/">#Fediverse</a></em>, which I believe offers far better opportunities for the future.</p>
705.  
706.  
707.  
708. <p>I’m on <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper">Mastodon</a> and on multiple other sites across the Fediverse: <a href="https://pixelfed.social/@andypiper">PixelFed</a>, <a href="https://diode.zone/@andypiper">PeerTube</a>, <a href="https://lemmy.world/u/andypiper">Lemmy</a>, <a href="https://bookrastinating.com/@andypiper">Bookwyrm</a>, and more recently <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/11/bookmarks-in-the-fediverse/">Postmarks</a>, among others. These are my primary channels.</p>
709.  
710.  
711.  
712. <p>Mastodon in particular is really fantastic, with a number of vibrant instances and communities that align to my interests, from History to 3D Printing to Electronics to the UK. It is the site I check multiple times a day, and I’m loving it. I’ll have to share a follow-up post at some stage with some tools I use that make it even better.</p>
713.  
714.  
715.  
716. <p>Of course, I realise that it is also all about the network. I like the fact that in these ActivityPub-based platforms, I can save my followers/following easily, and migrate between instances (I’ve done that once already on Mastodon). A number of my former Twitter network are on Mastodon; some are on Bluesky, some Cohost, some Pebble, many on Threads due to Meta’s huge scale. I don’t see myself stopping using several of these interchangeably for a while. That’s OK.</p>
717.  
718.  
719.  
720. <p>A couple of additional points to round this out. I don’t use any of these services for private messaging in the way that Twitter DMs used to be a channel I relied on; I’ve moved to other, actual end-to-end encrypted messaging systems. Also, I don’t believe that any of these platforms are for “reach” as such &#8211; that was a pattern of behaviour and usage I allowed myself to think was important at Twitter. None of these are drop-in replacements for those features, if those are things you’re seeking. Be prepared to try something new!</p>
721.  
722.  
723.  
724. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Finally…</h3>
725.  
726.  
727.  
728. <p>In case you missed it: <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/31/goodbye-to-my-life-on-twitter-2007-2023/">I am NOT on X</a>. X was never something I signed up for, and I have no interest in using it. The owner actively encourages and enables hate speech, discrimination, and all the worst impulses of humanity &#8211; literally the very opposite of what I believe Twitter offered the world in its prime.</p>
729. ]]></content:encoded>
731. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/18/when-social-networks-are-like-pokemon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
732. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
735. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
736. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3890</post-id> </item>
737. <item>
738. <title>Bookmarks in the Fediverse</title>
739. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/11/bookmarks-in-the-fediverse/</link>
740. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/11/bookmarks-in-the-fediverse/#respond</comments>
742. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
743. <pubDate>Mon, 11 Sep 2023 22:55:28 +0000</pubDate>
744. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
745. <category><![CDATA[bookmarks]]></category>
746. <category><![CDATA[delicious]]></category>
747. <category><![CDATA[fediverse]]></category>
748. <category><![CDATA[glitch]]></category>
749. <category><![CDATA[indieweb]]></category>
750. <category><![CDATA[mastodon]]></category>
751. <category><![CDATA[open source]]></category>
752. <category><![CDATA[postmarks]]></category>
753. <category><![CDATA[self-hosting]]></category>
754. <category><![CDATA[social bookmarking]]></category>
755. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3870</guid>
756.  
757. <description><![CDATA[I've been getting involved and trying out Postmarks, social bookmarks for the #Fediverse. It's like 2003 again, but *better*!&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/11/bookmarks-in-the-fediverse/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Bookmarks in the Fediverse</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
758. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
759. <p>Last week, there was a flurry of interest in a new addition to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse">#Fediverse</a>: <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/08/with-postmarks-social-bookmarking-is-back-but-this-time-its-built-on-the-fediverse/">Postmarks</a>. It&#8217;s social bookmarking (like Digg, del.icio.us, or more recently, Pinboard), now with <a href="https://activitypub.rocks/">ActivityPub</a> support. Neat!</p>
760.  
761.  
762.  
763. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Organising stuff, &#8220;back in the day&#8221;</h3>
764.  
765.  
766.  
767. <p>Back in the 2000s I was a huge fan of a site called del.icio.us, and the original iteration of our weekly podcast &#8211; currently called <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz">Games at Work dot Biz</a> &#8211; was named Dogear Nation. Back when Michael and Michael kicked off that show, there was a podcast called Digg Nation which tried to round up the interesting community links and trends from the week on Digg. IBM at the time had an internal version of a social bookmarking / folksonomical platform similar to del.icio.us called &#8220;dogear&#8221; (like, folding the page of a book to mark it), so <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2009/01/05/co-hosting-dogear-nation-in-2009/">Dogear Nation encouraged listeners to tag links</a> on del.icio.us for us to discuss each week&#8230; del.icio.us was bought by Yahoo! in 2005, and eventually, went away.</p>
768.  
769.  
770.  
771. <p>Fast forward 15 years to our current podcast, and we still love it when listeners share links for us to discuss, but there&#8217;s less of an organised way to do it!</p>
772.  
773.  
774.  
775. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Join the Federation</h3>
776.  
777.  
778.  
779. <p>A brief diversion, because I&#8217;ve not written too much about this on my blog up until now.</p>
780.  
781.  
782.  
783. <p>Unlike the centralised &#8220;Web 2.0&#8221;-based, largely corporate-owned sites that dominate the current web, the Fediverse is a set of related services that share some common protocols (ActivityPub is one, but there are others involved) and are loosely-connected. As well as each service usually having some form of &#8220;flagship&#8221; instance, it is is also very common to encourage diversity by location and interests, and often self-hosting, so it won&#8217;t be possible for <em>an unsavoury billionaire</em> to buy the things you use, or misuse and steal the data that you&#8217;ve put into them. Your network and your data are your own. </p>
784.  
785.  
786.  
787. <p>I&#8217;m very active across a range of sites and services that are analogous to those you might be familiar with. On Mastodon, for instance, I currently do some work with <a href="https://joinmastodon.org">Mastodon gGmbH</a>, the non-profit behind the project and host of two of the larger service instances; and although my original account was on one of those instances, at the end of last year I moved my account (taking the related network of connections with me) to a much smaller server run by a former coworker, mostly populated by other former coworkers, but I&#8217;m still connected with users across the rest of the Fediverse. </p>
788.  
789.  
790.  
791. <p>You can also find me on <a href="https://pixelfed.social/@andypiper">PixelFed</a> (Instagram-like photo sharing), on <a href="https://lemmy.world/u/andypiper">Lemmy</a> (Reddit-like groups and communities), on PeerTube (YouTube-like video channels) where <a href="https://diode.zone/@andypiper">I live on the diode.zone instance</a> for makers and electronics enthusiasts, on <a href="https://bookrastinating.com/@andypiper">Bookwyrm</a> (GoodReads-like community), and so on. Basically there are a number of slices of &#8220;me&#8221; out there, in spaces where it makes sense. Essentially, if you&#8217;re on Mastodon and you&#8217;re interested in my videos, you can follow my PeerTube account from Mastodon without having to sign up for PeerTube. It&#8217;s pretty cool. </p>
792.  
793.  
794.  
795. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>I strongly believe that federated services are the best opportunity for us to maintain a free and open Web.</p><cite>&#8211; me, 2023</cite></blockquote></figure>
796.  
797.  
798.  
799. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">So, Postmarks?</h3>
800.  
801.  
802.  
803. <p>Yes! Postmarks is a single-user, super small and simple server for managing your own bookmarks. When I add a bookmark <a href="https://pipesmarks.glitch.me">on my own Postmarks server</a>, my Postmarks account effectively publishes the new entry to the rest of the Fediverse as an activity. So, if you&#8217;re interested in what I&#8217;m bookmarking and you have a Mastodon account, you can follow <code><a rel="mention" class="u-url mention" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/author/andypiper/">@<span>andypiper</span></a>@pipesmarks.glitch.me</code>  and you&#8217;ll see the new entries as they get added. If you&#8217;re not interested, don&#8217;t follow my account, and we&#8217;re all good. Oh, and it supports Atom feeds for different tags (categories), too.</p>
804.  
805.  
806.  
807. <p>Postmarks runs on <a href="https://glitch.com">Glitch</a> &#8211; or, anywhere else you can stand up a Node.js / Express app. Personally I love Glitch, and <a href="https://glitch.com/@andypiper">I&#8217;ve been using it for many years</a> now for hosting demos and trying out different projects &#8211; in fact, <a href="https://andypiper.me">my main links page</a> runs on Glitch. The Postmarks developer <a href="https://casey.kolderup.org/">Casey Kolderup</a> works there, and Casey has made it really straightforward to remix directly on Glitch, or <a href="https://github.com/ckolderup/postmarks">import from GitHub</a> there or to another service of your choice &#8211; it has very few dependencies. </p>
808.  
809.  
810.  
811. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Getting involved</h3>
812.  
813.  
814.  
815. <p>My usual pattern for reading and saving content is whilst mobile. There&#8217;s a bookmarklet that&#8217;s part of the project, but no easy way to add it to my system for links to end up on Postmarks from my phone or tablet. I turned to Apple Shortcuts to help out.</p>
816.  
817.  
818.  
819. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="1001" data-attachment-id="3874" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/11/bookmarks-in-the-fediverse/screenshot-2023-09-09-at-22-29-18/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot-2023-09-09-at-22.29.18.png?fit=1252%2C1696&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1252,1696" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="screenshot-2023-09-09-at-22.29.18" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot-2023-09-09-at-22.29.18.png?fit=221%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot-2023-09-09-at-22.29.18.png?fit=400%2C542&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/screenshot-2023-09-09-at-22.29.18.png?resize=739%2C1001&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3874" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>A screenshot of Apple Shortcuts on iPadOS 17 beta, showing the sequence of steps to send a link to Postmarks</em></figcaption></figure>
820.  
821.  
822.  
823. <p>This does not do too much &#8211; it takes a link from the share sheet or clipboard, and opens the add bookmark page popup in a browser tab. At the moment <a href="https://github.com/ckolderup/postmarks/issues/61">there&#8217;s no full API for Postmarks</a>, so this is a bit of a stopgap or workaround. Annoyingly, it will also leave you with an empty browser tab you&#8217;ll need to close, but it works.</p>
824.  
825.  
826.  
827. <p>If you&#8217;d like to try the automation, you can <a href="https://routinehub.co/shortcut/16547/">get it via RoutineHub</a>, which links to the Shortcut in iCloud. You&#8217;ll be prompted to add the hostname of your Postmarks instance, and you will already need to have signed in to that site in your web browser of choice.</p>
828.  
829.  
830.  
831. <p>Beyond that, Glitch makes it easy to hack on features, because everything runs in the browser, including a code editor. So far I&#8217;ve been adding small features such as <a href="https://github.com/ckolderup/postmarks/pull/84">support for the nodeinfo endpoint used by other Fediverse servers</a>, and a slightly improved Atom feed. There&#8217;s <a href="https://github.com/ckolderup/postmarks/issues?q=is%3Aissue+author%3Aandypiper+">lots I can think of to add</a>, but not so much time to play &#8211; this is giving me a chance to learn a bit more about ActivityPub internals, as well as &#8220;scratching an itch&#8221;.</p>
832.  
833.  
834.  
835. <p>I&#8217;m also <a href="https://cerritos.glitch.me">playing with</a> another single-user ActivityPub server, <a href="https://shuttlecraft.net/">Shuttlecraft</a>, but that&#8217;s a post for another day.</p>
836. ]]></content:encoded>
838. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/09/11/bookmarks-in-the-fediverse/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
839. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
842. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
843. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3870</post-id> </item>
844. <item>
845. <title>Still messing with Helperbot</title>
846. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/31/still-messing-with-helperbot/</link>
847. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/31/still-messing-with-helperbot/#respond</comments>
849. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
850. <pubDate>Thu, 31 Aug 2023 14:13:27 +0000</pubDate>
851. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
852. <category><![CDATA[3d printing]]></category>
853. <category><![CDATA[axidraw]]></category>
854. <category><![CDATA[LEGO]]></category>
855. <category><![CDATA[maker]]></category>
856. <category><![CDATA[model]]></category>
857. <category><![CDATA[pen plotter]]></category>
858. <category><![CDATA[plotter]]></category>
859. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3862</guid>
860.  
861. <description><![CDATA[More experiments in making, with the 3D printer and the pen plotter.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/31/still-messing-with-helperbot/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Still messing with Helperbot</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
862. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
863. <p>This <a href="https://www.printables.com/model/555597-helperbot">little model</a> has been fun to play with!</p>
864.  
865.  
866.  
867. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="554" data-attachment-id="3864" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/31/still-messing-with-helperbot/img_0122/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0122.jpg?fit=3675%2C2756&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="3675,2756" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 13 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1693492729&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0122" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0122.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0122.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0122.jpg?resize=739%2C554&#038;ssl=1" alt="A silver blocky robot laying on top of a sheet of black paper. The paper has a wireframe version of the same robot drawn on it in silver ink." class="wp-image-3864" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
868.  
869.  
870.  
871. <p>Trying out some plotter work. We have an AxiDraw in the <a href="https://forgeandcraft.co.uk">studio</a> and we&#8217;ll be using it in an upcoming art show in the winter. There&#8217;s a nice <a href="https://plotter.vision">STL-to-SVG hidden wireframe converter</a> that I tried out to get this image. Plotted using <a href="https://amzn.to/3PhoR2f">a silver Posco paint pen</a>.</p>
872.  
873.  
874.  
875. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="985" data-attachment-id="3865" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/31/still-messing-with-helperbot/img_0120/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0120.jpg?fit=2610%2C3480&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2610,3480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 13 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1693492396&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;1.57&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;160&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_0120" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0120.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0120.jpg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0120.jpg?resize=739%2C985&#038;ssl=1" alt="A large silver blocky robot with red eyes, with a LEGO minifigure about half the size in front, holding a LEGO banana. In front of that is a very very small copy of the same blocky robot, but about half the size of the LEGO figure." class="wp-image-3865" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
876.  
877.  
878.  
879. <p>Testing out tolerances on the Bambu X1 Carbon. tl;dr I was able to print the model as small as 23mm tall, but it was tricky with smaller, and even at this scale, movements of the print head were liable to break off an arm or leg at the end of the print (depending on orientation and supports). LEGO banana for scale!</p>
880.  
881.  
882.  
883. <p>I also tested out some <a href="https://amzn.to/3Eic89h">Gedeo gilding wax</a> on the larger model for texture and interest, it&#8217;s a nice effect and I may use that with other makes in the future. </p>
884. ]]></content:encoded>
886. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/31/still-messing-with-helperbot/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
887. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
890. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
891. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3862</post-id> </item>
892. <item>
893. <title>Experiments in digital making</title>
894. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/22/experiments-in-digital-making/</link>
895. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/22/experiments-in-digital-making/#comments</comments>
897. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
898. <pubDate>Tue, 22 Aug 2023 17:27:06 +0000</pubDate>
899. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
900. <category><![CDATA[3d printing]]></category>
901. <category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
902. <category><![CDATA[kaedim]]></category>
903. <category><![CDATA[midjourney]]></category>
904. <category><![CDATA[robots]]></category>
905. <category><![CDATA[STL]]></category>
906. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3857</guid>
907.  
908. <description><![CDATA[Iterating on 3D printed designs generated from an imaginary 2D digital brain - Midjourney, Kaedim, and understanding printables.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/22/experiments-in-digital-making/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Experiments in digital making</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
909. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I’ve been learning about 3D printing for around 9 months now, and while I’ve printed a fair variety of objects, I still struggle to sit down and properly learn to design my own items[1].</p>
910. <p>A week ago I learned about an online so-called “AI” tool that can be used to make 3D assets, I think primarily aimed at the digital gaming and metaverse spaces. You can either provide a 2D image or a text description, and <a href="https://www.kaedim3d.com/">Kaedim</a> will provide 3D object files in a variety of formats &#8211; including .OBJ, which can be ingested by most 3D printing software, or passed to other software that can massage it appropriately.</p>
911. <p>My 2D drawing skills and imagination are <em>roughly</em> as terrible as my ability to drive 3D modelling and CAD software, so I turned to the Midjourney generative tool for some additional help.</p>
912. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="midjourney.png" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/midjourney.png?resize=599%2C326" alt="Screenshot of Midjourney in Discord, with the prompt &quot;a small boxy helper robot, cartoon animation style. Plain background.&quot; and the resulting image of an orange, blocky, basic robot." width="599" height="326" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
913. <p>This was an acceptable and simple enough start, and it <em>looked</em> mostly printable &#8211; no giant overhangs or complex angles. Fully removing the background was straightforward using Preview on macOS, leaving me with a PNG image of the robot on a transparency. [side note, a previous version of the robot returned by Midjourney was made up of Amazon boxes, right down to the company logo… I chose not to use that one]</p>
914. <p>I signed up for Kaedim and uploaded my image. It is not the cheapest tool &#8211; it is not free &#8211; an object generation on the pay-as-you-go plan was £20 &#8211; but I was willing to see how well it did. I was able to compare the image to the model in the online viewer, and then download all of the assets in a zip file, including geometry and texture definitions (Kaedim also allows textures to be added, but I just wanted the model itself). All of this was fairly fast.</p>
915. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="2d-to-3d.png" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2d-to-3d.png?resize=521%2C600" alt="Screenshot of the previous robot image inset in the left bottom corner, alongside a 3D untextured plain grey model of the same robot in a white space" width="521" height="600" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
916. <p>It turned out that my slicer (Bambu Slicer in this case, but I checked using others as) did not, in fact, want to load the object file &#8211; it reported errors and lack of geometry. However, it was straightforward to check the geometry and mesh using MeshLab, and from there, export an STL file that the slicers were happier with.</p>
917. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="meshlab.png" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/meshlab.png?resize=525%2C600" alt="Screenshot of a plain grey blocky robot model in a 3D modelling editor" width="525" height="600" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
918. <p>Since the model was not uniform &#8211; the body, arms and legs are smaller and potentially fragile &#8211; I printed with supports. The initial version was completely acceptable for something essentially magicked out of a couple of computer algorithms, but highlighted a number of structural issues that I hadn’t thought about at all: the shoulder joints were completely inappropriate, with the arms barely attached; and of course, since I only provided one angle of view for the 2D image, the other sides were simply blank, leaving a disappointingly asymmetric head.</p>
919. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="IMG_0049.JPG" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0049.jpg?resize=600%2C450" alt="A hand holding a small cuboid robot head printed in white PLA plastic, next to a computer screen showing the original 2D image of the same robot" width="600" height="450" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="IMG_0050.JPG" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0050.jpg?resize=600%2C450" alt="A white blocky robot resting on a black and grey keyboard. One arm is hanging limply downwards due to a weak joint." width="600" height="450" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
920. <p>Some improvements were needed. I ended up using the 3D tools in Xcode to edit the .USD file and move the arms upwards and inwards to improve the jointing. I also mirrored the square detail on the side of the head across onto the opposite side (but, I eyeballed the placement, and they are not strictly symettrical). In the second print I thought I would go with a colour, and used some Vertex silver PLA filament, along with a bit of black and white to add to the details.</p>
921. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="IMG_0064.JPG" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0064.jpg?resize=600%2C450" alt="A silvery grey robot standing inside a 3D printer, surrounded by tree supports" width="600" height="450" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="IMG_0065.JPG" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0065.jpg?resize=600%2C450" alt="A silver/grey boxy robot with black eyes and a black line for a mouth." width="600" height="450" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
922. <p>At this point I realised that I could make my new robot friend a bit more spiffy, so for the final (?) iteration, I chose a more shiny silver PLA (Ziro PLA Silk) and added some colour to the features using the AMS (multi filament system) on the Bambu. I also sized the model up to 120%.</p>
923. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="IMG_0087.JPG" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0087.jpg?resize=600%2C450" alt="Three robots in a row. The right-hand model is larger and has red eyes and green details on the silver chest plate." width="600" height="450" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
924. <p>That’s all I wanted to write about here &#8211; purely a learning exercise, and no specific use for the model other than decoration at this stage. I can imagine iterating on it some more, potentially upsizing further and re-creating the head as a hollow space for a small microcontroller and some lights for the eyes, for example.</p>
925. <p>If you&#8217;d like to hear more of my thoughts, I talked about it on our Games at Work dot Biz podcast this week, so <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz/2023/08/14/e428-is-you-is-or-is-you-aint-my-ai/">give that a listen</a>! In the meantime, I’ve<a href="https://www.printables.com/model/555597-helperbot"> uploaded Helperbot to my profile on Printables</a>, which I find is by far the nicest and most usable 3D model community. Look, they even gave me badges! (OK, OK, I printed the badges&#8230; but, I have badges!)</p>
926. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto" title="img_9992.png" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/img_9992.png?resize=600%2C450" alt="Three Printables.com achievement badges in grey and orange, on a black pegboard" width="600" height="450" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
927. <p style="font-size: 13px">[1] It is not for lack of reading materials, video tutorials, and software options! I’m playing with various tools, from the programmatic (OpenSCAD) to the Open Source (FreeCAD) to the online (Tinkercad) to the commercial (Autodesk Fusion 360). I just need to stop and actually use one of them for enough time to get my head around!</p>
928. ]]></content:encoded>
930. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/08/22/experiments-in-digital-making/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
931. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
934. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
935. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3857</post-id> </item>
936. <item>
937. <title>Goodbye to my life on Twitter, 2007-2023</title>
938. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/31/goodbye-to-my-life-on-twitter-2007-2023/</link>
939. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/31/goodbye-to-my-life-on-twitter-2007-2023/#comments</comments>
941. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
942. <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 12:04:45 +0000</pubDate>
943. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
944. <category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
945. <category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
946. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
947. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
948. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3830</guid>
949.  
950. <description><![CDATA[A eulogy to my life as shared via my main Twitter account, before X: 2007-2023.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/31/goodbye-to-my-life-on-twitter-2007-2023/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Goodbye to my life on Twitter, 2007-2023</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
951. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
952. <p>In November last year, I abandoned my Twitter account &#8211; I set it to private, did not visit, did not interact, ignored any direct messages, etc. It was simply too painful to watch friends and coworkers suddenly and systematically being fired, the company culture destroyed, and the developer communities that I supported for 9 years, finally cut off without support or API access. It has been a heartbreaking time.</p>
953.  
954.  
955.  
956. <p>Today, I took the last step in going back through my password manager vault and deleting all of my X/Twitter accounts. I&#8217;ve watched the shambolic rebranding over the past week, and frankly, I wish it had all happened far sooner &#8211; rather than seeing my beloved bird being dragged down, and the brand and memory ruined, piece by piece.</p>
957.  
958.  
959.  
960. <p>There are a few accounts that I share access to with others (for podcasts, sites or communities) that remain, but over the past hour or so I deleted 15 accounts, four of which had associated Twitter Developer Accounts. </p>
961.  
962.  
963.  
964. <p>Why so many? </p>
965.  
966.  
967.  
968. <ul>
969. <li>Of course, I had my main account, <kbd><code><a rel="mention" class="u-url mention" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/author/andypiper/">@<span>andypiper</span></a></code></kbd>, which was first created after hanging out with my friend Roo Reynolds in his office at IBM Hursley, and hearing about Twitter, just starting to gather buzz from events like SxSW. <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2007/02/21/ill-regret-this/">Created February 21, 2007</a>. The title of the blog entry I wrote that day seems accidentally prophetic (although, in truth, I do not regret it at all).
970. <ul>
971. <li>my jobs at <a href="http://andypiper.co.uk/2012/03/12/joining-vmware-cloudfoundry/">VMware / Cloud Foundry in 2012</a>, and at <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/03/06/hashtag-newjob/">Twitter from 2014</a>, were both direct results of being on Twitter, sharing my knowledge, interacting with different communities, and doing my work on the platform.</li>
972.  
973.  
974.  
975. <li>I&#8217;ve made countless friends through being on Twitter, and I&#8217;m grateful for that. It truly changed my life to be there. </li>
976. </ul>
977. </li>
978.  
979.  
980.  
981. <li>Back at the start, those heady times of 2007-2009, it was not unusual to have a few accounts for fun, so certainly there were a few of those that just went away.</li>
982.  
983.  
984.  
985. <li>There was the time when I was copying friends like Andy Stanford-Clark and Tom Coates, and putting sensors around my house online (<a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2009/03/10/blue-fusion-the-2009-edition/">there&#8217;s brief mention of it in this 2009 post</a>).</li>
986.  
987.  
988.  
989. <li>There were test accounts I created for projects as far back as my time doing Service Oriented Architecture things at IBM. </li>
990.  
991.  
992.  
993. <li>There were a couple of accounts I&#8217;d created during education sessions, literally to show others how to get started on Twitter, growing the user base.</li>
994.  
995.  
996.  
997. <li>There were a couple of accounts from my demo apps and projects on the @TwitterDev team, such as the IoT sensors I <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1_pC5kBV40">demonstrated on stage at the first Twitter Flight conference in 2014</a>.</li>
998.  
999.  
1000.  
1001. <li>There were the <em>super-sekrit accounts</em> I had for testing features, such as the original internal test for ten thousand character Tweets (yes, this nearly happened, a long time back), the customisable Tweet Tiles we would have launched at the developer conference that was cancelled at the end of last year, and so on.</li>
1002. </ul>
1003.  
1004.  
1005.  
1006. <p>Finally, it&#8217;s time to say goodbye to my main <code><a rel="mention" class="u-url mention" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/author/andypiper/">@<span>andypiper</span></a></code> account. <span style="text-decoration: underline">Twitter is not Twitter any more</span>, it is X &#8211; and I never signed up for X.</p>
1007.  
1008.  
1009.  
1010. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3838" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/31/goodbye-to-my-life-on-twitter-2007-2023/xnapper-2023-07-31-12-37-52/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-31-12.37.52.png?fit=1370%2C608&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1370,608" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="xnapper-2023-07-31-12.37.52" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-31-12.37.52.png?fit=300%2C133&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-31-12.37.52.png?fit=400%2C178&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-31-12.37.52.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3838" style="width:800px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1011.  
1012.  
1013.  
1014. <p>In the near future, I&#8217;ll upload a searchable archive of my Twitter content, likely using <a href="https://tinysubversions.com/twitter-archive/make-your-own/">Darius&#8217; Twitter Archive tool</a>. For now, it&#8217;s all done. I&#8217;m very happy <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper">elsewhere</a> (personal sites and links <a href="https://andypiper.me">here</a> and <a href="https://andypiper.omg.lol">here</a>), and I will not be sad that X is out of my life.</p>
1015.  
1016.  
1017.  
1018. <p><em>&#8230; apart from the laptops that they still have not collected!</em></p>
1019. ]]></content:encoded>
1021. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/31/goodbye-to-my-life-on-twitter-2007-2023/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1022. <slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
1025. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1026. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3830</post-id> </item>
1027. <item>
1028. <title>A 3D print, 8 years in the making</title>
1029. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/</link>
1030. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/#respond</comments>
1032. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1033. <pubDate>Thu, 13 Jul 2023 20:23:18 +0000</pubDate>
1034. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1035. <category><![CDATA[3d printing]]></category>
1036. <category><![CDATA[3d scanning]]></category>
1037. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
1038. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3798</guid>
1039.  
1040. <description><![CDATA[I finally printed a 3D scan of myself, that was taken 8 years ago! &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">A 3D print, 8 years in the making</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1041. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1042. <p>Back in July 2015, I was in Portland, Oregon, for the O&#8217;Reilly Open Source conference, otherwise known as OSCON.</p>
1043.  
1044.  
1045.  
1046. <p>It was my third or fourth OSCON, and sadly it turned out to be my last one (and the event itself came to an end when <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/conferences/oscon.html">O&#8217;Reilly decided to cancel their in-person events</a>). As an aside, I have very fond memories of OSCON, and was privileged to be able to speak there as well, so it&#8217;s a shame that those events have gone away.</p>
1047.  
1048.  
1049.  
1050. <p>My friend <a href="https://hachyderm.io/@pythondj">Diane Mueller</a> was at OSCON back in 2015, and she had driven down from Canada in her mobile maker lab (a really cool winnebago / trailer kitted out for teaching hardware projects to young people). The next year, <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/xbrlspy1/monkigras-2016-inspiring-the-next-generation-the-getmakered-roject">she spoke about her GetMakered project at Monkigras</a> &#8211; another of my all-time favourite events. At OSCON, the GetMakered team were offering &#8220;3D Selfies&#8221;, via a combination of the Xbox 360 Kinect sensor hardware, and some Open Source processing software called <a href="https://all3dp.com/2/how-to-3d-scan-with-skanect/">Skanect</a>.</p>
1051.  
1052.  
1053.  
1054. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1055. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/135061929@N08/19908304550/in/album-72157656485416221/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/470/19908304550_0d7edb3637_z.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1" alt="OSCON 2015 GetMakered 3DSelfie Trailer Sponsored by @OpenShift @IntelOpenSource" width="640" height="480" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>
1056. </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The mobile GetMakered Print Studio and Maker Space (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/135061929@N08/19908304550/in/album-72157656485416221/">via Flickr</a>)</figcaption></figure>
1057.  
1058.  
1059.  
1060. <p>I decided I definitely <em>needed</em> one of these, and before long I was sitting on a stool, on a rotating wooden board, inside a winnebago / caravan, inside the Portland Convention Center, holding still, while the Kinect scanned my head and shoulders. I wasn&#8217;t sure whether I&#8217;d be able to prove it, but fortunately, I was able to dig around on the Twitter website to find and screenshot the evidence &#8211; I don&#8217;t trust the ability to embed Tweets now  <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f61e.png" alt="😞" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> oh, and I also found <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/135061929@N08/19450051684/in/album-72157656485416221/">another similar image</a> on Flickr, because that was also still a thing in 2015.</p>
1061.  
1062.  
1063.  
1064. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3804" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/xnapper-2023-07-11-15-23-35/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.23.35.png?fit=3678%2C2068&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="3678,2068" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="xnapper-2023-07-11-15.23.35" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.23.35.png?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.23.35.png?fit=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.23.35.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3804" style="width:800px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1065.  
1066.  
1067.  
1068. <p>Shortly after the event, I received an email with the STL file attached, along with a warning that only limited cleanup had been done to the file. I was pretty new to 3D modelling and software &#8211; and, I still am &#8211; so I think I opened it up once in MeshLab or something similar, had a quick look, Tweeted about it (obviously), and then left it alone.</p>
1069.  
1070.  
1071.  
1072. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3807" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/xnapper-2023-07-11-15-21-28/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.21.28.png?fit=3360%2C1888&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="3360,1888" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="xnapper-2023-07-11-15.21.28" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.21.28.png?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.21.28.png?fit=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-11-15.21.28.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3807" style="width:800px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1073.  
1074.  
1075.  
1076. <p>That was eight years ago. </p>
1077.  
1078.  
1079.  
1080. <p>Now, I have a 3D printer (uh, actually, well&#8230; three of them&#8230; a story for one or more additional posts).</p>
1081.  
1082.  
1083.  
1084. <p>The first thing I needed to do was to figure out whether I could print the file. Not so simple!</p>
1085.  
1086.  
1087.  
1088. <p>Importing the STL file into any 3D printer slicer software, immediately threw up a lot of errors about non-manifold edges and such. It also turned out that the scale was hugely off, the actual scan was effectively a hollow shell (with no closure at the bottom), with some holes (right in the top of my head&#8230;!), a few stray, disconnected pixels of data somewhere disconnected from my torso that were breaking the bounding box, and also, everything was at a weird angle.</p>
1089.  
1090.  
1091.  
1092. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3823" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/xnapper-2023-07-13-22-06-21/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-13-22.06.21.png?fit=3666%2C2444&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="3666,2444" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="xnapper-2023-07-13-22.06.21" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-13-22.06.21.png?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-13-22.06.21.png?fit=400%2C267&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-13-22.06.21.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3823" style="width:800px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1093.  
1094.  
1095.  
1096. <p>My first step was to clean all of that up, and close the base of the design so that had a flat, straight base. Don&#8217;t ask me to explain the process, I <em>wish</em> I had written it all down so that I could be better prepared if this happens again&#8230;</p>
1097.  
1098.  
1099.  
1100. <p>Once I had a refined STL file, I thought it would be fun to &#8220;downmix&#8221; it into more of a low-poly design (that style is good enough for <a href="https://www.printables.com/search/all?q=low-poly%20pikachu">Pokémon</a>, after all). I&#8217;d come across the <a href="https://lowpoly3d.xyz">Low Poly 3D Generator</a> by <a href="https://andrewsink.xyz">Andrew Sink</a> (also <a href="https://github.com/AndrewSink/3D-Low-Poly-Generator/">available in source form on GitHub</a>), and decided to run the model through that. A couple of mesh decimations later, and I had something that looked pretty good.</p>
1101.  
1102.  
1103.  
1104. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3814" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/screenshot-2023-07-11-at-15-37-36/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot-2023-07-11-at-15.37.36.png?fit=2926%2C1804&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2926,1804" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="screenshot-2023-07-11-at-15.37.36" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot-2023-07-11-at-15.37.36.png?fit=300%2C185&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot-2023-07-11-at-15.37.36.png?fit=400%2C247&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/screenshot-2023-07-11-at-15.37.36.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3814" style="width:800px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1105.  
1106.  
1107.  
1108. <p>To check that the model was not going to cause too many complaints from any slicer software, I also opened it in a couple of other tools, including Tinkercad. </p>
1109.  
1110.  
1111.  
1112. <p>The last thing to do, was print! I used pretty standard settings on the Bambu X1 Carbon, using a fun <a href="https://amzn.to/3pNpUwU">eSun PLA Silk Red/Blue dichromatic filament</a>.</p>
1113.  
1114.  
1115.  
1116. <p>It came out nicely.</p>
1117.  
1118.  
1119.  
1120. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3816" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/img_9635/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9635.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 13 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1687701293&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;1.57&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9635" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9635.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9635.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9635.jpg?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3816" style="width:800px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1121.  
1122.  
1123.  
1124. <p>Now I have a small model of myself that can sit on the studio shelf. Maybe I should print some as giveaway gifts at meetups&#8230;</p>
1125.  
1126.  
1127.  
1128. <p>I put together a little recording of how it all came together. I&#8217;m embedding a YouTube version below <em>because WordPress.com will allow that, but it does not support PeerTube embeds</em>; but, if you&#8217;re interested in my video content I recommend <a href="https://diode.zone/w/dSdCCbi2iZtXdHvSA4TkuZ">taking a look at the original video I posted on diode.zone</a>, an instance of PeerTube, a federated alternative to YouTube that I&#8217;m using for studio and maker-related content. You can also follow my account there (<a href="https://diode.zone/c/andypiper_tv/">@andypiper@diode.zone</a>) by searching for that in your Mastodon (or other Fediverse network) client application.</p>
1129.  
1130.  
1131.  
1132. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1133. <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="739" height="416" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wXdnWIv7l6k?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
1134. </div></figure>
1135. ]]></content:encoded>
1137. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/13/a-3d-print-8-years-in-the-making/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1138. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1141. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1142. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3798</post-id> </item>
1143. <item>
1144. <title>Liverpool Makefest 2023</title>
1145. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/</link>
1146. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/#comments</comments>
1148. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1149. <pubDate>Sat, 08 Jul 2023 18:43:24 +0000</pubDate>
1150. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1151. <category><![CDATA[3d printing]]></category>
1152. <category><![CDATA[hackspace]]></category>
1153. <category><![CDATA[inspiration]]></category>
1154. <category><![CDATA[iot]]></category>
1155. <category><![CDATA[liverpool]]></category>
1156. <category><![CDATA[livmf2023]]></category>
1157. <category><![CDATA[maker]]></category>
1158. <category><![CDATA[maker culture]]></category>
1159. <category><![CDATA[makerspace]]></category>
1160. <category><![CDATA[maps]]></category>
1161. <category><![CDATA[MQTT]]></category>
1162. <category><![CDATA[oggcamp]]></category>
1163. <category><![CDATA[rc2014]]></category>
1164. <category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
1165. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
1166. <category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>
1167. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3776</guid>
1168.  
1169. <description><![CDATA[A day at a very fun maker event, Liverpool Makefest 2023, meeting back up with long-time friends and watching young people learn about both making, and more sustainable practices.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Liverpool Makefest 2023</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1170. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1171. <p>Last weekend, we visited Liverpool for a few days. I had an ulterior motive for the trip &#8211; my friend <a href="https://carolineos.bio.link/">Caroline Keep</a> and team were running the <a href="https://liverpoolmakefest.org/blog/">Makefest</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f6e0.png" alt="🛠" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> at the Central Library.</p>
1172.  
1173.  
1174.  
1175. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="416" data-attachment-id="3783" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/img_9672-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9672-edited.jpg?fit=4032%2C2268&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,2268" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9672" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9672-edited.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9672-edited.jpg?fit=400%2C225&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9672-edited.jpg?resize=739%2C416&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3783" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1176.  
1177.  
1178.  
1179. <p><em>[aside: does anyone know whether there&#8217;s a good way to stay up-to-date and aware of where and when maker-centric (and adjacent!) events are happening around the UK? I&#8217;d love to get to more of them, if I&#8217;m able &#8211; in this case, I was following various related folks over on Mastodon, spotted that it was happening, and emailed Caroline to check how things were going]</em></p>
1180.  
1181.  
1182.  
1183. <p>It had been a few years since we were last in Liverpool, and of course it is a city that is always evolving. We caught the train from Euston to Lime Street on the Friday (I got a few bits of Mastodon-related work done on the way), and made our way to the waterfront where we were staying. It seemed as though every hen party, birthday celebration, and wedding was happening in Liverpool at the start of July, plus, there was the big <a href="https://www.onthewaterfrontfestival.com/">On The Waterfront festival</a> happening just a short throw from our hotel, so the city was really buzzing, even though the weather was sometimes a bit grim!</p>
1184.  
1185.  
1186.  
1187. <p>On Saturday we made our way to the library, and immediately bumped into my good friends <a href="https://www.danlynch.org/">Dan Lynch</a> and <a href="https://bigl.es/">Les Pounder</a> (both of OggCamp fame, and with ongoing, separate, high reputes!), as well as finally getting the chance to meet <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@cymplecy">Simon Walters</a> in person, after many years of online connection. I&#8217;ve been a long-time supporter and volunteer of events like this one, but on this occasion I did skip the opportunity to get directly involved, as I wanted to be able to explore the show &#8211; so, here&#8217;s what I saw:</p>
1188.  
1189.  
1190.  
1191. <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Makers</h2>
1192.  
1193.  
1194.  
1195. <p>The fantastic <a href="https://liverpoolmakefest.org/portfolio/neston-high-school-makers/">Neston High School</a> in the Wirral have their own Makerspace, and they were busy recycling plastic into objects that they were selling just outside the library. I&#8217;d just been reading about makeshift plastic recycling methods in the <a href="https://hackspace.raspberrypi.com/issues/68">latest edition of HackSpace magazine</a> on the train journey up, and the ones on display here seemed pretty sophisticated (it turns out that they have a version of the <a href="https://preciousplastic.com/solutions/machines/overview.html">Precious Plastics</a> recycling system that the teachers operate, to press the plastic sheets). As someone who uses 3D printers, I&#8217;m extremely aware of the sustainability questions around the use of the materials, and this was very good to watch in action &#8211; it is wonderful that the students have access to their own makerspace at the school, and can learn to use these techniques. A step up from the CDT lessons of my youth!</p>
1196.  
1197.  
1198.  
1199. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="556" data-attachment-id="3784" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/pxl_20230701_091811373/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pxl_20230701_091811373.jpg?fit=4080%2C3072&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4080,3072" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="pxl_20230701_091811373" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pxl_20230701_091811373.jpg?fit=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pxl_20230701_091811373.jpg?fit=400%2C301&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pxl_20230701_091811373.jpg?resize=739%2C556&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3784" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1200.  
1201.  
1202.  
1203. <p>Inside the venue, Caroline was kind enough to make us honorary Makers for the day, which meant that I got a brilliant badge&#8230; maybe next time I can do more than just look around, and exhibit something instead. Remarkable though it may seem, this is the first point in my life that I feel like it might be something I could do.</p>
1204.  
1205.  
1206.  
1207. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="985" data-attachment-id="3785" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/img_9681/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9681.jpg?fit=2055%2C2740&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2055,2740" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9681" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9681.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9681.jpg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9681.jpg?resize=739%2C985&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3785" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1208.  
1209.  
1210.  
1211. <p>The Central Library is an amazing space. A <a href="https://mastodon.star-one.org.uk/@simon">friend</a> referred to it as &#8220;the most magnificent public reference library in Europe&#8221; and it is hard to disagree &#8211; a series of galleries spiralling upwards to a glass roof, with some very special reading rooms. A brilliant spot to hold a maker event, and to inspire youngsters.</p>
1212.  
1213.  
1214.  
1215. <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>[WordPress(.com) is unable to embed an image from Pixelfed, so go look <a href="https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/583290012278423678">HERE</a>]</strong></p>
1216.  
1217.  
1218.  
1219. <p>I&#8217;ll skip a booth-by-booth account of of the visit (we were there for most of the day!), but here just a few of things that I was excited about:</p>
1220.  
1221.  
1222.  
1223. <ul>
1224. <li>the lower level of the library had some fun displays, including Spencer&#8217;s <a href="https://rc2014.co.uk">RC2014</a> kits (I really need to build my <a href="https://macaw.social/@concretedog@mastodon.social/110643743684635836">Pride kit</a>!), Derek from <a href="https://www.extremeelectronics.co.uk/">Extreme Electronics</a> with his <a href="https://www.extremeelectronics.co.uk/other-2/pico-cray-small-scale-distributed-computing/">Pico Cray</a> (also just featured in HackSpace magazine issue 68!) and other gear, and a gentleman &#8220;Toy Hacker&#8221; who <a href="https://liverpoolmakefest.org/portfolio/creative-stitch-toy-hacker/">converts and upcycles old toy</a>s using electronics &#8211; his wife &#8220;Creative Stitch&#8221; had some absolutely wonderful mixed media pieces on display as well.<br /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="554" data-attachment-id="3787" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/img_9693/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9693.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9693" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9693.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9693.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" class="wp-image-3787" style="width: 450px" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9693.jpg?resize=739%2C554&#038;ssl=1" alt="" data-recalc-dims="1"/> <br /> </li>
1225.  
1226.  
1227.  
1228. <li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Concretedog">ConcreteDog</a> aka Jo Hinchliffe (another one of my primarily-online contacts from the hacking sphere) was launching hot air balloons through the atrium space&#8230;<br /><strong>[annoyingly, WordPress will not let me embed the video, so you can <a href="https://diode.zone/w/rt4pzkBcc74wvkrEDp7KCT">watch it HERE</a>]</strong></li>
1229.  
1230.  
1231.  
1232. <li>I was very excited to see <a href="https://tanyafish.com/">Tanya Fish</a>, who was busy showing off her NFC-related magic. Tanya is such a great ambassador for technology and a wonderful communicator, I&#8217;m a fan! (and I may have picked up a couple of her <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/tanyafish">kits</a>, which you should do as well, so that she can do more events like this!)</li>
1233.  
1234.  
1235.  
1236. <li>In the run-up to the event I&#8217;d been looking through the list of makers and saw <a href="https://electricflapjack.com/">Electric Flapjack Guitars</a>&#8230; I looked up his site and saw the amazing stuff he is doing with 3D printing and traditional methods to create some very cool custom guitar builds. The Älgen did not disappoint: it is a thing of beauty&#8230;<br /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="985" data-attachment-id="3788" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/img_9695/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9695.jpg?fit=3024%2C4032&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="3024,4032" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9695" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9695.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9695.jpg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" class="wp-image-3788" style="width: 300px" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9695.jpg?resize=739%2C985&#038;ssl=1" alt="" data-recalc-dims="1"/></li>
1237.  
1238.  
1239.  
1240. <li>There was a strong emphasis on sustainability and recycling, with the <a href="https://liverpoolmakefest.org/portfolio/plastic-tactics/">Plastic Tactics</a> group also showing their recycled items. Overall, this has inspired us to think a lot more about how we can do more to improve our material usage and footprint.<br /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="554" data-attachment-id="3789" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/img_9699/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9699.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9699" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9699.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9699.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" class="wp-image-3789" style="width: 450px" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9699.jpg?resize=739%2C554&#038;ssl=1" alt="" data-recalc-dims="1"/></li>
1241.  
1242.  
1243.  
1244. <li>Finally (just for this round-up, since there was so much more to see and investigate!) SolidMaps had an interesting 3D rendering of the centre of Liverpool, which was very cool. The challenge with this kind of topological modelling is the data for the buildings etc. This was printed using an SLA (resin) technique, which is something that I&#8217;ve not yet explored for myself.<br /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="554" data-attachment-id="3790" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/img_9705/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9705.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9705" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9705.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9705.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" class="wp-image-3790" style="width: 450px" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9705.jpg?resize=739%2C554&#038;ssl=1" alt="" data-recalc-dims="1"/></li>
1245. </ul>
1246.  
1247.  
1248.  
1249. <p>Lots <a href="https://liverpoolmakefest.org/2023-makers/">more was on offer to explore</a>, and I tried to talk to most of the makers if they were not too busy, although I preferred to give priority to the youngsters who had come along with friends or parents so that they could have their imaginations sparked by all of the cool stuff on offer.</p>
1250.  
1251.  
1252.  
1253. <h2 class="wp-block-heading">After the show</h2>
1254.  
1255.  
1256.  
1257. <p>In the evening, we were fortunate enough to also be able to head along to <a href="https://doesliverpool.com/">DoES Liverpool</a> to hang out with some of the makers. <a href="https://mastodon.me.uk/@amcewen">Adrian McEwen</a>, yet another old friend and contact from the IoT and MQTT circuit, was one of the founders of this makerspace and co-working club and was gracious enough to give us a full tour &#8211; so many useful and exciting gadgets and tools, many of which I was aware existed, but don&#8217;t currently have ready access to. Thank you again, Adrian! (we may well be back&#8230;!)</p>
1258.  
1259.  
1260.  
1261. <p>A <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper/110639773371890866">few more images</a> <strong>[because WordPress(.com) will not let me embed a Mastodon post&#8230; <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f620.png" alt="😠" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />]</strong></p>
1262.  
1263.  
1264.  
1265. <p>I&#8217;ll end with an image taken at the makerspace, as it was a suitably inspiring way to conclude the Saturday.</p>
1266.  
1267.  
1268.  
1269. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="739" height="554" data-attachment-id="3792" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/img_9746/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9746.jpg?fit=4032%2C3024&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="4032,3024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="img_9746" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9746.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9746.jpg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/img_9746.jpg?resize=739%2C554&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3792" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1270.  
1271.  
1272.  
1273. <p>Thank you, <a href="https://macaw.social/@Ka81@mastodon.social/110644909579460794">Liverpool Makefest team, volunteers, makers, and library staff</a>! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1faf6-1f3fb.png" alt="🫶🏻" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
1274. ]]></content:encoded>
1276. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/08/liverpool-makefest-2023/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1277. <slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
1280. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1281. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3776</post-id> </item>
1282. <item>
1283. <title>Running a 3D print catalogue with VanDAM</title>
1284. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/05/running-a-3d-print-catalogue-with-van-dam/</link>
1285. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/05/running-a-3d-print-catalogue-with-van-dam/#respond</comments>
1287. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1288. <pubDate>Wed, 05 Jul 2023 14:15:19 +0000</pubDate>
1289. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1290. <category><![CDATA[3d printing]]></category>
1291. <category><![CDATA[Docker]]></category>
1292. <category><![CDATA[self-hosting]]></category>
1293. <category><![CDATA[storage]]></category>
1294. <category><![CDATA[Synology]]></category>
1295. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
1296. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3735</guid>
1297.  
1298. <description><![CDATA[I've fallen down a rabbit hole of 3D printing in the past ~8 months, and as a result I have a lot of downloaded models. Enter VanDAM - a self-hosted database and UI for organising your 3D model assets.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/05/running-a-3d-print-catalogue-with-van-dam/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Running a 3D print catalogue with VanDAM</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1299. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1300. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1301. <p>There&#8217;s only one way out of my ongoing writer&#8217;s / blogger&#8217;s block, and that&#8217;s to post stuff. Even if it is all out of sequence. Thus, a post about stuff (3D printing) I haven&#8217;t yet written other things about, on this blog.</p>
1302. </blockquote>
1303.  
1304.  
1305.  
1306. <p>One of the projects I&#8217;ve been quietly observing on GitHub for the past few months is <a href="https://github.com/Floppy/van_dam">VanDAM</a>, by my old friend <a href="https://floppy.org.uk/">James Smith aka floppy</a>. I <em>think</em> I picked up on it by being connected to James on GitHub, and spotting the releases from his repository. James has been a proponent of self-hosting and a more personal ownership of data for a very long time, something that I&#8217;ve always admired.</p>
1307.  
1308.  
1309.  
1310. <p>I&#8217;ve fallen down a rabbit hole of 3D printing in the past ~8 months, and as a result I have a lot of downloaded models, from sites such as <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/andypiperuk/">Thingiverse</a>, <a href="https://cults3d.com/en/users/andypiper">Cults3D</a> and <a href="https://www.printables.com/@AndyPiper">Printables</a> (among many <a href="https://github.com/andypiper/3d-modelling#my-profiles">others</a>!). I mostly try to keep them all together in a network folder, but I have to rely on good habits to organise them, and then inevitably, I forget what I&#8217;ve downloaded but not printed, or where the original model came from&#8230;</p>
1311.  
1312.  
1313.  
1314. <p>Enter <a href="https://github.com/Floppy/van_dam">VanDAM</a> &#8211; a self-hosted database and UI for organising and managing your 3D model assets.</p>
1315.  
1316.  
1317.  
1318. <p>I&#8217;m now running this on my Synology NAS, and using the wonderful <a href="https://tailscale.com/">Tailscale</a> to access it from wherever I am.</p>
1319.  
1320.  
1321.  
1322. <p>Very briefly, here&#8217;s what I needed to do to get things up-and-running.</p>
1323.  
1324.  
1325.  
1326. <ul>
1327. <li>background: I have DSM 7.2 on my Synology, and I have a space on my storage where I drop model files (STL, FCstd and the like). DSM 7.2 replaces the Docker app with Container Manager, which is broadly very similar in look-and-feel. This needs to be installed from the Synology Package Manager.<br />
1328. <ul>
1329. <li>Important note &#8211; neither the Docker app, nor the Container Manager app, support installing Docker images from GitHub&#8217;s binary content repository aka ghcr.io (<em>shaking my head</em>), so you also need SSH access and the ability to run things at the CLI as the superuser / via sudo.<br /></li>
1330. </ul>
1331. </li>
1332. </ul>
1333.  
1334.  
1335.  
1336. <ul>
1337. <li>SSH to the Synology and clone the repo: <code>git clone https://github.com/Floppy/van_dam/</code></li>
1338.  
1339.  
1340.  
1341. <li>Copy <code>docker-compose.example.yml</code> to <code>docker-compose.yml</code> and edit the DB passwords and so forth. Importantly, also edit the line containing library mappings &#8211; in my case I needed to map the some storage on volume2, to the /libraries location in the Docker container:</li>
1342. </ul>
1343.  
1344.  
1345.  
1346. <pre class="wp-block-code"><code>volumes:
1347.  
1348. - /volume2/TheLibrary/3DPrinting:/libraries</code></pre>
1349.  
1350.  
1351.  
1352. <ul>
1353. <li>Run <code>sudo docker-compose up -d</code> to cause the container images to be downloaded and initialised.<br />
1354. <ul>
1355. <li>as an aside, even though Container Manager will not let us install from the GitHub registry, once the container(s) are running, you can control them in the GUI.</li>
1356. </ul>
1357. </li>
1358. </ul>
1359.  
1360.  
1361.  
1362. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-05-14.49.17.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1363.  
1364.  
1365.  
1366. <ul>
1367. <li>We should now have VanDAM ready on port 3214 on the NAS, but we will find that opening a browser window will lead to a login screen requiring an email and password, and we haven&#8217;t signed up yet! (note: this <a href="https://github.com/Floppy/van_dam/issues/1328">may actually be a bug</a>). I used the Rails console (VanDAM is a Ruby on Rails app) to get this sorted out:</li>
1368. </ul>
1369.  
1370.  
1371.  
1372. <pre class="wp-block-code"><code>$ sudo docker exec -it van_dam-app-1 sh
1373. $ bin/rails console
1374.  
1375. [then, in console]
1376.  
1377. user=User.create!(:username=&gt;'andypiper',:email=&gt;'youruser@example.com',:password=&gt;'a-cunning-passw0rd%',:admin=&gt;true)</code></pre>
1378.  
1379.  
1380.  
1381. <p>Good to go! Now we can login to VanDAM and configure a library. From here, this is an exercise for the reader.</p>
1382.  
1383.  
1384.  
1385. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/xnapper-2023-07-05-14.59.32.png?w=739&#038;ssl=1" alt="" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>
1386.  
1387.  
1388.  
1389. <p>Keep an eye on VanDAM <a href="https://github.com/Floppy/van_dam">on GitHub</a>, or <a href="https://3dp.chat/@vandam">follow the project on Mastodon</a>.</p>
1390. ]]></content:encoded>
1392. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/07/05/running-a-3d-print-catalogue-with-van-dam/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1393. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1396. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1397. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3735</post-id> </item>
1398. <item>
1399. <title>An interesting vision</title>
1400. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/06/06/an-interesting-vision/</link>
1401. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/06/06/an-interesting-vision/#respond</comments>
1403. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1404. <pubDate>Tue, 06 Jun 2023 18:51:00 +0000</pubDate>
1405. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1406. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3727</guid>
1407.  
1408. <description><![CDATA[I haven&#8217;t posted much about much lately (at least not in the form of blog entries), but given my interest in all things new technology and also, Apple, it feels like a good time to break that pattern. I&#8217;m continuing to podcast&#8230; My experience of the WWDC keynote I should get to writing my own&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/06/06/an-interesting-vision/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">An interesting vision</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1409. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1410. <p>I haven&#8217;t posted much about much lately (at least not in the form of blog entries), but given my interest in all things new technology and also, Apple, it feels like a good time to break that pattern.</p>
1411.  
1412.  
1413.  
1414. <p>I&#8217;m continuing to podcast&#8230;</p>
1415.  
1416.  
1417.  
1418. <p>My experience of the WWDC keynote</p>
1419.  
1420.  
1421.  
1422. <p>I should get to writing my own full post on this, but some thoughts I&#8217;m borrowing back from my past self yesterday when I was live commenting on the event <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper">on Mastodon</a>&#8230; (we also did a deep dive on the last minute rumours <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz/2023/06/05/e418-what-do-you-know-about-reality/">on our podcast</a> which dropped right before the presentation, and will revisit the actual outcome this week)</p>
1423.  
1424.  
1425.  
1426. <p>First of all, my view is that this is Tim Cook&#8217;s Legacy product as CEO. He&#8217;s been bigging up XR/AR for a long time, and this is really the product he has seemingly pushed towards throughout his tenure at the top. The WWDC presentation needed to be slick, polished, and have wow factor. It did. In spite of myself, I&#8217;m curious to try this thing out.</p>
1427.  
1428.  
1429.  
1430. <p>There&#8217;s a lot of folks reacting against the headset &#8211; price, aesthetics, experience, use cases, social awkwardness etc &#8211; which is not surprising. I’ll be watching to see how quickly or virally the presentation affects the rest of the industry / how far other companies instantly pivot to this same sort of direction. That was the impact of the iPhone, remember &#8211; suddenly every phone&nbsp;<em>had</em>&nbsp;to have a touch screen, camera, a similar-to-iOS experience. Let&#8217;s see what comes from this: that&#8217;s the&nbsp;<em>real</em>&nbsp;test for Tim Cook&#8217;s Legacy</p>
1431.  
1432.  
1433.  
1434. <p>I think that the WWDC preview &#8220;did what it needed to do&#8221; in terms of sprinkling the Apple magic, but I want to see and hear how well this actually works, and it is nowhere near a widespread adoption price point (though, nor was the first iPhone, or Watch, etc). This <em>could</em> be the start of a technology wave, but I think the current form factor will be off-putting for many many people for a long time, in ways that other personal devices like tablets and phones have succeeded in avoiding. I maintain some skepticism. Tellingly, I <a href="https://macaw.social/@andypiper/110493347620702948">noted</a> that no Apple presenter wore one…</p>
1435.  
1436.  
1437.  
1438. <p>The number of features and technologies that have shown up in the phone, watch and elsewhere over the past number of years, that flow together into the capabiities of the new device &#8211; think room-scale LiDAR, hand tracking, Siri (ok eh maybe Siri is a stretch&#8230;), handoff, etc etc &#8211; they have been building this in the open for some time.</p>
1439. ]]></content:encoded>
1441. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2023/06/06/an-interesting-vision/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1442. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1445. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1446. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3727</post-id> </item>
1447. <item>
1448. <title>What I’ve been doing in 2022 (so far)</title>
1449. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2022/07/09/my-2022-so-far/</link>
1450. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2022/07/09/my-2022-so-far/#comments</comments>
1452. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1453. <pubDate>Sat, 09 Jul 2022 20:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
1454. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1455. <category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
1456. <category><![CDATA[electronics]]></category>
1457. <category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
1458. <category><![CDATA[makers]]></category>
1459. <category><![CDATA[micropython]]></category>
1460. <category><![CDATA[open source]]></category>
1461. <category><![CDATA[rc2014]]></category>
1462. <category><![CDATA[second life]]></category>
1463. <category><![CDATA[speaking]]></category>
1464. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
1465. <category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>
1466. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3699</guid>
1467.  
1468. <description><![CDATA[Preamble: my&#160;content It has been a while since I’ve written a general “what I’m working on” post, so I’m fixing that now. It has been a busy year — I last published a newsletter in March 2021, and I didn’t get back to writing — primarily technical writing&#8211; until the start of 2022. I’ve also diversified my writing between&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2022/07/09/my-2022-so-far/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">What I’ve been doing in 2022 (so far)</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1469. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1470. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Preamble: my&nbsp;content</h3>
1471.  
1472.  
1473.  
1474. <p>It has been a while since I’ve written a general “what I’m working on” post, so I’m fixing that now. It has been a busy year — I last <a href="https://www.getrevue.co/profile/andypiper">published a newsletter</a> in March 2021, and I didn’t get back to writing — <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://dev.to/andypiper" target="_blank">primarily technical writing</a>&#8211; until the start of 2022.</p>
1475.  
1476.  
1477.  
1478. <p>I’ve also diversified my writing between <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">my own site</a>, occasionally <a href="https://andypiper.medium.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Medium</a>, developer-focused <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">posts on DEV</a>, and <a href="https://andypiper.me/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>. Truth be told, I’m not completely sure how to manage the spread, whilst also maintaining a consistent way to share with an audience — apart from the fact that <a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">I Tweet a lot</a>, of course! In an effort to bring things together, at least from an audience perspective, I plan to cross-post this extended update on a number of those channels, and think about how to continue from there.</p>
1479.  
1480.  
1481. <div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
1482. <figure class="alignright size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="240" height="240" data-attachment-id="3705" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2022/07/09/my-2022-so-far/gawdb-logo-sm/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/gawdb-logo-sm.jpg?fit=240%2C240&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="240,240" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="gawdb-logo-sm" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/gawdb-logo-sm.jpg?fit=240%2C240&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/gawdb-logo-sm.jpg?fit=240%2C240&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/gawdb-logo-sm.jpg?resize=240%2C240&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3705" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The <strong>Games at Work</strong> podcast&nbsp;icon</figcaption></figure></div>
1483.  
1484.  
1485. <p>One thing I’ve tried to keep at regularly is our podcast, <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Games at Work dot biz</a>. If you’ve not come across that yet, the show is available via all of the major podcast services, and directly on our website. Each week, my two good friends <a href="https://twitter.com/carolinabigblue" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Michael Martine</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelrowe01" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Michael Rowe</a>, join me to talk about various tech topics: mostly relating to virtual worlds and gaming (now usually called “the Metaverse”), social web, collaboration, and other fun snippets. We’ve actually been running for over 10 years now, and before that, had another podcast that itself ran for 200 episodes — it has been a lot of fun. The episode we just recorded, as I type this, talked about retail brands exploring the Metaverse, which brought back strong vibes of <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2007/01/26/second-life-is-work/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">my days exploring and working in Second Life</a> at IBM in the mid 2000s!&nbsp;</p>
1486.  
1487.  
1488.  
1489. <p> — We’d <em>love</em> to hear what you think of the show; if you like it, please leave a podcast review, and tell a friend.</p>
1490.  
1491.  
1492.  
1493. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">A personal (and health)&nbsp;update</h3>
1494.  
1495.  
1496.  
1497. <p>Last year I took ~5 weeks out, completely disconnected from the online world, for mental health and personal reasons. It was much-needed, and I think it has enabled me to get much better perspective in various parts of my life.</p>
1498.  
1499.  
1500.  
1501. <p>Since the start of 2022 in particular I’ve been thinking of what I’m doing online, in Open Source, and across different communities, as a bit of a reset or “back to my roots”. I’ll come back to mention side projects and interests later in this post, but I felt really energised at the start of the year, and consistently blogged something technical at least once a week though January and February, <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">over on DEV</a>. DEV is a community that I’ve been spending a lot of time in during the past couple of years, and I’m happy to be connected there as a moderator and community helper. I want to get back to writing more frequently.</p>
1502.  
1503.  
1504.  
1505. <p>More recently, in the past month I finally had a procedure to “fix” the <a href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2013/03/13/on-ageing-and-a-wake-up-call/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">heart anomaly that I shared on my blog back in 2013</a>. The pandemic thoroughly messed up the waiting times for this, of course. I’m in complete awe of the medical science that enabled the operation — a keyhole procedure on a day surgery basis, with minimal lasting visible signs of entry, despite the complicated internal navigation involved. I appear to be doing pretty well, although the SVT itself was always a random occurrence, so it’s difficult to know whether the outcome is 100% confirmed, but having read the notes from the operation, I know they performed “regression tests” to check that they did what they intended. Absolutely thankful for our NHS, and for scientific advancement.</p>
1506.  
1507.  
1508.  
1509. <p>Another item on the personal side of this update, is that we had a chance to do a couple of trips away. The first of these was a ~10 day trip down to Italy, where we travelled by train on Eurostar to Paris, and on Trenitalia via a stop in Milan, down to Puglia. On return, we had tickets for <a href="https://emfcamp.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Electromagnetic Field</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23EMFCamp&amp;src=hashtag_click" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">#EMFCamp</a>), a camping festival celebrating all things geek and tech around maker culture, open standards, electronica, and community. It was my first time at EMF, but I’m hoping to be able to go again when it returns in two years’ time.</p>
1510.  
1511.  
1512. <div class="wp-block-image">
1513. <figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/83c66-1xuxjscadif_oblo3k7cr8g.jpeg?resize=498%2C374&#038;ssl=1" alt="Tents in a field at dusk. A lightbulb glows on a cable above them, against the orange sky." width="498" height="374" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tents at dusk at Electromagnetic Field</figcaption></figure></div>
1514.  
1515.  
1516. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Speaking gigs, current and&nbsp;future</h3>
1517.  
1518.  
1519.  
1520. <p>As the world has started to open back up (for reasons good or bad), I’ve been excited to get back to one of my favourite activities — public speaking. I gave a number of talks over Zoom towards the end of last year, both professionally to our Twitter Developer Communities in different places around the world, and personally where requested to provide my experiences in fields like advocacy and community.</p>
1521.  
1522.  
1523.  
1524. <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1525. <a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/1497258071709696003" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/1497258071709696003</a>
1526. </div></figure>
1527.  
1528.  
1529.  
1530. <p>During March, I hosted eight Spaces on Twitter as open community feedback conversations about some new ideas we’re working on for the developer platform — new ways to add content to Tweets, similar to the current “cards” that appear when links are shared but more customisable; and, the ability to have more control over timelines. This is <a href="https://dev.to/twitterdev/evolving-the-twitter-api-266o" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">part of an effort to continue to build in the open</a>, and I’m excited to be able to run sessions like this.</p>
1531.  
1532.  
1533.  
1534. <p>In May we held our first in-person <a href="https://twitter.com/@TwitterDev" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">@TwitterDev</a> community meetup in 2 years, at the Twitter office in London — that was a huge buzz — it is always a privilege to talk to our developer community. More of these to come! As I mentioned above, next week I’ll be in Dublin (on my own time), giving a <a href="https://ep2022.europython.eu/session/try-something-different-explore-micropython-a-rough-guide-for-newcomers" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">talk</a> about <a href="https://micropython.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">MicroPython</a> at the <a href="https://europython.eu/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">EuroPython</a> conference (I also acted as a content reviewer for the event, and I’m looking forward to it — lots of good stuff on the schedule).</p>
1535.  
1536.  
1537.  
1538. <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1539. <div class="embed-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Checkout <a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@andypiper</a> &#39;s talk at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroPython2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroPython2022</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f340.png" alt="🍀" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />, in their words: Run Python everywhere! Exploring the world of MicroPython: microcontrollers, LEGO bricks, and blinky LEDs! <a href="https://t.co/kLZqEFvhV6">https://t.co/kLZqEFvhV6</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f40d.png" alt="🐍" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>&mdash; EuroPython (@europython) <a href="https://twitter.com/europython/status/1535521716595826688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
1540. </div></figure>
1541.  
1542.  
1543.  
1544. <p>I’m also excited to have been invited to join <a href="https://twitter.com/isaacrlevin" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Isaac Levin</a> as a guest on his excellent <a href="https://www.coffeeandopensource.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Coffee &amp; Open Source show</a>; watch out for that coming up, in the next couple of months. There’s another unconfirmed podcast opportunity on the horizon as well.</p>
1545.  
1546.  
1547.  
1548. <p><em>I’m open to other podcast guest invitations, and speaking invitations, time and work permitting.</em></p>
1549.  
1550.  
1551.  
1552. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The day&nbsp;job</h3>
1553.  
1554.  
1555.  
1556. <p>I touched on a few of the things that I’ve been working on at Twitter in the previous sections, and I expect to be particularly focused on preparing for <a href="https://developer.twitter.com/en/chirp" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Chirp, our developer conference</a>, in the months between now and the event itself, in November.</p>
1557.  
1558.  
1559.  
1560. <p>It’s an exciting time for the Twitter Developer Platform, and I’ve written a number of pieces to help folks to <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper/discovery-and-twitter-api-v2-132b" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">learn more about Twitter API v2</a>, in other locations. There have been a raft of updates and announcements since the end of the year, from <a href="https://twittercommunity.com/t/announcing-oauth-2-0-general-availability/163555" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">OAuth 2.0</a>, to Chirp and the <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterDev/status/1542891693044912128" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Chirp Developer Challenge</a>, completely new concepts we are exploring, <a href="https://twittercommunity.com/t/were-growing-the-twitter-developer-insiders-community-program/170874/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">expansion of our Twitter Developer Insiders program</a>, and the <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterDev/status/1545105640795738113" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announcement of the Student Ambassador program</a>. In case you missed it, the <a href="https://t.co/tryapi" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Twitter API Playground</a> has been a particularly popular addition to the range of tools, demos and samples to help to get started with the latest API version.</p>
1561.  
1562.  
1563.  
1564. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Side-projects; aka what I’ve <em>really</em> been&nbsp;doing…</h3>
1565.  
1566.  
1567.  
1568. <p>My “outside work” interests recently have covered a whole range of different areas of tinkering, and it has occasionally been difficult to keep up with my own thoughts and excitement. There’s a lot of time-slicing involved…</p>
1569.  
1570.  
1571.  
1572. <p>I started to put a bit more time into my <a href="https://fediverse.info/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Fediverse</a> presence, particularly around #EMFCamp — you’ll find me <a href="https://mastodon.social/@andypiper" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">@andypiper@mastodon.social</a> if that’s your preference. It’s not completely identical to my Twitter feed, but there is some bridging involved. There’s definitely a new swirl of possibility around federated networks.</p>
1573.  
1574.  
1575.  
1576. <p><a href="https://micropython.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">MicroPython</a> has led me along a number of different paths — since it runs on a whole variety of different hardware.</p>
1577.  
1578.  
1579.  
1580. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1581. <a href="https://twitter.com/GeekMomProjects/status/1483695065629224960" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/GeekMomProjects/status/1483695065629224960</a>
1582. </div></figure>
1583.  
1584.  
1585.  
1586. <p>In January a tiny ESP32-C3-powered board covered in RGB LEDs caught the attention of the maker community, and I subsequently wrote a small blog series and created a project around it (<a href="https://github.com/andypiper/fivebyfive" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">fivebyfive on GitHub</a>). It also highlighted a few learning opportunities around MicroPython on the ESP32-C3, which have been addressed in the current release. The worldwide chip shortage has meant the RP2040 chips from the Raspberry Pi folks have been more available than some alternatives, so I’ve been playing with a lot of boards based on those, but <a href="https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-pico-w-your-6-iot-platform/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">until about a week ago</a>, connectivity was more of an issue than with the Espressif chips!</p>
1587.  
1588.  
1589.  
1590. <p>On another side of the hardware arena, I’ve long been curious about the <a href="https://rc2014.co.uk/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">RC2014</a>, a Zilog Z80-based homebrew computer with a variety of different options. My friend <a href="https://twitter.com/cpswan" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Chris Swan</a> was able to give me some advice on what pieces I might want to look into, and I ordered an RC2014 Pro kit; I then met the creator, Spencer, at #EMFCamp and put together the smaller RC2014 Micro.</p>
1591.  
1592.  
1593.  
1594. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1595. <a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/1532820264127438849" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/1532820264127438849</a>
1596. </div></figure>
1597.  
1598.  
1599.  
1600. <p>I also had a play with the RC2040, a way to emulate the system on an RP2040 board. Why am I doing this? Well, <a href="https://dev.to/andypiper/classic-programming-books-available-for-free-2jg4" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">I grew up on 8-bit computers similar to this back in the 1980s</a>, and it is fun to dig in on the electronics side, again. Not a completely successful enterprise so far, I’m working on it!</p>
1601.  
1602.  
1603.  
1604. <p>Talking of retro technology, I’ve also continued to enjoy building or customising consoles of a bygone era. The <a href="https://retrogamecorps.com/2022/05/15/miyoo-mini-v2-guide/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Miyoo Mini v2</a> is a really nice little handheld with a gorgeous screen, with a number of custom OS options. I also want to get back to my <a href="https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">MiSTer</a> setup at some point, to give all of the cores a refresh to their current releases (and to actually get it hooked up to the TV). Apart from the retro stuff, I was also relatively (!) early on in the waves of recipients for the Steam Deck. So, not only am I dividing my attention between a number of side projects, I’m also jumping between gaming devices and platforms and eras… <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f926.png" alt="🤦" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
1605.  
1606.  
1607.  
1608. <p>There are a number of other gadgets that have arrived in the past 6 months, but one I’ll call out is the <a href="https://www.clockworkpi.com/devterm" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ClockworkPi DevTerm</a>, a 1980s TRS-80 lookalike slab portable that is clipped together in parts, and can take a number of different “cores”, or processor boards. I picked mine up with the R01 core, a RISC-V Allwinner D1 chip which is experimental in the context of trying to run a Linux distribution. There are other options available; I have a CM4 adapter on the way. This is another community that I’ve enjoyed interacting with, as we learn new things together, and <a href="https://github.com/andypiper/devterm-KB" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">share our experiences</a>.</p>
1609.  
1610.  
1611.  
1612. <p>Oh, and I picked up a Bluetooth thermal printer, with the face of a cat.</p>
1613.  
1614.  
1615.  
1616. <p>Because, <a href="https://twitter.com/hondanhon" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dan Hon</a>.</p>
1617.  
1618.  
1619.  
1620. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1621. <div class="embed-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">IT ARRIVED <a href="https://t.co/zwXwaadZSo">pic.twitter.com/zwXwaadZSo</a></p>&mdash; Dan &quot;Quietly Quit&quot; Hon (@hondanhon) <a href="https://twitter.com/hondanhon/status/1517291533313069056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
1622. </div></figure>
1623.  
1624.  
1625.  
1626. <p>(also, <a href="https://newsletter.danhon.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">subscribe to Dan’s newsletter</a>. He’s good)</p>
1627.  
1628.  
1629.  
1630. <p>Finally, I connected with a new group, <a href="https://www.meetup.com/togetherweopensource/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Together, We Open Source</a>, and have been following the meetups there, helping people get comfortable with OSS contributions. It feels like a bit of a full circle experience for me, to revisit my roots and share what I’ve learned.</p>
1631.  
1632.  
1633.  
1634. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">What’s next</h3>
1635.  
1636.  
1637.  
1638. <p>I don’t plan to broadly expand the various side projects I listed out above, but I’m enjoying the things I’m contributing to. I also have a couple of lists full of the <em>next thing</em> I want to build! Mostly, I want to stay connected with others, and to learn, and share what I’m doing — back to where I started in communities and Open Source.</p>
1639.  
1640.  
1641.  
1642. <p>I’m going to think more about where and how I share my content / ramblings / thoughts. This is intended to be a one-off multi-channel post, but maybe I’ll do something similar again at some point.</p>
1643.  
1644.  
1645.  
1646. <h3 class="wp-block-heading">#ThankYou</h3>
1647.  
1648.  
1649.  
1650. <p>I have had… a really strange, very challenging, couple of years. If you’re reading this, and you’ve read this far, it’s probably because you subscribed to my content at some point, which means I’ve been interesting to you at some level.</p>
1651.  
1652.  
1653.  
1654. <p><strong><em>Thank you</em></strong> for your attention and interest, and your support. I hope I’ve helped you or inspired you somehow, along the way. I’d <em>love</em> to hear what you think, about anything from the stuff I’ve been working on, to our podcast, or just to tell me to [stop / continue / Tweet less often / drink more water] *<em>delete as appropriate</em></p>
1655.  
1656.  
1657.  
1658. <p>If you&#8217;re so inclined, I have&nbsp;<a href="https://ko-fi.com/andypiper">a page on Ko-fi</a>, as well, where you can contribute to my habit of buying random dev boards on AliExpress. All (ok, almost all) of my interesting links are&nbsp;<a href="https://andypiper.me/">here</a>.</p>
1659.  
1660.  
1661.  
1662. <p>Until next time.</p>
1663. ]]></content:encoded>
1665. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2022/07/09/my-2022-so-far/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1666. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
1669. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1670. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3699</post-id> </item>
1671. <item>
1672. <title>I made a Wi-Fi controlled Owl lamp</title>
1673. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2021/02/15/i-made-a-wi-fi-controlled-owl-lamp/</link>
1674. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2021/02/15/i-made-a-wi-fi-controlled-owl-lamp/#comments</comments>
1676. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1677. <pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2021 22:42:42 +0000</pubDate>
1678. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1679. <category><![CDATA[hacking]]></category>
1680. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3669</guid>
1681.  
1682. <description><![CDATA[A couple of years ago, I picked up a simple LED nightlight on Amazon, with the intention of hacking it into something else. The lamp could be powered with AAA batteries or a micro-USB connection, and contained multicolour LEDs that shone up into a perspex sheet in the shape of an owl. It was always&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2021/02/15/i-made-a-wi-fi-controlled-owl-lamp/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">I made a Wi-Fi controlled Owl lamp</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1683. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1684. <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3671" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/frame/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/frame.jpeg?fit=1080%2C1920&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1080,1920" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1613400679&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="frame" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/frame.jpeg?fit=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/frame.jpeg?fit=400%2C711&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/frame.jpeg?resize=167%2C296&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3671" width="167" height="296" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption>Owl LED Nightlight</figcaption></figure></div>
1685.  
1686.  
1687.  
1688. <p>A couple of years ago, I picked up a simple LED nightlight on Amazon, with the intention of hacking it into something else. The lamp could be powered with AAA batteries or a micro-USB connection, and contained multicolour LEDs that shone up into a perspex sheet in the shape of an owl.</p>
1689.  
1690.  
1691.  
1692. <p>It was always my intention to do something “interesting” with this, for example to make it into some kind of notification light attached to my home network, but — as with many side projects — it languished in a box of bits, and I never got around to it.</p>
1693.  
1694.  
1695.  
1696. <p>This weekend, I finally started to exhume some of my old projects, and  to re-examine them. As luck would have it, in the case of the owl light, I recently read about an interesting project called <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/Aircoookie/WLED" target="_blank">WLED</a> (in part due to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://tynick.com/blog/11-03-2019/getting-started-with-wled-on-esp8266/" target="_blank">a series of posts</a> I stumbled across from Tyson Nichols).</p>
1697.  
1698.  
1699.  
1700. <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3673" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/img_2854/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2854.jpeg?fit=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1536,2048" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 12 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1613401647&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;latitude&quot;:&quot;51.417830555556&quot;,&quot;longitude&quot;:&quot;-0.28621388888889&quot;}" data-image-title="img_2854" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2854.jpeg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2854.jpeg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2854.jpeg?resize=153%2C204&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3673" width="153" height="204" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption>Alitove LED pack</figcaption></figure></div>
1701.  
1702.  
1703.  
1704. <p>The neat thing about WLED is that it is basically an all-in-one replacement firmware for inexpensive ESP8266 microcontrollers, like the Wemos D1 Mini that I used in this project (many other NodeMCU and related boards are compatible). If you can attach compatible LED strips to the board, you can control them over Wi-Fi. I had a few small microcontrollers sitting in my “bits box”, the only thing I was missing was an appropriate strip of LEDs.</p>
1705.  
1706.  
1707.  
1708. <p>I picked up a <a href="https://amzn.to/3qqrijY">5m pack of Alitove WS2812B weatherproof LEDs</a>.</p>
1709.  
1710.  
1711.  
1712. <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3675" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/img_2827/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2827.jpeg?fit=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1536,2048" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 12 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1613145130&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;latitude&quot;:&quot;51.417775&quot;,&quot;longitude&quot;:&quot;-0.28619166666667&quot;}" data-image-title="img_2827" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2827.jpeg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2827.jpeg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2827.jpeg?resize=143%2C191&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3675" width="143" height="191" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption>Inside the original lamp</figcaption></figure></div>
1713.  
1714.  
1715.  
1716. <p>Once I had all the parts available, the next step was to dismantle the lamp and figure out how best to replace the existing innards. With the battery base unscrewed and the plastic clips pried apart, a simple circuit board was revealed. This had three buttons to toggle the colour state of the LEDs and increase or decrease brightness; three multicolour LEDs; and a sliding on/off switch. On initial inspection, I considered slotting the Wemos D1 Mini into the same space, but it was just a bit too deep, and the USB connection was on one of the short sides, rather than the long back of the board. I also knew I was not going to run the new lamp from batteries, so this base insert  could really all go.</p>
1717.  
1718.  
1719.  
1720. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3680" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/img_2829/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2829.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2048,1536" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 12 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1613145170&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;320&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;latitude&quot;:&quot;51.417766666667&quot;,&quot;longitude&quot;:&quot;-0.28615833333333&quot;}" data-image-title="img_2829" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2829.jpeg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2829.jpeg?fit=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2829.jpeg?resize=544%2C408&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3680" width="544" height="408" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption>ESP8266 wired to a strip of 3 LEDs</figcaption></figure>
1721.  
1722.  
1723.  
1724. <p>I&#8217;m a fan of WLED at this point, but I have to say that getting the firmware installed was a lot less straightforward than I had hoped! I&#8217;ve been working on building up a Raspberry Pi 400-based setup for coding and general making, and attempting to flash the latest firmware using <kbd>esptool </kbd>(before I added any connections) resulted in the board not broadcasting an SSID. I tried the same with another (non-Wemos) NodeMCU board, and encountered the same issue. I tried a workaround from one of the related forums, flashing an older version, and <em>still </em>hit a wall. In the end, what worked for me was flashing a 0.8.x firmware using the Thonny editor on Raspberry Pi OS; getting the board onto my home network; and then, using the OTA flash feature to flash the most recent firmware. I can only assume something weird was going on with the <kbd>esptool </kbd>options.</p>
1725.  
1726.  
1727.  
1728. <p>Once the board was working with WLED firmware, and I&#8217;d soldered on a short strip of LEDs to replace those on the board in the lamp, it was time to get things installed. I used a Dremel to cut a larger hole into the back of the base so that I could feed the micro-USB cable directly inside, and used a substantial amount of black electrical insulating tape to position the LED strip. Some hot glue was applied to keep everything in place, the D1 was folded inside, and the original battery panel clipped back to keep everything in place.</p>
1729.  
1730.  
1731.  
1732. <p>I&#8217;m aware that there&#8217;s no huge innovation here &#8211; the WLED project itself was 90% of the work, all I did was replace the insides of a nightlight with something more interesting. Now though, I can control it via Alexa or Wi-Fi (web and mobile apps), and I&#8217;ll be able to MQTT-enable it to hook up to Node-RED for alerting, in the future.</p>
1733.  
1734.  
1735.  
1736. <p>I put the process together into a very quick video.</p>
1737.  
1738.  
1739.  
1740. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1741. <iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="739" height="416" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XRqd7Y83uGQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
1742. </div><figcaption>Wi-Fi Owl Lamp</figcaption></figure>
1743. ]]></content:encoded>
1745. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2021/02/15/i-made-a-wi-fi-controlled-owl-lamp/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1746. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
1749. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1750. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3669</post-id> </item>
1751. <item>
1752. <title>One year ago</title>
1753. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2019/12/24/one-year-ago/</link>
1754. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2019/12/24/one-year-ago/#respond</comments>
1756. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1757. <pubDate>Tue, 24 Dec 2019 05:28:41 +0000</pubDate>
1758. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1759. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3648</guid>
1760.  
1761. <description><![CDATA[One year ago, my brother left us. One year ago. Today. Christmas Eve. That evening, as a family, we were in the hospice with him, and I drove away mid-evening to go home and get some food, and shortly after I got home, I got the call. Many years ago, almost to the day, my&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2019/12/24/one-year-ago/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">One year ago</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1762. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One year ago, my brother left us.</p>
1763. <p>One year ago. Today. Christmas Eve. That evening, as a family, we were in the hospice with him, and I drove away mid-evening to go home and get some food, and shortly after I got home, I got the call.</p>
1764. <p>Many years ago, almost to the day, my mother and I left a ward in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital on the night of Christmas Day, 2000, we drove home, went to bed, and just after midnight, the telephone rang. I took that call. Boxing Day, 2000. That was the night that my father died.</p>
1765. <p>Cancer is a fucker, and brain tumours are terrible, terrible things, and more research is needed, and more science is needed, but we&#8217;ve moved on so far already from 20 years past. That doesn&#8217;t make our family experience any better, it&#8217;s just a statement &#8211; please help to donate to good cancer charities that are funding science to help to improve these things.</p>
1766. <p>Stu and I were never BEST friends, but especially after I left home for university, we were friends. Good friends. We&#8217;d bonded before that over video games (he was the one back in the 80s who had the TV in his room, and the SNES, and the PS1, and we played Metal Gear Solid and Super Mario Kart and all sorts sitting on his bed). When I went to university away from home for the first time and felt lonely, I wrote him letters, with song lyrics that spoke to me at the time. Looking back, firstly I can&#8217;t even imagine writing letters anymore (email, anyone?!) but, also, I remember when Pulp Fiction came out in the cinema and at the same time Pulp the indie band were becoming big, and they had the hit Common People, and Stu insisted the Pulp song was from the Pulp Fiction movie that he hadn&#8217;t seen&#8230; <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f923.png" alt="🤣" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
1767. <p>The night before Stu got married, he and I were just at his place and we played video games and had a few beers and we were brothers and that just felt brilliant and all our teenage and pre-teen rivalries weren&#8217;t even relevant.</p>
1768. <p>We bonded more with his children becoming part of my life, and me becoming closer to his inherited family, all of whom are the most wonderful people.</p>
1769. <p>I&#8217;m writing this today, because I love him; and I miss him; and he was a stupid silly fun bloke who loved his family more than everything and anything else. And he was ridiculously clever and knew more about finance and insurance and basically anything technical that wasn&#8217;t to do with computers, than I will EVER know. Please forgive me this indulgence.</p>
1770. <p>I love you Stu, and we all miss you, and this stupid biological nonsense is not fair to anyone, not least your incredible girls. You&#8217;ve left them such a fabulous platform and legacy and set of principles. You&#8217;ll never cease to be proud, my friend, and I&#8217;ll never cease to be your brother and to look after your girls.</p>
1771. ]]></content:encoded>
1773. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2019/12/24/one-year-ago/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1774. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1777. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1778. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3648</post-id> </item>
1779. <item>
1780. <title>At the edge of history</title>
1781. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2017/03/27/at-the-edge-of-history/</link>
1782. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2017/03/27/at-the-edge-of-history/#respond</comments>
1784. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1785. <pubDate>Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:47:36 +0000</pubDate>
1786. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1787. <category><![CDATA[Brexit]]></category>
1788. <category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
1789. <category><![CDATA[europe]]></category>
1790. <category><![CDATA[european union]]></category>
1791. <category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
1792. <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
1793.  
1794. <description><![CDATA[On Saturday, I attended the Unite for Europe March in London. Together, for now It was the first time I’ve ever taken part in an organised protest or march, and it was probably also the first time I’ve ever felt strongly enough about an issue to feel motivated to do so. As I walked from the&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2017/03/27/at-the-edge-of-history/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">At the edge of history</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1795. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Saturday, I attended the Unite for Europe March in London.</p>
1796. <figure class="wp-caption"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/7649e-1bpswo_wvogf-wnto3xd0ba.jpeg?w=739&#038;ssl=1" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Together, for now</figcaption></figure>
1797. <p>It was the first time I’ve ever taken part in an organised protest or march, and it was probably also the first time I’ve ever felt strongly enough about an issue to feel motivated to do so.</p>
1798. <p>As I walked from the Tube to the meeting point at the start of the route, I was thinking about all we’ll lose as we head into this coming week, towards Mrs May’s intended date for triggering Article 50 and starting the two years of exit negotiations.</p>
1799. <p>My father was born into a world that within weeks, was plunged into the Second World War. My grandparents must have spent some time hiding in shelters with their children, my father and uncle, the fear and uncertainty something I cannot imagine. My mother was born into the hesitant peace that came immediately after that conflict, and the years of austerity, rationing and rebuilding that followed, as borders closed and dangers loomed in the east.</p>
1800. <p>And then came the Treaty of Rome, and the start of 60 years of peace, cooperation and (relative) economic stability, in a continent previously torn by wars and economic rivalries.</p>
1801. <p>By contrast to my parents, I was born into a nation that was by then already a member of the EU. I’ve held the rights of an EU citizen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_of_the_European_Union" target="_blank">since 1993 when those rights were established by treaty</a>. So, for my entire working life I’ve enjoyed the benefits of freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination based on my nationality within the EU, and rights to consular protection abroad (among others). It makes me incredibly sad that the rising tides of nationalism in individual member states are starting to dilute these feelings of freedom and partnership that have been hard-won through (initially) post-war negotiation, and then expanded through the end of the Cold War to our neighbours further across the continent.</p>
1802. <figure class="wp-caption"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/66262-1e2yjdtllp-d_ax7dlsfncg.jpeg?w=739&#038;ssl=1" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">(hint: we never lost it)</figcaption></figure>
1803. <p>It’s fairly clear that in the nine months since the referendum took place, every one of the main planks of the groups advocating that Britain should leave the EU have been thoroughly dismantled or proven as falsehoods — most famously the £350 million per week we’d get back to put into the NHS, which was a claim withdrawn on day 1 after the result. Given that many of the staff of the NHS choose to live and work in the UK but come from outside, we can also guess that things will become even further strained as the Government refuses to guarantee the rights of existing EU citizens. There may be a large fee of billions to pay to get out, but we just don’t know yet, and probably will not through the coming (doubtless even more uncertain) two years ahead. Some of the UK regions and industries significantly dependent on EU grants and funding have started to realise the austerity they face in the future. Immigration has yet to be proven a failed policy, and our terrorists have consistently been home-grown.</p>
1804. <p>Not only that, but those in favour of the exit appear intent on trampling on genuinely useful rules agreed across the EU, such as <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-eu-regulations-michael-gove-environment-drugs-a7649041.html" target="_blank">protecting wildlife habitats and regulating drug trials</a>. My mind boggles as to what comes after our EU rights are stripped and businesses are given free reign to profit in any ways they choose… there’s nothing to fear in the past, but a leap into the dark unknown ahead.</p>
1805. <p>I’m appalled that a <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2016/10/24/brexit-is-not-the-will-of-the-british-people-it-never-has-been/" target="_blank"><em>minority</em> voting outcome</a> for an <em>advisory</em> process to Parliament has led us down this sad path, and it is largely those under 40 who will pay the price for this in the coming decades.</p>
1806. <p>The march on Saturday was glorious, with a far larger turnout than the organisers expected, and with people coming to London from across the country to join together to speak for Europe. A source of joy and love.</p>
1807. <figure class="wp-caption"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/85072-1egfn8wmboohd6lhvwsmzxa.jpeg?w=739&#038;ssl=1" data-recalc-dims="1" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Bad ideas should always be challenged — it is our democratic duty to speak out and persuade</figcaption></figure>
1808. <p>For the moment, I’m proud to be a European citizen. I celebrate all of my friends and colleagues who decided to come to the UK to work and live here, and long (I hope) may they do so. The EU is far from perfect, and could do with many structural reforms and revisions, but I applaud what it has brought to this continent of ours for the past 60 years — peace, freedom, friendship, greater understanding, opportunity, and prosperity.</p>
1809. <p>Happy birthday, EU!</p>
1810. <p>(originally <a href="https://medium.com/@andypiper/at-the-edge-of-history-2ce1efc86a2f">posted on Medium</a>)</p>
1811. ]]></content:encoded>
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1814. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1817. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1818. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3637</post-id> </item>
1819. <item>
1820. <title>Minimum viable smartphone</title>
1821. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/05/09/minimum-viable-smartphone/</link>
1822. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/05/09/minimum-viable-smartphone/#respond</comments>
1824. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1825. <pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2016 20:39:43 +0000</pubDate>
1826. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1827. <category><![CDATA[android]]></category>
1828. <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category>
1829. <category><![CDATA[iphone]]></category>
1830. <category><![CDATA[mobile]]></category>
1831. <category><![CDATA[smartphone]]></category>
1832. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3615</guid>
1833.  
1834. <description><![CDATA[Minimum viable smartphone - how I coped when I lost my iPhone in the back of a cab in Tokyo...&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/05/09/minimum-viable-smartphone/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Minimum viable smartphone</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1835. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="graf--p">aka #firstworldproblems</p>
1836. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/723346229732610048" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/723346229732610048</a></p>
1837. <p class="graf--p">Three weeks ago, as I was leaving Tokyo after my first trip to Japan, I accidentally abandoned my iPhone in the back of a cab as I ran into the airport. The sinking feeling crossed with panic as I realised it was no longer in my pocket, was compounded by the fact that it carried my electronic boarding pass, TripIt itinerary with flight details, my Apple Pay wallet, lots of podcasts and music for the flight, and of course my main means of communication with home via iMessage, email or phone.</p>
1838. <p class="graf--p">When I went back to the kerbside, the taxi had already left, and I quickly resigned myself that it was probably a lost cause.</p>
1839. <p class="graf--p">The only other time I’d managed to leave my iPhone somewhere while travelling, was on the top deck of a late-night bus in London. When I got home, I used Find my iPhone to make it ring loudly, and the bus driver was good enough to take it to the bus station for me to collect in the morning.</p>
1840. <p class="graf--p">This time, I was more limited — although I could still use Find my iPhone, I didn’t have time or means to do it before take-off, and my phone itself had data roaming disabled, so unless it made it back to the hotel where it had last connected to wifi, it was pretty unlikely to receive the messages to disable itself or wipe my data.</p>
1841. <p class="graf--p">When I got back to the UK, I did go ahead and set everything as lost in iCloud, and also Tweeted, and posted about my loss on Facebook. Several people commented “hey, this is Japan… you might be surprised!”. <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://twitter.com/amanalam">A colleague I’d been travelling with</a> had me send him a photo of the taxi receipt via direct message, succeeded in contacting the driver, and recovered my phone! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f647.png" alt="🙇" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> After that, it was a simple (!) matter of colleagues passing it between themselves until I arrived here, in São Paulo Brazil, to meet the person who was currently in possession of my device.</p>
1842. <h4 class="graf--h4">Backup solutions</h4>
1843. <p class="graf--p">By the time I realised that my phone wasn’t lost forever, I’d also decided that I could avoid an insurance claim (although I probably would have used that opportunity to upgrade from an iPhone 6 to a 6S Plus, so the silver-lined cloud of Japanese kindness wasn’t as shiny as it might have been!).</p>
1844. <p class="graf--p">I needed my phone for SMS. Most of my online accounts are protected by two-factor authentication, so I needed a way to receive text messages. I also needed to be able to do a bunch of things on the move (more on this in a moment). My initial stopgap solution was to cancel my Three SIM, get a new one, and shove it into an older iPhone 5 that we had laying around at home — annoyingly though, it was locked to a corporate Vodafone contract and my new SIM wouldn’t work! So, although I could pull down a bunch of apps and use the older iPhone on wifi, it wasn’t going to help with that SMS issue. The other solution I came up with there was to use the nano-SIM in an adapter inside my older Nexus 5 — which meant I had mobile data and SMS available, but it would be on Android. I’d be dual-wielding my mobile weapons for a little while.</p>
1845. <h4 class="graf--h4">Three weeks, two phones</h4>
1846. <p class="graf--p">My regular iPhone 6 has 438 (!) applications installed. No, I’m absolutely sure I don’t use most of them regularly; and yes, I really should get around to clearing that down; but hey, 128Gb is a lot of storage, and I use my phone for lots and lots of things on a daily basis.</p>
1847. <p class="graf--p">I wasn’t about to restore my entire device onto a smaller, older iPhone 5, but after a fortnight, here’s what I came up with as my minimum viable set of apps I needed.</p>
1848. <p class="graf--p"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3632" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/05/09/minimum-viable-smartphone/img_0004-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00041.jpg?fit=640%2C1136&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="640,1136" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1461689702&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0004" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00041.jpg?fit=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00041.jpg?fit=400%2C710&amp;ssl=1" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3632" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00041.jpg?resize=640%2C1136&#038;ssl=1" alt="IMG_0004.jpg" width="640" height="1136" data-recalc-dims="1" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3634" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/05/09/minimum-viable-smartphone/img_0005-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00051.jpg?fit=640%2C1136&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="640,1136" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1461689708&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0005" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00051.jpg?fit=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00051.jpg?fit=400%2C710&amp;ssl=1" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3634" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/img_00051.jpg?resize=640%2C1136&#038;ssl=1" alt="IMG_0005.jpg" width="640" height="1136" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
1849. <p class="graf--p">Almost the very first thing I did was to drag the majority of Apple-installed apps into an “Apple” folder, to get them out of the way (how I wish they could be removed or fully hidden).</p>
1850. <p class="graf--p">After that, getting the Google suite (Gmail, Chrome, Calendar) installed and then back up-and-running by coordinating 2FA challenges with my Android phone, got me a long way back towards where I wanted to be. I’m a social kind of guy, so Twitter, Swarm, Facebook, Instagram and Periscope were instant re-installs, too.</p>
1851. <p class="graf--p">In terms of other apps worth calling out here:</p>
1852. <ul class="postList">
1853. <li class="graf--li">Citymapper is probably the #1 essential app I use daily, in as many cities as I can, where it is available and when I’m travelling. One of the best pieces of technology in my life. Use It.</li>
1854. <li class="graf--li">Solitaire is basic, but to be honest, one of a relatively small number of games that don’t maddeningly insist on network access, meaning that I can play a quick diverting game on the Tube.</li>
1855. <li class="graf--li">Evernote is my external brain — I love it — and I automate a lot of the contents using IFTTT recipes as well.</li>
1856. <li class="graf--li">1Password is another essential install, and part of my workflow across my devices. I try to never know my passwords.</li>
1857. <li class="graf--li">Spotify. I use iTunes Match and have a lot of content of my own music library over in there, but I don’t subscribe to Apple Music and haven’t even tried the trial yet. Spotify. Is. Awesome.</li>
1858. <li class="graf--li">Mondo is an incredible new banking app that I absolutely love. As soon as they get a full license for current accounts, I can easily see myself moving much of my day-to-day banking over there — this is fintech disruption done from the user perspective.</li>
1859. </ul>
1860. <p class="graf--p">The other pain point I encountered in this three week digital wilderness trial, was what to do about my Apple Watch! As soon as I lost the original iPhone, I found myself unable to change the timezone on my Watch — in the Watch UI, it only locally offers the option to put the clock forward, not backwards. In the end, the only good solution I could see was to reset the Watch, re-pair it as new with the older iPhone, and then set it up again. Today, once I got the original phone back, I had to go through the same dance, although I restored from the most recent backup on the iPhone 5, so the setup wasn’t quite as annoying. Still… this doesn’t seem well thought-through, Apple please take note.</p>
1861. <h4 class="graf--h4">What about Android?</h4>
1862. <p class="graf--p">Android remains interesting and useful to me, and in particular the Lollipop and Marshmallow releases have moved it forward a long way in user experience. I support developers on many platforms, and it is important to me to have a Nexus device in my life, even as a secondary device. I’ve loved using my Nexus 5 more during these past few weeks, but I still find the plethora of messaging apps, inconsistency in finding settings, and annoying UI differences between apps outside of the Material redesign ecosystem, to be hugely irritating.</p>
1863. <p class="graf--p">Another thing that annoyed me on both of my fallback devices was the lack of that magical Touch ID! I’m so used to just holding my phone and being able to use it, that the screen swipe / PIN dance was a big challenge to adjust back to. Amazing how quickly technology becomes part of the daily wallpaper when it is simple and useful.</p>
1864. <p class="graf--p">That being said, it might even be time to update my Nexus to a 5X or 6P to make use of some of those newer features on that platform, as well…</p>
1865. <h4 class="graf--h4">Moving on!</h4>
1866. <p class="graf--p">Thanks to Aman, Lia, the Japanese taxi driver, and the corporate donor of my backup phone…</p>
1867. <p class="graf--p">I just installed 138 app updates on my iPhone 6.</p>
1868. <p class="graf--p">Modern life is good-ish.</p>
1869. ]]></content:encoded>
1871. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/05/09/minimum-viable-smartphone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1872. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1875. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1876. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3615</post-id> </item>
1877. <item>
1878. <title>Signals, messages, clouds&#8230; pigeons?</title>
1879. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/</link>
1880. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/#respond</comments>
1882. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1883. <pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2016 16:50:40 +0000</pubDate>
1884. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1885. <category><![CDATA[API]]></category>
1886. <category><![CDATA[environment]]></category>
1887. <category><![CDATA[internet of things]]></category>
1888. <category><![CDATA[iot]]></category>
1889. <category><![CDATA[MQTT]]></category>
1890. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
1891. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
1892. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3524</guid>
1893.  
1894. <description><![CDATA[&#8230; AKA, how a flock of pigeons 🐦 is connecting my past, present and future technology interests. If I look back at the past 10 years or so of my career, I believe there&#8217;s a continuum of interest &#8211; from my passion for / community building around application messaging systems (MQ, MQTT, and others), to building&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Signals, messages, clouds&#8230; pigeons?</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1895. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8230; AKA, how a flock of pigeons <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f426.png" alt="🐦" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> is connecting my past, present and future technology interests.</p>
1896. <p>If I look back at the past 10 years or so of my career, I believe there&#8217;s a continuum of interest &#8211; from my passion for / community building around application messaging systems (MQ, MQTT, and others), to building lightweight cloud-based services (Cloud Foundry and API platforms), and now, to working on what you can choose to see as a large scale, cloud messaging platform (Twitter).</p>
1897. <p>Twitter is far more than that, of course. It&#8217;s also a platform that humans interact with more so than any of the other systems I&#8217;ve worked on in the past. From e-commerce to core banking systems, I&#8217;m pretty sure that none of the things I&#8217;ve helped to build in the past have had the same scale and impact in the world every day that Twitter has done. It also reflects my passion for people and communities &#8211; hell, I&#8217;m a guy with a History degree playing at being a technologist, and jumped into social media before the term even really existed, what else would you think I care about? OK, OK, yes I&#8217;ve also always been an early adopter of shiny new technologies&#8230; but my excitement with technology is almost always about what it enables us to do as <span style="text-decoration-line:underline;">humans</span> every day.</p>
1898. <p>So what&#8217;s the point of this post, other than to muse on this?</p>
1899. <p>Well, Twitter also represents a nice confluence of my passion for the Internet of Things, sitting between those messaging systems and those cloud apps that I mentioned, and people.</p>
1900. <p>Twitter is <em><strong>real-time</strong></em>, and <em><strong>live</strong></em>. By creating and curating my Twitter timeline, I follow the people (@), topics (#), and well &#8211; the <em>things</em> &#8211; that I care about most. I receive breaking news, follow along with what my friends and colleagues are up to, and learn about what is happening in the world in real-time. It&#8217;s a platform for both messages, and <a href="https://youtu.be/qfrfMqJKdic?t=20s">signals</a>. The <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2016/when-seconds-really-do-matter">engineering and support efforts</a> required to support all of this happening, with rapid response times and a solid user experience, are pretty impressive &#8211; hats off to my colleagues in those departments.</p>
1901. <p>Twitter is also <em><strong>conversational</strong></em>, which means that it can make a great home for all those conversational interactions we&#8217;re hearing about with the resurgence of bots, helpers, and personal agents. In fact, we can think back to not too long after the Twitter API came about, to the <a href="https://www.botanicalls.com/archived_kits/twitter/">Tweeting plant asking for water when the soil was dry</a>, to see that these kinds of applications are no strangers to the platform.</p>
1902. <p>I&#8217;ve spoken about these topics a number of times over the past couple of years, most notably at our first Flight conference in 2014, where I covered flood alerting, plants, ferries, sports events, houses, earthquakes, and more!</p>
1903. <div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="739" height="416" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0HUnwTbjyVE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></div>
1904. <p>Soon after starting work at Twitter, I ended up helping a project to connect river sensors online. Right now, you can <a href="http://www.gaugemap.co.uk/">find local river stations in the UK on an interactive map</a>, and then (if you&#8217;re interested) you can follow the ones that matter to you. It&#8217;s pretty cool stuff, and can help with flood alerting and monitoring as well as local awareness.</p>
1905. <p>Perhaps you&#8217;re interested in the environment around the <a href="https://twitter.com/DublinBayBuoy">Dublin Bay Buoy</a>?</p>
1906. <div class="embed-twitter">
1907. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
1908. <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Avg Wind:7kts, Gust:12kts, Wind Dir:21 °(N), Wave Height:0.6m, Wave Period:3s, Water Temp:7.3 °C at 15/03/2016 15:56:00</p>
1909. <p>&mdash; Dublin Bay Buoy (@DublinBayBuoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DublinBayBuoy/status/709771180304175104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
1910. <p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
1911. <p>Talking of the environment, last year we ran a conceptual contest out of Twitter UK, inviting organisations to think about new ways to use the platform and build applications #PoweredByTweets. One of the winning entries was the idea that pigeons in London could be instrumented with tiny backpacks measuring air quality. At the exhibition of the winning entries in September, there was a display that mocked up how this could work.</p>
1912. <p>
1913. <a href='https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/img_0037/'><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="113" height="150" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0037.jpg?fit=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" data-attachment-id="3574" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/img_0037/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0037.jpg?fit=2448%2C3264&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2448,3264" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 6&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1443009637&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;32&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0072463768115942&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0037" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0037.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0037.jpg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" /></a>
1914. <a href='https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/img_0046/'><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="113" height="150" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0046.jpg?fit=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" data-attachment-id="3575" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/img_0046/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0046.jpg?fit=2448%2C3264&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="2448,3264" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 6&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1443009915&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="IMG_0046" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0046.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_0046.jpg?fit=400%2C533&amp;ssl=1" /></a>
1915. </p>
1916. <p>Yesterday, the <a href="https://twitter.com/PigeonAir">@PigeonAir</a> patrol took flight for real in London, and for another day or two will act as a temporary set of mobile beacons that can report back air quality via Twitter conversations.</p>
1917. <div class="embed-twitter">
1918. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
1919. <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good day London! Rumour has it that your air is totally toxic, so we pigeons are coming to investigate. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PigeonAir?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PigeonAir</a> <a href="https://t.co/ad1EAHnAcn">pic.twitter.com/ad1EAHnAcn</a></p>
1920. <p>&mdash; Pigeon Air Patrol (@PigeonAir) <a href="https://twitter.com/PigeonAir/status/707929182349750272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
1921. <p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
1922. <p>I love this &#8211; and quite honestly, I remember telling people how barmy I thought it was when we first started looking at it!</p>
1923. <p>Another interesting data point to add to all of is that social signals from Twitter <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/twitter-may-be-faster-fema-models-tracking-disaster-damage-180958391/">may be more effective than some FEMA models</a>, according to <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/twitter-can-predict-hurricane-damage-well-emergency-agencies">recent research</a>&#8230;</p>
1924. <p>So what&#8217;s next? Who knows. My mind is constantly racing with ideas, and others come up with far, far more interesting ones!</p>
1925. <p>This is not a story about Twitter.</p>
1926. <p>This is the story of how humans used technology in creative ways, to improve their lives and their environments.</p>
1927. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1928. ]]></content:encoded>
1930. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/15/signals-messages-clouds-pigeons/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1931. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1934. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1935. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3524</post-id> </item>
1936. <item>
1937. <title>Why I am #HeForShe</title>
1938. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/08/why-i-am-heforshe/</link>
1939. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/08/why-i-am-heforshe/#comments</comments>
1941. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1942. <pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2016 16:16:14 +0000</pubDate>
1943. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1944. <category><![CDATA[#HeForShe]]></category>
1945. <category><![CDATA[#IWD2016]]></category>
1946. <category><![CDATA[ally]]></category>
1947. <category><![CDATA[career]]></category>
1948. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
1949. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3484</guid>
1950.  
1951. <description><![CDATA[I've worked in the technology industry for my whole professional life, and it has been an incredibly tough place for women to work - that's just not the kind of career or workplace I want to work in, because I'm constantly inspired and influenced by women around me, be that professionally or personally.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/08/why-i-am-heforshe/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Why I am #HeForShe</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1952. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3514" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/08/why-i-am-heforshe/he-for-she-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/he-for-she-logo.jpg?fit=660%2C660&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="660,660" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="he-for-she-logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/he-for-she-logo.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/he-for-she-logo.jpg?fit=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1" class=" size-thumbnail wp-image-3514 alignright" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/he-for-she-logo.jpg?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1" alt="he-for-she-logo" width="150" height="150" data-recalc-dims="1" />I&#8217;m incredibly fortunate to work for a <a href="https://about.twitter.com/">company</a> that is one of the <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/en/impact/adam-bain">Corporate Impact Champions</a> for the global UN Women #HeForShe movement, with support right from the <a href="https://twitter.com/adambain">top</a> of the organization. There&#8217;s more about Twitter&#8217;s commitment to #HeForShe <a href="http://heforshe.kendrek.com/">here</a>.</p>
1953. <p>I&#8217;ve worked in the technology industry for my whole professional life, and it has been an incredibly tough place for women to work &#8211; that&#8217;s just not the kind of career or workplace I want to work in, because I&#8217;m constantly inspired and influenced by women around me, be that professionally or personally.</p>
1954. <p>For my part, I&#8217;m a huge supporter of this drive for equality. Over the past few years we&#8217;ve witnessed appalling social abuse through vectors such as &#8220;GamerGate&#8221; or one of the many other poor excuses that humans have found to justify their own prejudices. It is beyond time for this to Stop, and for us to move forward together.</p>
1955. <p>What can I do that goes beyond mere words? I can be an Ally to friends of all genders and identities who have encountered difficult behaviour. I can point out that I support the <a href="http://hackcodeofconduct.org/">Hack Code of Conduct</a> for conferences and Hackathons. I am happy to work on diversity programs within the tech community and to support initiatives such as <a href="http://www.codefirstgirls.org.uk/">CodeFirstGirls</a>, which Twitter has also hosted classes for.</p>
1956. <p>Today, International Women&#8217;s Day, Twitter is supporting the cause with custom emojis for #IWD2016 and #SheInspires me (you&#8217;ll see them visible with those hashtags on Twitter.com today) &#8211; and what better excuse, as if one was needed, to call out various friends, colleagues, and one I&#8217;ve not even met, as role models and personal inspirations&#8230; you should probably be following them and checking out their achievements.</p>
1957. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707169350881570816" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707169350881570816</a></p>
1958. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707169702884282368" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707169702884282368</a></p>
1959. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707170118384672772" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707170118384672772</a></p>
1960. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707173012244664320" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707173012244664320</a></p>
1961. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707176304009945088" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707176304009945088</a></p>
1962. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707176878201806848" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707176878201806848</a></p>
1963. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707195581660274689" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707195581660274689</a></p>
1964. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707196087224901632" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707196087224901632</a></p>
1965. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707196455417745408" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707196455417745408</a></p>
1966. <p><a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707224582579691525" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/707224582579691525</a></p>
1967. ]]></content:encoded>
1969. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/03/08/why-i-am-heforshe/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1970. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
1973. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
1974. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3484</post-id> </item>
1975. <item>
1976. <title>Three notions / plans for 2016</title>
1977. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/02/15/three-notions-plans-for-2016/</link>
1978. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/02/15/three-notions-plans-for-2016/#comments</comments>
1980. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
1981. <pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2016 18:47:56 +0000</pubDate>
1982. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
1983. <category><![CDATA[2016]]></category>
1984. <category><![CDATA[career]]></category>
1985. <category><![CDATA[Coding]]></category>
1986. <category><![CDATA[goals]]></category>
1987. <category><![CDATA[mentoring]]></category>
1988. <category><![CDATA[plans]]></category>
1989. <category><![CDATA[Professional Development]]></category>
1990. <category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>
1991. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
1992. <category><![CDATA[TwitterDev]]></category>
1993. <category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
1994. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3434</guid>
1995.  
1996. <description><![CDATA[My own vague ideas about what 2016 should mean for me, have solidified.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/02/15/three-notions-plans-for-2016/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Three notions / plans for 2016</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
1997. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hello. I haven&#8217;t written here in a while. That&#8217;s something I hope to change.</p>
1998. <p>I realise it is 6 weeks into the year already, but after a trip to California last week, my own vague ideas about what 2016 should mean for me, have solidified.</p>
1999. <ol>
2000. <li><strong>Travel (a bit) less</strong> / be more thoughtful about travel. I&#8217;m in an International role, and I work for a company with headquarters and many of the decision-makers 8 hours behind me. This makes the notion of travelling less in 2016 a little ironic and possibly, untenable! Nevertheless, I work with a great team and I hope to be more thoughtful about where and when I travel (and for how long) this year. I know I&#8217;ll do more again, but right now, I&#8217;m at a point in my life where I need to be setting more roots and plans locally. Interestingly, my trip to SF this week was my first significant travel since October, so this is already working (to an extent), but <a href="https://twitterhelloworld.com">the global #HelloWorld tour</a> will of course eat into that significantly &#8211; not that I&#8217;m complaining!</li>
2001. <li><strong>Make more Stuff</strong>. Per <a href="https://medium.com/@codepo8/answering-some-questions-on-developer-evangelism-ed158d8e3518#.s3buypakq">Chris Heilmann&#8217;s fantastic post about Developer Relations</a> / Evangelism / Advocacy this past week, &#8220;how often do you code?&#8221; is a key question in understanding our role(s), and I&#8217;d been aware for a while that I simply hadn&#8217;t been doing much of it lately (beyond testing out examples where devs said they were unable to make samples work). My plan in 2016 is to build something &#8211; anything &#8211; at least once a month. So far this year <a href="https://github.com/andypiper">I&#8217;ve</a> dabbled in <a href="https://github.com/andypiper/pipes_ebooks">Twitter ebooks bots</a> and <a href="https://github.com/andypiper/Netatmo-Alexa">Alexa skills</a> &#8211; both built on the backs of others &#8211; but I hope to build, publish, and write about more in the coming months. I&#8217;m particularly excited by the growing trend towards No UI / conversational interfaces and it has been great to re-connect with friends like <a href="https://twitter.com/genmon">Matt</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Haje">Haje</a> in the preceding months on these topics. I&#8217;m also hoping to write a lot more, as blogging and sharing is a major part of where the amazing ride and network I&#8217;ve enjoyed since ~2006, started.</li>
2002. <li><strong>Invest more time in mentoring</strong> others. In my previous lives at IBM and Pivotal I had a lot of opportunity to get involved in these activities. I&#8217;ve been at Twitter very close to 2 years now, and it is incredible to realise how much I&#8217;ve learned &#8220;through osmosis&#8221; &#8211; partly from amazing individuals like <a href="https://twitter.com/issach">Isaac</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/FrogInTheValley">Sylvain</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/episod">Taylor</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/c_r_w">Craig</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/cra">Chris</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/romainhuet">Romain</a> &#8211; and more often, from others still around me. My goal in 2016 is to share my knowledge and support much more widely: both to co-workers, third party developers, and up-and-coming members of the tech community around me. Time to hit the local meetup circuit, and to do more coaching of others in public speaking, career mentoring, and personal support.</li>
2003. </ol>
2004. <p>I&#8217;ve got a lot of exciting stuff to look forward to this year professionally &#8211; I&#8217;m deeply involved in a number of initiatives, and I&#8217;m excited that <a href="https://twitter.com/jack">@jack</a> has put Developers firmly on our list of priorities! This is where I&#8217;d always hoped we would get back to. Nevertheless, on top of that, these are three of my personal plans for the next ~10 1/2 months. I&#8217;ve made a good start.</p>
2005. <p>As always, I&#8217;m open to comments here, but you&#8217;ll also find me open to discuss on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/andypiper">@andypiper</a>.</p>
2006. <p>(also <a href="https://medium.com/@andypiper/originally-published-on-the-lost-outpost-53cc7962d3e3#.np0olmj07">on Medium</a>)</p>
2007. ]]></content:encoded>
2009. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2016/02/15/three-notions-plans-for-2016/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2010. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
2013. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
2014. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3434</post-id> </item>
2015. <item>
2016. <title>Some random reflections on 2014</title>
2017. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/12/31/some-random-reflections-on-2014/</link>
2018. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/12/31/some-random-reflections-on-2014/#comments</comments>
2020. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
2021. <pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2014 15:46:37 +0000</pubDate>
2022. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
2023. <category><![CDATA[#cloudfoundry]]></category>
2024. <category><![CDATA[API]]></category>
2025. <category><![CDATA[career]]></category>
2026. <category><![CDATA[changes]]></category>
2027. <category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
2028. <category><![CDATA[internet of things]]></category>
2029. <category><![CDATA[iot]]></category>
2030. <category><![CDATA[job]]></category>
2031. <category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
2032. <category><![CDATA[MQTT]]></category>
2033. <category><![CDATA[open source]]></category>
2034. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
2035. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3430</guid>
2036.  
2037. <description><![CDATA[2014, looking back... a little bit of a year in review. What I've been up to at Twitter, in Open Source, and in life.&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/12/31/some-random-reflections-on-2014/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Some random reflections on 2014</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
2038. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As time has moved on, I&#8217;ve lavished less attention on my blog, which is a shame&#8230; &#8220;back in the day&#8221; I enjoyed writing for it, and gained a lot of value from doing so. It&#8217;s of no particular surprise to me that I&#8217;ve spent less time writing here in 2014 than in any of the previous years; but it is a regret. I blame my schedule, a general change in the way I interact online, and a lack of inspiration. Actually, that last one isn&#8217;t quite true: I&#8217;ve often been inspired, or felt the need to blog, but have found myself mentally blocked. I need to get over that!</p>
2039. <p>Anyway&#8230; 2014, looking back&#8230; a little bit of a year in review.</p>
2040. <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andypiper/14195107248/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3432" data-permalink="https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/12/31/some-random-reflections-on-2014/14195107248_ce9803587a_m/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/14195107248_ce9803587a_m.jpg?fit=176%2C240&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="176,240" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="LEGO Andy" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/14195107248_ce9803587a_m.jpg?fit=176%2C240&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/14195107248_ce9803587a_m.jpg?fit=176%2C240&amp;ssl=1" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3432" src="https://i0.wp.com/andypiper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/14195107248_ce9803587a_m.jpg?resize=176%2C240&#038;ssl=1" alt="LEGO Andy" width="176" height="240" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>The major life change this year was <a href="http://andypiper.co.uk/2014/03/06/hashtag-newjob/">my move to Twitter</a>, which has been very exciting and energising. I&#8217;m <a href="http://andypiper.co.uk/2014/07/01/on-joining-twitter/">thrilled</a> to have been invited to work with a team of exceptional people under <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffsand">Jeff Sandquist</a>. In particular, this year I&#8217;ve had the short-lived opportunity to work with three brilliant and talented guys I want to say &#8220;thank you&#8221; to, for making my transition to my new role such a pleasure: <a href="http://twitter.com/episod">Taylor Singletary</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/froginthevalley">Sylvain Carle</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/isaach">Isaac Hepworth</a>. A special shout-out too to my close friend and colleague based in London, <a href="http://twitter.com/romainhuet">Romain Huet</a>, without whom I would have found the past nine months much less fun or easy-to-navigate! The whole team has been just amazing to work with, as have all my wonderful colleagues at the Twitter office in London #gratefulpipes</p>
2041. <p>The work we&#8217;re doing on the <a href="http://twitter.com/TwitterDev">Developer and Platform Relations team at Twitter</a> is something I&#8217;m incredibly passionate about. Connecting with the third-party community and acting as the face and voice of Twitter with those developers, listening to them and responding to their concerns, is <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/why-i-joined-twitter-andy-piper-developer-advocate">the reason I joined the compan</a>y.</p>
2042. <p>I&#8217;ve been involved in the launch of a couple of APIs (most notably the <a href="https://twittercommunity.com/t/new-rest-api-endpoints-for-mute-functionality/12967">Mute API</a>), and I&#8217;m getting to work on much of the external API surface, which plays well with my background and developer experience. We&#8217;ve completely relaunched our <a href="http://dev.twitter.com">developer-facing website</a> and <a href="http://twittercommunity.com">forums</a> in the past few months, which the whole team has worked hard on. I&#8217;m happy to see the focus of discussion on the developer forums substantially improved now that we&#8217;ve moved to the Discourse platform &#8211; the user experience is far better than we had with the previous solution.</p>
2043. <p>Most importantly, this past quarter we launched <a href="http://dev.twitter.com/fabric">Fabric</a>, our new free mobile SDK and platform for iOS and Android, and delivered a swathe of improvements to the developer experience for mobile enthusiasts. We also ran our first mobile developer conference, <a href="http://dev.twitter.com/flight">Flight</a> &#8211; I was excited to be there, and I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing that experience continue in 2015.</p>
2044. <div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="739" height="416" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0HUnwTbjyVE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></div>
2045. <p>My background in the Internet of Things and <a href="http://mqtt.org">MQTT</a> space has <em>partly</em> carried over into my new life at Twitter, and I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to speak at a couple of events (including Flight) about how Twitter&#8217;s platform plays into that space. However, I&#8217;ve substantially stepped back from playing a major role in the MQTT community this year; a decision in part driven by the need to refocus on my new role, partly due to some personal hostility and &#8220;burnout&#8221; with a couple of specific issues, but <em>mostly</em> because &#8211; I&#8217;m no longer &#8220;needed&#8221;! It has been incredibly satisfying to see the MQTT community grow over the past few years. The standardisation of the protocol at OASIS, the large number of implementations, and the ability of many other much smarter people to pick up the kinds of speaking engagements I was previously doing as a matter of course &#8211; all of these things make me immensely proud to have helped to lay the foundations for the success of that community over the past six years or so.</p>
2046. <p>I&#8217;ve also been very happy to see the success of the <a href="http://cloudfoundry.org/index.html">Cloud Foundry</a> platform and the people involved &#8211; having devoted the previous two years of my career to that nascent Open Source community, it is just fantastic to see it take off and the Foundation get started. Nice work to everyone involved.</p>
2047. <p>I&#8217;ve again thoroughly enjoyed <a href="http://lanyrd.com/profile/andypiper/past/speaking/">my speaking opportunities</a> this year, and the chance to broaden my range. Obviously that has included a lot about the Twitter API and developer platform, and lots again about IoT; but I&#8217;ve also spoken on <a href="http://lanyrd.com/2014/wearable-horizons/">wearables</a>, <a href="http://lanyrd.com/2014/technical-evangelism-meetup-2/">developer advocacy</a>, and <a href="http://lanyrd.com/2014/apiacademy/">API management</a>. I&#8217;m very happy that I got to be a part of the first Twitter Flight conference &#8211; one of my speaking career highlights.</p>
2048. <p>Personally, I&#8217;ve tried to stay healthy this year (no heart scares, no falls&#8230;!); although my travel schedule has been demanding again (TripIt tells me I covered 66613 miles in the air). That did at least include a couple of trips for fun, rather than being all about business <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
2049. <p>The next year looks to be busy with more events to speak at (and organise!), and much more to do around the Twitter platform. As an historian, a sociologist and someone with a keen interest in the intersection of technology and people, I&#8217;m very excited to be a part of this wave of change.</p>
2050. <p>Happy New Year &#8211; here&#8217;s to 2015!</p>
2051. ]]></content:encoded>
2053. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/12/31/some-random-reflections-on-2014/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2054. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
2057. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
2058. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3430</post-id> </item>
2059. <item>
2060. <title>On joining Twitter</title>
2061. <link>https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/07/01/on-joining-twitter/</link>
2062. <comments>https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/07/01/on-joining-twitter/#comments</comments>
2064. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Piper]]></dc:creator>
2065. <pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 14:11:23 +0000</pubDate>
2066. <category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
2067. <category><![CDATA[career]]></category>
2068. <category><![CDATA[developer advocacy]]></category>
2069. <category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
2070. <category><![CDATA[internet of things]]></category>
2071. <category><![CDATA[job]]></category>
2072. <category><![CDATA[open platform]]></category>
2073. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
2074. <category><![CDATA[twitter api]]></category>
2075. <category><![CDATA[twitter uk]]></category>
2076. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://andypiper.co.uk/?p=3419</guid>
2077.  
2078. <description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been settling into my new role at Twitter over the past few months. I&#8217;m a Developer Advocate on the Developer and Platform Relations team, based out of a beautiful new London office we opened a few weeks ago. It has been fantastic so far, learning about the Twitter platform and starting to work with partners&#8230; <a class="more-link" href="https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/07/01/on-joining-twitter/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">On joining Twitter</span> <span class="meta-nav" aria-hidden="true">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
2079. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><figure style="width: 240px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andypiper/14312462560"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/farm3.staticflickr.com/2924/14312462560_2186468ebd_m.jpg?resize=240%2C240&#038;ssl=1" alt="" width="240" height="240" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">#lifeattwitter</figcaption></figure></p>
2080. <p>I&#8217;ve been settling into <a href="http://andypiper.co.uk/2014/03/06/hashtag-newjob/">my new role</a> at <a href="http://twitter.com">Twitter</a> over the past few months. I&#8217;m a Developer Advocate on the Developer and Platform Relations team, based out of a beautiful new London office we opened a few weeks ago.</p>
2081. <p>It has been fantastic so far, learning about the Twitter platform and starting to work with partners and developers trying out the API. I&#8217;ve been a small part of a couple of feature launches which I&#8217;m incredibly proud to have helped with. We&#8217;ve run our first Twitter UK community Friday4Good which I helped to plan. As well as that, I&#8217;ve spoken about the Twitter API in the context of the Internet of Things at both <a href="http://lanyrd.com/2014/techsylvania/sdbddf/">Techsylvania in Cluj-Napoca, Romania</a>, and more recently at <a href="http://lanyrd.com/2014/gotoams/sdbdfg/">GOTO in Amsterdam</a>.</p>
2082. <p><div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe src='https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/36101242' width='739' height='606' sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen></iframe></div></p>
2083. <p>In a recent post over on the Twitter Developer blog I&#8217;ve written a little bit more about <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/why-i-joined-twitter-andy-piper-developer-advocate">why I was excited to join this amazing team</a>.</p>
2084. <blockquote><p>Developers embraced Twitter early on, seeing it as an open platform that could enrich apps with contextual information and provide access to public conversations, sentiments and signals. Twitter enabled developers to create cool, new and fun experiences that were never before possible.</p></blockquote>
2085. <p>Oh, and if you want to follow what we are up to as a team, you should keep an eye on the <a href="http://twitter.com/TwitterDev">@TwitterDev</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/TwitterAPI">@TwitterAPI</a> handles, as well as <a href="http://twitter.com/TwitterUK">@TwitterUK</a> for more UK-centric news!</p>
2086. ]]></content:encoded>
2088. <wfw:commentRss>https://andypiper.co.uk/2014/07/01/on-joining-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2089. <slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
2092. <friends:post-format>standard</friends:post-format>
2093. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3419</post-id> </item>
2094. </channel>
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