London, UK >  A cyber security professional observing technology, business, and culture with a skeptical – but never cynical – eye, and scratching a writing itch from a previous life as a journalist.

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Notepad flaw shows why software bloat matters
 -  Notepad used to do one thing: edit plain text. Microsoft's insistence on adding formatting and Copilot led to a perfect example of why simplicity matters – an RCE vulnerability in its Markdown rendering.
Field Notes 7 // Caffeine, meditation, and Japan
 -  My findings after drastically cutting my caffeine intake and introducing meditation to my morning routine, and Craig Mod's unusual book documenting his long walks across the Japanese countryside.
AI could commodify thinking and destroy deep work
 -  Tools like Claude Cowork risk condemning knowledge workers to endless reviews of AI-generated work. We must use AI to augment human thinking – not replace it – and preserve the value and craft of the process.
Field Notes 6 // Christmas, reflection, and bowling
 -  I took some time off this Christmas to relax, reflect, and review my notebooks from 2025, and came away with inspiration about where to take the blog in 2026. I also did a lot of ten-pin bowling.
How to opt out of X's engagement-first algorithm
 -  The new X algorithm, which prioritises virality over personal preferences, has been met with a huge backlash. But it's possible to take back control of your feed using Lists, strategic muting, and ruthless curation.
Enshittified football needs its Steve Jobs moment
 -  Elite football clubs are being run down by the same model of enshittification that ruined tech products. Owners, safe in the knowledge they have a captive audience, prioritise profits over sporting success.
State of the Blog 2026: Following a new direction
 -  I've blogged for about 20 years, but until recently I never knew exactly what this site should be. As we enter 2026, I'm reflecting on how I found my voice in 2025, and how to step things up in the new year.
Best of Tech 2025: Gadgets, books, games, and more
 -  I was much better at keeping note of things I read, watched, and played in 2025. It seemed rude not to share, so here's a roundup of the best things I found this year (and some to you might want to avoid).
AI shopping only works if you give up your privacy
 -  As I wrote when OpenAI launched its Atlas browser, AI models simply don’t know your preferences well enough to shop on your behalf. The technology firms envision a future where we type “buy trainers” and they arrive at our door, but they don’t acc...
Self-driving cars are here, but the friction is in the sale
 -  On a recent trip to Austin, Texas, I was tempted to take one of the Waymos or Robotaxis that so casually roam the streets. One day, I was even offered one as an alternative to waiting 11 minutes for an Uber driver. I probably would have taken the ...

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Digital journalism
Coincidentally, in the space of a week I encountered both Zach Seward's article about Quartz and Craig Mod's excellent podcasts with Tim Ferriss. Both evoked fond memories of my time in journalism and the buzz surrounding digital journalism and media in the 2010s

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