Let’s take a look:
 

The smallest box is the French, the only one not to have separate compartments for each included item seen above. The largest is from the UK, thanks to the size of their plugs, the box includes special holes to accommodate the prongs, this being the only box in which the plug faces downward, which, actually, makes it appear more compact than it is. Nevertheless, the neat, compact French box appeals to me far more on an aesthetic level.

Thank goodness for insurance, which has saved me each time². The first, the 16GB black model was purchased on launch day in the UK³. The second, the black 32GB French model was a replacement in February 2011 after I managed to crack both front and back screens of the first. The third, and current model, was purchased in August in St. Louis, MO, after I drowned its predecessor in a distinctly unfortunate incident. So, back to a 16GB model again after having gone up to a 32GB it was.

I’d always opted by default for the higher capacity⁴ but whilst queueing for the iPhone 4 on launch day I was informed that the allocation of 32GB phones had run out. This was three hours in, and I wasn’t about to give up so I obstinately continued to queue for the next four hours, finally parting with a 16GB model. I didn’t initially have any trouble with the smaller capacity, having to be somewhat more judicious with my music collection was actually somewhat liberating. But I frequently found on trips without my computer that I hadn’t budgeted sufficient spare space for photos and videos I might take. So, when the phone finally became unusable⁵, I seized the chance to replace it with the 32GB model and wave goodbye to the days of deleting memories.

When iPhone#2 came to a uh watery end, and was declared dead despite a day inside the air conditioning vent in a frantic attempt to resuscitate, I went back to a 16GB⁶ model and for the first time since the iPhone 3G, a white phone. Interestingly, with the iPhone 3G I was incredibly uncomfortable having a white iPhone as at that point the iPhone didn’t have quite the same level proliferation, and a white model was seen as somewhat ostentatious, and indeed something of a step too far down the road. It stuck out like a sore thumb and attracted a rather ridiculous amount of attention, and I was distinctly ill at ease when using it in public.

Now, however, 3 years later, iPhones are everywhere in France, the UK, and the USA. So, I couldn’t be happier with my white, 16GB iPhone 4 which I intend to guard with my life⁷. Who knows, if I manage to keep this up I may even be able to give the iPhone 5 a miss⁸!

1. I hasten to add that I’ve owned each generation of iPhone, and only one of each until the iPhone 4. I’m not sure whether this says something about the solidity of the iPhone 4 versus the previous models, or just my increasing clumsiness.
2. I sense I’m one of the few people who doesn’t see insurance as an unnecessary additional expense, or even scam, simply because, I, uh, end up having to use it more than most. Must reverse this trend!
3. the first (and last) time I’ll be queueing for a phone, I’ll never get those 7 hours back, although I did get more than my fair share of free Starbucks coffee and cinnamon rolls out of it…
4. What if I go on that round the world trip I’ve been threatening, and need to store photos? What if I need that song, right now? etc
5. glass in your ear can render telephone calls rather hazardous
6. At the moment, I’m making a concerted effort to reduce both physical and mental clutter. Materially, I’m incredibly lucky to have more possessions than I really strictly need, and am attempting to find more suitable homes for most, or indeed all, without which one can get along just as well (that’d be most things, then). Downsizing the phone seemed a logical step on this journey.
7. 6 weeks and counting and it’s still alive!
8. I realise this sounds a tad ridiculous, but as can be seen I’ve not managed to resist a generation of iPhone yet. I’ll admit that the 3GS was rather nearing the end of its life, though. The lock button, was, uh, temperamental.

1. To no-longer postpone anything
2. To eliminate negative energy: no-longer try to be right, but try to be happy
3. That the most important thing for him was to be a good parent

The Apple TV preset in Handbrake makes uses of the “Large file size” option, which can be seen below:

Now, unfortunately, by default MetaX will choke on files from HandBrake created using the above Apple TV preset. To fix this, and therefore end up with working movie files, you need to enable 64-bit mode in MetaX from within preferences⁴ :

So, there you have it: in order to successfully pass files created using HandBrake’s Apple TV preset through MetaX, you need to enable support for large files within MetaX’s preferences.

1. Whilst I was initially sceptical about the second-generation AppleTV and its lack of onboard storage, this simple little box has turned out to be quite the media nirvāna
2. without which I’d naturally be unable to relax and enjoy my iTunes library
3. And so hopefully won’t have to re-rip 30 or so films!
4. As you can see, it’s helpfully labeled “Enable support for large files”.

Having recently had my previous Time Machine backup disk stolen, I’ve just set up the new disk with added encryption. Worth doing I think.

This may go some way to mitigating the embarrassment after last night's pitiful 1-1 draw between England and the USA. Bear in mind that I work with 30+ Americans.

American friends, is the Post in any way respected, or is it more of a Daily Mail-esque publication?

(via mark)

A quick hop over to Bordeaux a couple of months ago turned into a prolonged stay. Two days quickly turned into two weeks. My return flight was for the 15th April, just 90 minutes after UK airspace closed.

I can’t deny that my initial reaction was a verging on delight¹ . It’s never easy to leave again and I thought, hey, I work remotely, another day or so can’t hurt, right? Wrong.

Not only had I come away without half of the tools I use daily for my job, I had opted to leave my research for my law work back in the UK, considering that a 2 day break from essay-writing would do me good . Combined with a gross underestimation of the developping situation and…

… I lost 10 days to panic, stress, self-flaggellation and flitting around. As someone who travels frequently, and who therefore prides herself in being able to work anywhere, this was an eye-opening experience.

Mistakes

Tools

After a few years spent blaming my poor output and efficiency on my tools, I came to realise that actually, it’s all down to me, my attitude and my effort. Following this mantra, I took the minimum with me: my laptop, iPhone and iPhone headset. The mistake I made there was twofold: using the trackpad on the MacBook Pro for hours on end, day in day out, is a recipe for disaster. Secondly, I underestimated the utility of my large headphones.

The headphones, are, it turns out, what makes it for me. Having something physical on my head creates a barrier between me and the outside world. They serve not only to alert those around me to the fact that I’m not approachable, but they cut me off entirely. These put me in the zone. I also make use of a particular playlist which I listen to when absolute focus is needed.

Concentration or Isolation?

As someone who regularly works from pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants I didn’t expect to have any problems working from a friends’ kitchen table. Another amateur mistake. I can work in the middle of a crowd of screaming banshees without the slightest problem, just as long as I don’t know any of them. Conversation is the one thing that tears my focus to shreds. I realised that in working out of all these crowded place I’m not searching for company, I’m simply trying to avoid total isolation. I’ve always struggled with saying no, so imposing the fact that I’m working on and therefore don’t wish to be disturbed on others doesn’t come naturally. I’m also a hopeless chatterbox…

Preparation

I wasn’t prepared to be away for very long, so was neither in the frame of mind to attack meatier tasks, nor did I have the necessary notes and equipement. This has taught me that i need to vastly improve my organisiation. My life is a mess of lists, scattered between OmniFocus, TaskPaper and various scraps of paper in my notebook(s). I have no clear picture of priorities or ongoing responsibilities, and being thrown into an unexpected situation only served to undeline this.

What now?

• Excuses over, it’s time to go paperless as far as possible².
• It’s not the tools that do the work, it’s me. I’m all I need.
• Nevertheless, I realise that it’s OK to need a particular tool to work well, we’re not perfect. My job and sanity are the priorites.
• It’s important to remain disciplined when out of my familiar working environment(s).
• It’s time to establish, and maintain a work life balance I can be happy with.

I’m working hard to crawl myself out of the mess I’ve made, but I’ve learned a lot about how I function, and what I can do to improve my efficiency and focus. I’m currently in the middle of 5 weeks dedicated entirely³ to the law side of my life. This is an opportunity which I need to seize with both hands only to come back in a few weeks’ time energised and ready to sort through the accumulated detritus in order make the most of a job and life I love.

1. I was very very lucky, I was stuck in what is effectively my second home, surrounded by friends and with a roof over my head.
2. ScanSnap here I come!
3. in theory, but I’m yet to manage to escape work for more than a couple of days. This is another aspect of my life that I need to ‘fix’.

Being still of impatient sort, this site is running a 3.0-alpha nightly build from yesterday, which I’ll set to auto-update on a daily basis. There are also a few plugins there too.

I now remember why I slowly stopped bothering to maintain a weblog in the first place: despite absolutely no design skills or aesthetic ability to speak of, I’m so damn anal that I can (and did) spend an entire afternoon agonising over the size and placement of one single link. I think it’s time to accept that at some point, I just have to stop faffing and start writing.

I suspect there are perhaps one, or maybe even two people still around out there who remember the previous blog, Pink Socks. I’m too mean with my money to pay the £200 necessary to get pinksocks.co.uk back. So, here we are at hanni.me after a brief flirtation with various other irksome (ha!) domain names.

It seemed fitting to move on with so much having changed in the last 7 or 8 years, on both a personal and professional level. Look ma, ain’t life grand.

1. Simply because I’m no-longer required to code on any kind of regular basis, I should add. I’ve otherwise learned more than I could ever imagine, and couldn’t be happier..!