Like history, the computer industry is cyclical, so I predict that cloud computing will last fifteen years. Why? Computing started as a single logical unit with all resources available locally. Then came the mainframe, where computing resources were centralised and accessed remotely through remote terminals. When mainframes became oversubscribed, resources were sent back to the […]
I was walking down my road today and noticed how small everything is. Small houses shoe-horned between other small houses, with small windows and small doors, with small cars parked outside. Cars and houses need to be small, because space is a premium, and there are so many people living in such close proximity now. […]
“So, what is it?” Commander Deane leaned over the lab desk, his muscles standing out through his crisp white shirt. On the other side of the desk, a scientist adjusted his small glasses and coughed nervously into the sleeve of his anorak. The lab was chilly; understandable, considering the artic wind outside. “We, uh, don’t […]
I had left for work this morning with no pet to my name, but I was now the confused owner of a malnourished and depressed dog. I vaguely remembered the events, but not the reasons for doing them – like a bad decision made while drunk. As I was walking home from work, with […]
It’s hard to be positive about the NHS after having experienced almost a year’s worth of exposure to it. Long story short, my father has had an aorta aneurism, several clots in his groin and right leg, several cardiac arrests, and now has had his right leg amputated. During which, he has received a wide […]
The dusty shop is small, almost empty, and in need of repair and resupply. Peeling paint and dust is in abundance. The burly shopkeeper is reading a day-old paper and smoking a cigarette. He regards me warily over the headline. “What do you want, comrade?” “Cigarettes,” I say hastily. “I want cigarettes.” Having never smoked […]
The line is long, but it always is. Most days, I count the people in front of me. Sometimes, I count the people walking away from the pile. Today, I can’t be bothered to do either so look at the woman in front of me. She has a nice ass and a slim waist, and […]
I’ve finally finished the first draft of my novel, Ragnar Blaise’s High Idea. It’s taken about five years to get to this point, and the storyline has deviated a lot from my initial plot. Some authors don’t like “winging it” but I disagree; a story that changes whilst in writing does so because it evolves […]
“Papers,” said the supervisor, so I held out my paperwork. He rifled through roughly, scanning for key words and anything that might distinguish me from everyone else. “Do you have anything?” “No,” I replied, “only my health and the clothes I’m currently wearing.” “You have the ability to move,” said the supervisor, taking a burning […]
There is too much of everything. There is too much music; a smash hit is now meaningless and irrelevant, tunes made to a recipe and instantly forgettable. There are too many music artists; singers are manufactured and disposed of as demand requires. There are too many video games, a flow of bland colourful soulless kaleidoscopes […]
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