Phil Bowell

Jamie calls it Shower Brain, for me it’s driving brain.

people’s tendency toward insightful or analytical thinking is evident during “resting-state” brain activity–while a person relaxes with no task to perform or expectation about what is to come.

When I had an hour long commute either end of the day, I would find breakthroughs in projects would come more readily. Now I no longer have a commute I find motorway or “big road” drives have the same effect. The task requires concentration but on a level that has become second nature to me, my mind can then work on things without my realising it.

→ 10:54 AM, Mar 26

The personal blog
It’s been an interesting start to the day, one which has felt like 2008 all over again. I sat down at my desk with a morning coffee, opened my RSS feeds and went through opening stories into Safari when I came across something that seemed interesting. Two of those articles led me to two new blogs, personal blogs, from people I’ve never come across before. Now my feed reader has two extra subscriptions to keep track of.

Back in the early 2000’s while I was a student and at the start of my design career, this was a regular occurrence. Blogs would reveal more blogs, which would reveal more blogs, and at the end of it all I would feel inspired and ready to create a post for my own blog. Much like today. In that sense it feels like nothing has really changed. The internet, if we let it, can still serve up new surprises and new interesting people in a way that nothing else can. The small, personal, internet that is.

The last 15 years or so has been damaging to the personal internet. We have surrendered ourselves to the behemoths of social media, falling for the promise of easier connections, when in reality those connections are shallower and don’t last. People get drowned out in the noise and lost in the algorithm. That’s why mornings like this feel more special. Like a mini-revival is taking place. Most of the personal blogs I followed nearly 2 decades ago are gone now, sadly, but new ones are springing up and old timers are returning. People are scrabbling about in the back of the cupboard, finding the old hat buried at the back, dusting it off, giving it a clean, and starting again.

It actually makes me happy, which feels odd to write, but it’s true. I like finding new blogs to read, people to follow, photos to look at. It reminds me that despite all that’s going on in the world, it still keeps spinning. People keep creating, sharing their experiences, and more (please more) often than not there isn’t any politics in sight. It’s like a new renaissance is bubbling up, and I’m here for it.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the two new blogs I found that triggered this post:
- The first by a photographer called Adrian
- The second is by Bijan Sabet
Both linked to by Om on his new blog.
→ 10:04 AM, Mar 26

Any recommendations for general tech news websites to replace The Verge?

→ 12:19 PM, Mar 24

The cactus I bought with my Grandad when I was 4 years old has died, taken by stem rot. Chopped off a couple of bits that still seem healthy in the hope of being able to plant them but it doesn’t look good. Sad times. 36 years we’ve been together.

→ 12:46 PM, Mar 22

Today’s coffee is extremely funky! Smells amazing, but might be a bit to much processing for my tastes… ☕️

→ 11:41 AM, Mar 21

Dave Rupert in a post about taste:

when the website adds a fifth, seventh, twelfth ad… I know a person who lacks taste is at the wheel. I can feel it in my bones when an app or website has prioritized revenue over user experience. A person without taste or high emotional intelligence broke the unspoken contract we had built on mutual respect.

In my role as a UX/UI designer I increasingly see my job as being a champion of taste. For the majority of users on the web the user experience is good, most businesses have gotten the hang of providing easy paths for users to do things. I now spend a reasonable amount of time championing good taste as a defence of the experience.

→ 11:22 AM, Mar 21

I used the AI tool in Miro for the first time today and it actually behaved as I expected it to. It’s the first time I’ve ever had reason to use an AI to perform actions for me in a service instead of as a Google replacement.

→ 5:42 PM, Mar 19

Came across this great little camera. The Camp Snap Screen Free Digital Camera which reminds me of the old disposable cameras I used to use. Tempted to pick one up.

→ 6:23 PM, Mar 18

What Manton said. I’m sick of it.

Politics is bleeding into everything. Tech headlines, podcasts that aren’t usually political. For 2025, I like to box my politics into narrow parts of the day, not everywhere all the time. Soon we’ll need mute filters in all apps, from RSS readers to Overcast.

→ 9:19 AM, Mar 18

I have ended up down a rabbit hole of Herman Miller chairs over my morning coffee. Now I’m working out how long it would take for me to save for a Cosm…

→ 9:31 AM, Mar 17

I have long used the phrase "design is in the details" when talking about the fit and finish of a product, I had no idea it was a riff on a Charles Eames saying.

“The details make the design,” Charles Eames once said.

Via: The Eames Lounge Chair — A 20th Century Icon on minimalgoods

→ 9:15 AM, Mar 17

Really like this quote from Josh Ginter:

Immediate attribution of an idea to someone else is wrapped up at its core in one word: humility. A person willing to attribute an idea or concept to someone else always exudes humility, and this leads to a more meaningful conversation about that topic, even if in-depth facts about the topic aren’t known at the time.

→ 8:43 AM, Mar 17

I think this might be the most beautiful camera I've ever seen.

→ 9:44 AM, Mar 7

Ugh, just had to add a politics tag to my GoodLinks because it seems at the moment I can’t read anything remotely interesting without it ultimately being a moan post about politics.

→ 9:33 AM, Mar 7

That sky blue MacBook Air looks very tempting…

→ 12:30 PM, Mar 6

Might be time to dig out an old Echo speaker ready to try the new Alexa out when it launches.

→ 4:27 PM, Feb 26

Restructured my Toggle projects today to reflect the recent changes at work. Then realised I hadn’t filled in any time sheets since August… all caught up now, but the question remains, did anyone notice?

→ 2:41 PM, Feb 26

Another mess up for Two Tier Kier to add to the list… no more encrypted iCloud storage for the UK.

→ 4:29 PM, Feb 21

I think I just stumbled across the speaker equivalent of iPod socks.

→ 11:15 AM, Feb 20

Waking up to see Hamas parading coffins on stage makes me so angry. Coffins of two children, one of whom spent more of his life as a hostage than as a free person, used as propaganda with scores of Gazan children there looking on. Barbaric. 😢

→ 9:04 AM, Feb 20

I’ve been playing around with Google Gemini the last couple of weeks. Interestingly it’s been more accurate and more useful than ChatGTP has. Its integration with their ecosystem is beginning to be very interesting. Apple is going to struggle.

→ 11:35 AM, Feb 19

I hope the addition of NASCAR to the Apple Sports app means F1 will arrive in time for the new season. Can’t justify the Box Box subscription at the moment.

→ 9:11 AM, Feb 15

Downloaded and setup Obsidian again. I’m a glutton for punishment, but I decided this time to try their own sync for a month and see if it impacts my usage. I’ve also installed a new theme that feels more natural on Apple devices.

→ 3:41 PM, Feb 12

I think I have a new favourite podcast… I’ve been listening to The Rest Is History for the last few weeks and highly recommend it. I’ve been listening to the Franz Ferdinand and start of the First World War episodes with a ton more in my queue.

→ 12:25 PM, Feb 11

In a little break from work I’ve added a dark theme to my install of the new Bayou theme from @Mtt and tweaked some light theme colours.

→ 4:15 PM, Feb 10