Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Thursday 24th September 2015

Well hello hello! Isn't this a lovely surprise. Yes, I know I normally do my blogs on a monthly basis these days but just felt like doing a blog special today.

So this evening, I left work to go to an external event all about visualisation in Shoreditch. It was billed as an exclusive event and I was given a special black card invite which I needed to show to get in. I thought to myself, woah, I wonder if Elon Musk or Kevin Spacey are coming as I'm sure they only go to things where you have to show a black card to get in...

Anywhoo, so I told Mrs Min that don't wait up, and make 3 less chapatis as I'll probably be fed and watered with the finest that Shoreditch chefs can offer. (Yes, I was hoping it wasn't going to be bloody mushroom risotto or pumpin butternut squash as it tends to be for us wierdo veggies)

I did the apple maps navigation and synced it with the watch so I could get the secret taps to show me the way to the gig. I analysed all the permutations and decided to take the 1min longer route along the main A10 route out of Liverpool Street rather than being mugged down some back alley, as my watch told me that sunset wasn't that far away...

Flashback: Just remembered many years ago we came to a wedding in London  and the groom had hired a coach from Leocester to get us there. This was before mobiles phones and google maps was invented. So we get to London to pick some more random relatives up from Harrow and my uncle who lives in Lanndan town tells the driver that he knows the way to the wedding (school) hall so sat next to the driver. 2 hours later we finally get there and everyone is huffing and puffing as to why it had taken so long and the bride and groom had already started to do that bit where they go round and round a bit connected together so they don't run away. ( Can you tell I'm a Brahmin and know my religious stuff...)

So everyone is shouting at my uncle to say why the hell did it take so long for what was supposed to be a 30 minute journey. To which he says those immortal words..."I only know the way the bus goes"... 

That was my Ronnie Corbett way of saying that I thought I'd stick to the main road. Ahem...

How was the event I hear you cry? Well it was in a warehouse and I thought, ok this looks cool, maybe I should have worn my purple trousers and grown a beard for tonight. I was already antisipating who were going to be the guest speakers, would Kevin be giving anything away about the plot to House of Cards Season 4...would Elon be rocking up in a Model X, that kind of thing. Perhaps they had discovered some amazeballs way of visualising data. 

The host asked to see my black invite only card, and at that stage I was rather worried as I hadn't actually registered and was given the card by a colleague. Would it be a case of 'so close but not quite'. She looked at the card, I did my sad cute face and she let me in. Whohoo!!

So how was this super cool event I hear you asked. Well 3 minutes later I was done. They had stuck some 'information is beautiful' style things on the wall and err that was it!!!  No Kevin, no speakers and a bloody 0.3mile walk to Liverpool. Oh well, at least they had a go at spreading the word on analytics...

Walking back and I did realise that London is rather beautiful though. Check out this pic of the Gerkin...

I've made it all the way to Finchley road now and got the wifi signal back so told Mrs Min to get the rotlis back on..

I've got an amazing app to tell you about but will save that for another day as I've gone on a bit today.

Hope you have a great sleep!

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Tuesday 15th September 2015

Well hello hello! How are we all?

I thought it was about time that I do another blog as it's been ages since the last one, that and the fact that I've got a 3hr train journey to Newcastle for a gig!

Believe it or not, I've never been to Newcastle, so it's all rather exciting. I've done the research (YouTube) and have packed all the right things for the journey. I've packed T-shirts and shorts, downloaded the 'google translate' app so I can converse with the locals and finally and most importantly, I've packed my pet, as I heard Cheryl Cole mention this word every time she talks...

The host has just come round to ask what I wanted for Breakfast, and as its complementary, I thought it would be rude not too. Even though I just had fruit and fibre at home and masala tea an hour ago... Indian init...

I'll have a bit of toast whilst they prepare the vegetarian breakfast. Yep it includes those mushroom things, but I will just hide those in the tissue after...

Right, on with the show, and firstly I wanted to give a big shout out to the 200  new joiners who have added me on LinkedIn. I'm nearly on 10,000 connections and my mum is ever so proud of how many friends I have...

So, who watched the lovely Apple event last week. There was a lot of whooping and cheering going on wasn't there. Lots of updates, like the new iPad Pro, the new Apple TV and obviously the next incarnation of the iPhone. It will be interesting to see if the corporate market adopts the Ipad 'Big Mama', and perhaps cancels that order it had for the Microsoft Surface. It certainly looks good but it is a lot of dosh, and it's $100, so £100 for the apple pencil! Must have taken ages to come up with that name. I might just use my 2HB one as you can get 50 for a £1 on eBay...

The gadget I liked the most was actually the Apple TV. It is quite a step up from the old one. Now you can use Siri to talk to the TV and ask it lots of questions like, 'whose the actor in this movie', 'what did she say', 'what action movies are popular'. That kind of thing. The remote is quite whizzy, and has a touch pad thing and a giroscope so you can even play games on it like you did on the wii (remember those?). They have created an App Store for it, which is marvellous and it even has a lightning connector for charging, so you can use those £1 poundland batteries for something else now...

Though I already have the old version, and chromecast, I reckon I will get this one to amaze my 10,000 'friends', when they pop round...

App of the week: Numerous. Now this app is rather cool! It's basically a way that lets you monitor all the numbers that are important in your life. It connects to loads of apps. So for example, if the Tesla share price changes by a $1 it tells me, if my heart stops beating...it tells me, but the coolest thing I've done is connected my car to my Phillips Hue lights through the app (via IFFT). It's proper Internet of Things!! I've set up a rule to say that if the battery gets to 10% charge then flash the hue lights green so I know it's time to take it to Rayners Lane tube station for a feed. It's £1.50 parking on Sunday, so even cheaper than charging at home. It also means that I don't have to move the inflatable sofas in the cinema room/garage...happy days. Check out the app as I'm giving the app a Min Mark of 9.7452...

Right, veggie breakfast has arrived and my pet is rather hungry so let's leave it there!

Wishing you a lovely week and a great sleep.

A small man called Min