Mat's Hideout

Thoughts on Tech, Music, Politics

  • New portfolio is online

    Mat Smith Photography: my new portfolio is now online. www.matsmithphotography.com

  • Why does my iPhone still work?

    I don’t get it. I’ve had my iPhone forever eight months now. Why isn’t it broken yet? I don’t have a case, it slips in my pocket (although I’m careful not to add keys or coins to the same pocket), and I fiddle with it and throw it around like crazy. There’s not so much as […]

  • Google brings us closer to the multiple device sync OTA dream

    Google Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and associated applications are officially amazing.

  • Do you know why Polish men are taking your jobs?

    Dear British builders, do you know why Polish men are taking your jobs? It’s because of your reputation.

  • Tomorrow is inauguration day!

    I am distinctly jealous of all those in America who can attend any number of inauguration parties and celebrate the most exciting day in my living history with their friends tomorrow. I am even more jealous of those in Washington DC who can have a real-life slice of the action. I have been highly excited […]

  • To what extent must society shape capitalism?

    Another post from a self-proclaimed economy non-expert. This post is one big question mark, just so you’re aware! I am sure that most of us, even the most right wing, would agree that capitalism is most effective – from a utilitarian point of view – when tempered to an extent by social forces. These may […]

  • The domestic guide to good coffee

    This guide is a work in progress. Currently you are seeing the first draft. Grinding your own Always choose a burr grinder. A non burr grinder will chop the beans instead of crushing them to release oils. Chopping a good roast is a terrible thing to do if you want half decent coffee. It’s not […]

  • Reflections on the UK political system after Obama elected

    The problem with UK politics is that it can’t reinvent itself.

  • Boom / bust

    I don’t have an issue getting my head around the fact that the global economy appears to be collapsing around us; it seems logical that the economy is choking in proportion to the product of the frequency of the boom-bust cycle and the extent to which the previous boom ‘boomed’. Visualise a graph of boom […]

  • Ritooria Transcription for download

    “Thank you so much.  Your transcription was truly both humbling and enlightening.  The section that begins at m.59 has, for the last thirty-some-odd years been one of my favorite passages of music.  It is sublime.  Screw all the “Down with transcriptions” people.  I, for one, truly appreciate your Herculean efforts [they were Herculean, weren’t they!?] […]