Book Review: Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman


A train going over a bridge.

Intrigue is swirling around Lyra once more. Her daemon Pantalaimon is witness to a brutal murder, and the dying man entrusts them with secrets that carry echoes from their past. They learn of a city haunted by daemons, of a desert said to hold the secret of Dust. Powerful forces are about to throw Lyra and Malcolm together once again. And the dangers they face will challenge everything they thought they knew about the world, and about themselves.

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Doctor Who and Red Dwarf are part of the same universe. PROOF!


Tardis and starbug.

This is a minor obsession of mine. The crew of JMC Red Dwarf are familiar with 20th Century pop-culture - but they never mention Doctor Who. Why? In various episodes they talk about The Flintstones, Casablanca, Marilyn Monroe, Laurel & Hardy, and all sorts of TV shows. But Doctor Who is strangely absent. There can […]

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How should couples handle joint email addresses?


Terence and Liz in front of Lasers at emfcamp.

For years, my email address was registered with our electricity supplier. I got the monthly bills sent to me. My wife's email was used for the water supplier. This made sense when we were a young couple with separate finances - but now we're a smug an old married couple, with a joint bank account, […]

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Episode 32 - Switching from being a developer to being a manager


The emojified face of Kim Rowan.

We're back again with Kim Rowan. Listen to her thoughts about what it's like to become a manager of technical teams. Read about how she got into tech.

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Book Review: Permanent Record


Edward Snowden, a geek in glasses, looks away from the camera.

Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.

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Book Review: Helpful Hackers


A locked gate.

The Netherlands is a world leader in responsible disclosure. The Dutch like to resolve conflicts through a process of general consultation: the famous ‘polder model’. In this book, we hear from the hackers, system owners, IT specialists, managers, journalists, politicians and lawyers who have been key players in a number of prominent disclosures. Their stories offer a glimpse into the mysterious world of cyber security, revealing how hackers can help us all.

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Book Review: A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier


A pair of ornate sewing scissors.

It is 1932, and the losses of the First World War are still keenly felt.Violet Speedwell, mourning for both her fiancé and her brother and regarded by society as a ‘surplus woman’ unlikely to marry, resolves to escape her suffocating mother and strike out alone.

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Episode 31 - Modernising the Ministry of Justice


The emojified face of Kim Rowan.

How do you modernise the technology of a huge organisation like the UK's Ministry of Justice? Kim Rowan has some bright ideas. Read Kim's post on the Application Modernisation Team For more technical posts, read the Just-Tech blog on Medium.

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Book Review: Queer Privacy - Sarah Jamie Lewis


A cyberpunk scene.

Queer Privacy is a collection of essays about community, family, coming out, dating, domestic violence, activism, sex work and suicide. We will talk about problems, we won't always have solutions, and not all the stories have happy endings. After all, this is real life and we are building it together - one step at a time.

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Book Review: The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal


A lady astronaut faces the planet Mars.

The Fated Sky looks forward to 1961, when mankind is well-established on the moon and looking forward to its next step: journeying to, and eventually colonizing, Mars.Of course, the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but could the International Aerospace Coalition ever stand the thought of putting a woman on such a potentially dangerous mission?

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