80s-tastic

So, a couple of weeks ago I was speaking at a Marketing Industry Network event in Leeds about Using Social Networks for Business... and one of the other speakers on the panel was Colin Gilchrist from Digital Face.

After we'd both presented, and answered questions, and spoken to all the lovely people who came along, we ended up in the bar with our fellow speaker Adam Gordon (as you do...) and at some point in the evening somebody asked me where I come from (it's the accent). So I got to talking about the good old days of growing up in Camden Town, and how the Market isn't like it used to be (sigh). Turns out that Colin used to have a stall in Camden Market, selling dresses he'd made from a job lot of men's tweed jackets...

And wouldn't you know it, here is a photo of me, circa 1988 (aged 15), in aforementioned jacket-dress, made by Colin's fair hand! I was at my cousin Karen's wedding, and just in case you were wondering it was kind of obligatory to have bad hair in the 80s.

And here's a wonderful photo of Colin himself from that era, much as he might have looked when he sold me that dress.

What a coincidence! Anyone want to divert attention from my 80s hair by sharing some reminiscences of their own?!

By Kate Wooding
Published: 21 May 2010
4 Comments

Flash Bokeh

Even the best ideas end up in the trash sometimes and there is nothing wrong with it – just shake the dust off and share. This time it's the colourful realtime bokeh effect programmed in Flash, inspired by this tutorial.

Click the image above to preview and/or grab the source (AS3, Flash CS4).

It may slow down your computer/browser a bit, due to expensive opacity and blending processing. The next challenge is to code something similar using HTML5's canvas and compare the speed – is anyone up for it?

By Tomek
Published: 29 April 2010
2 Comments

Random, Random, Random

Like a lot of people we listen to music on Spotify and recently we've been subjected to the exact same advert approximately 15 times a day.

The advert in question is from the Scottish Government to promote safer driving on country roads, the advert begins by playing various short clips of music before a voiceover begins: "My tunes are always on shuffle..." It then goes on to compare the randomness of the "tunes" with what a driver might encounter on a country road such as a deer, tractor etc before going on to say  "it's totally random!" Unsurprisingly this has been more than a little wearing, despite highlighting a serious issue, the word "random" had become a byword for chronic irritation. Until today!

By "random" I stumbled on to this – a site with nothing but "random" photos with absolutely no information about them. A lot of the pictures are family snaps, many of them not very well taken, but as a whole, the site features an amazing selection of weird and wonderful photos from all over the world.

For best results click on the "random" button at the bottom of the page and don't blame me if you get slightly addicted.

P.S the advert came on twice while I was typing this!

By Chris Reilly
Published: 19 March 2010
2 Comments

tictocing our way up the charts

So, in case you hadn't noticed (you hadn't noticed?? I mean, don't you listen to the charts on a Sunday afternoon?!) tictoc has been making quite an appearance in the music charts lately.

First (and yes, this was last year) Busy Signal climbed the dancehall charts with the single Tic Toc from the album Loaded.

Then Emilio Rojas also had a hip hop hit (I might be using the term loosely) with his single Tic Toc.

And Ke$ha got to number 4 in the UK charts with the single TiK ToK from her debut album Animal.

I am telling you, we are down with the kids!

Anyone else know of songs with tictoc in the title or lyrics??

By Kate Wooding
Published: 21 January 2010
9 Comments

Stroke of genius or mad man gone too far?

Came across this delightful (?!) piece of craftsmanship on the internet a while ago and I'm still undecided whether this is genius or insane. So I thought I would post and let y'all decide. If you use 1 of the links below you can find out how to make your own or see what else the maniacs at the Steampunk workshop have been getting up to.

How to make your own Victorian PC

Steampunk Workshop

By Paul Daly
Published: 18 January 2010
1 Comment

Twitter wit

Ever wondered what Harry Potter would say if he had Tweetdeck? Ponder no longer - we've found the answer. Twitterature is a new book that digests famous works of fiction from Chaucer to Dan Brown into a series of highbrow tweets. 140 characters or less of course.

Less literary criticism than a sly dig at an author's inelegant denouements, or the characters you love to hate, Twitterature can be hilarious. It might even make you ROFL.

In a typical tweet, Hamlet (@Oedipus Gothplex) asks, "WTF IS POLONIUS DOING BEHIND THE CURTAIN?"

Harry (@NotoriousHP) is more reflective. Commenting on his time at Hogwarts he says: "OMG Hogwarts OMG I have two friends OMG magic OMG the Slytherins are Nazis OMG there is an EVIL WIZARD out to get me."

The book was penned by two University of Chicago students, and you can follow further forays into Twitterature on the authors'  Twitter account. We can't link to it here as there are some rather unsavoury tweets about Twilight, and we wouldn't want to upset a certain Robert Patterson loving tictocer.

Alternatively, it might make the ideal Secret Santa gift. Hint hint!

By Jo Kerr
Published: 3 December 2009
1 Comment

Tonight Matthew I’m going to be...

...Paul, your new Front-end Developer (Cue the smoke and Stars in Your Eyes theme music - dah, dah, dah, dah ,dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, daaaahhh). Now that I’m into my second week here at tictoc and have already met everyone in the office I thought I should introduce myself to the rest of the world via the blog. Hello world!

Me in brief:

My name is Paul, I like the web, design, designing, development, developing, drawing, music, ice hockey, football, playing music, making music, playing ice hockey, playing football, macs, my iphone (currently addicted to actually), food, eating food, drinking (to stay hydrated obviously), tv (particularly Curb your Enthusiasm, Lost, The Simpsons and South Park), movies, most other things to be honest.

Let me know about you!

Paul

By Paul Daly
Published: 3 November 2009
3 Comments

Melton Mowbray not all about pork pies shocker

Not for me heady celebrity sightings like Kerry Katona puffing Silk Cut outside Iceland, or La Winehouse in Camden brawl. When visiting the historic town of Melton Mowbray yesterday, to meet with a potential client, I came across Anne of Cleves’s house.

Somewhat of a celebrity on the 16th Century social circuit Anne married Henry VIII in 1540, but escaped with her head after the marriage was annulled seven months later. The Heather Mills of her times, Anne got out with a stupendous property portfolio including the very lovely Melton Mowbray house. An example to us all! And yes, this does beat last month's Chico love-in.

By Jo Kerr
Published: 14 August 2009
74 Comments

Grow Your Own

So, for the first time ever, I've been trying my hand at growing my own veg. I've already had a crop of spinach, the chard is coming along nicely, but last night was my piece de resistance - I picked and cooked my first home-grown courgettes! As you can see, they're not weedy in any way, and they tasted delicious - and there are loads more to come! I also have lots of courgette flowers, which I'm planning to either stuff with ricotta and cook, or deep fry in a light batter. Italian delicacy I believe! So, in a few weeks when I am sick of courgette soup, courgette casserole, and courgette for breakfast, and you want to try some, let me know!

By Kate Wooding
Published: 24 July 2009
4 Comments