 Nigerian made cars are ready. Executive Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Olusegun Awolowo, posed beside his own, to announce its readiness to Nigerians. The Jeep was manufactured by Innoson.   |
Friday 11 July 2014
Topic: Enough Is Enough To Made in China: Nigerian Made Cars Are Ready [See Photo]
Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellani has braided his hair
Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellani has braided his hair ahead of the new Premier League season. The Belgian star initially hinted that he was going to shave off his hair if his country won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but that won’t be happening after they lost to Argentina in the Quarter finals. The former Everton player was pictured on the Facebook page of Belgian organic cosmetics JYB Cosmetics sporting his new hairdo....
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON HIS NEW LOOK
How to: Pressure Cook BBQ Ribs
We
love ribs in this house, there's a famous Cincinnati restaurant,
Montgomery Inn, that makes such a perfect rack of ribs, many people ship
them to their homes, no matter the cost, or how far away. When I was
young my dad took me on a 4-hour trip to Cinci to eat there, and now
there's one in Columbus which is still 90 miles away, but always worth
the drive.
When we can't get there I strive to recreate that deliciousness at home, fall-off-the-bone tender ribs, with a touch of smoky flavor, perfect amount of char on the outside, but still juicy inside, and their sauces are excellent too.
I've barbecued ribs, oven baked them, even boiled them (please do NOT boil ribs, you put all their flavor in the water), my pressure cooker is the only method that's given us a near perfect rib at home in the fastest amount of time. The ribs cook in their own sauce, keeping as much flavor in the rib as possible, then we finish them on the grill to let the sugars in the sauce caramelize and create a wonderful char and crispy skin.
All that flavor in less than 90 minutes? I'm in! I based this recipe off America's Test Kitchen's book Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes that will Change the Way You Cook. I love their method of cooking their pulled pork (http://www.instructables.com/id/Pressure-Cooker-Pulled-Pork/), and these ribs in their own sauce, not only does the meat retain excellent flavor, but you reduce the sauce for serving, and that creates a thick, meaty, full-bodied, sweet, tangy sauce. I've made a few changes that suit my family's tastes and what works best in my pressure cooker.
Per the usual with my other pressure cooker recipes posted, I simply can't say enough about them. My Cuisinart 6-quart continues to turn out the most succulent food, and you can make delicious meals on any weeknight, no need to save those yummy ribs for Sunday dinner. If you are having a weekend barbecue you can pressure cook a couple batches of racks ahead of time, then finish on the grill to serve, your guests will think you've been tending to a smoker all night long!
All these ribs need are some baked beans, cole slaw, and sliced watermelon for the perfect summer meal. I hope you try this recipe soon, enjoy!
Recipe adapted from: America's Test Kitchen Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes that will Change the Way You Cook
When we can't get there I strive to recreate that deliciousness at home, fall-off-the-bone tender ribs, with a touch of smoky flavor, perfect amount of char on the outside, but still juicy inside, and their sauces are excellent too.
I've barbecued ribs, oven baked them, even boiled them (please do NOT boil ribs, you put all their flavor in the water), my pressure cooker is the only method that's given us a near perfect rib at home in the fastest amount of time. The ribs cook in their own sauce, keeping as much flavor in the rib as possible, then we finish them on the grill to let the sugars in the sauce caramelize and create a wonderful char and crispy skin.
All that flavor in less than 90 minutes? I'm in! I based this recipe off America's Test Kitchen's book Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes that will Change the Way You Cook. I love their method of cooking their pulled pork (http://www.instructables.com/id/Pressure-Cooker-Pulled-Pork/), and these ribs in their own sauce, not only does the meat retain excellent flavor, but you reduce the sauce for serving, and that creates a thick, meaty, full-bodied, sweet, tangy sauce. I've made a few changes that suit my family's tastes and what works best in my pressure cooker.
Per the usual with my other pressure cooker recipes posted, I simply can't say enough about them. My Cuisinart 6-quart continues to turn out the most succulent food, and you can make delicious meals on any weeknight, no need to save those yummy ribs for Sunday dinner. If you are having a weekend barbecue you can pressure cook a couple batches of racks ahead of time, then finish on the grill to serve, your guests will think you've been tending to a smoker all night long!
All these ribs need are some baked beans, cole slaw, and sliced watermelon for the perfect summer meal. I hope you try this recipe soon, enjoy!
Recipe adapted from: America's Test Kitchen Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes that will Change the Way You Cook
Step 1: Gather ingredients
For the ribs:
I used 1/4 cup Penzey's BBQ 3000, plus 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper; if you have your own favorite rib rub, feel free to use that. Below is the one America's Test Kitchen used in their recipe:
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 (1½- to 2-pound) racks baby back ribs, cut into 2-rib sections (I usually do 4-5 rib sections, for an almost 4 lb. single rack, but if you need to fit in multiple racks, you may need smaller sections depending on size of your pressure cooker)
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
½ cup water
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
I used 1/4 cup Penzey's BBQ 3000, plus 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper; if you have your own favorite rib rub, feel free to use that. Below is the one America's Test Kitchen used in their recipe:
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 (1½- to 2-pound) racks baby back ribs, cut into 2-rib sections (I usually do 4-5 rib sections, for an almost 4 lb. single rack, but if you need to fit in multiple racks, you may need smaller sections depending on size of your pressure cooker)
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
½ cup water
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
Step 2: Prepare the ribs
We
make these several times a year and do one or two racks of ribs
depending on how large/meaty they are, most recently I bought 4 lb.
racks from a local butcher, and 1 large rack was plenty for three of us.
Probably the trickiest part of this recipe, at least for my shaky hands, is removing the silverskin on the underside of the ribs, sometimes it peels off fairly easily, others I need to get my dad involved and let him remove it. The silverskin is slightly shiny/glossy, almost translucent, we find the ribs turn out much more tender when it's removed. The easiest way we've found is if you can get a butter knife, or dull side of paring knife, under it to pull up enough that you can grab with your fingers, then ease it off the full length of the ribs, sometimes it breaks and you need to restart, sometimes the stars align and it peels right off, discard.
Once you've removed the silverskin cut the ribs into three sections and dry each as well as you can with paper towels.
Mix the spice rub ingredients you're using together in a small bowl.
Rub half the spice rub on one side of the ribs, half the spice rub on the other side, massaging into the meat as you apply it. (I like to do this on paper towels so if excess falls off I can add it to a Ziploc bag with the ribs so as much gets used as possible.)
At this point you can move forward with the recipe, leaving the ribs at room temperature while you prepare the sauce, or transfer the ribs to a Ziploc bag, seal, and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight (I always let them sit overnight, we like well-seasoned ribs.)
Probably the trickiest part of this recipe, at least for my shaky hands, is removing the silverskin on the underside of the ribs, sometimes it peels off fairly easily, others I need to get my dad involved and let him remove it. The silverskin is slightly shiny/glossy, almost translucent, we find the ribs turn out much more tender when it's removed. The easiest way we've found is if you can get a butter knife, or dull side of paring knife, under it to pull up enough that you can grab with your fingers, then ease it off the full length of the ribs, sometimes it breaks and you need to restart, sometimes the stars align and it peels right off, discard.
Once you've removed the silverskin cut the ribs into three sections and dry each as well as you can with paper towels.
Mix the spice rub ingredients you're using together in a small bowl.
Rub half the spice rub on one side of the ribs, half the spice rub on the other side, massaging into the meat as you apply it. (I like to do this on paper towels so if excess falls off I can add it to a Ziploc bag with the ribs so as much gets used as possible.)
At this point you can move forward with the recipe, leaving the ribs at room temperature while you prepare the sauce, or transfer the ribs to a Ziploc bag, seal, and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight (I always let them sit overnight, we like well-seasoned ribs.)
Step 3: Pressure cook ribs
In a 2-cup measuring cup, or bowl, stir in ketchup, water, molasses, vinegar, mustard, and liquid smoke, if using, to combine.
Heat oil in pressure cooker pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in all but 1 cup of sauce. Arrange ribs upright in pot with meaty sides facing outward, then pour reserved sauce over ribs.
I consulted quite a few pressure cooked ribs recipes for their cooking times, and they all vary wildly. ATK recommends a 30-minute cook time, some call for as little as 10 minutes. We definitely like fall apart tender ribs, but I opted to cook for 18 minutes, leaving myself room before dinner to allow for extra cooking time if need be. You can always re-pressurize and cook longer, but you can't fix overcooked. This, of course, all depends on the amount and size of your ribs, had I been doing 2 meaty racks of ribs, I probably would cook them 22-25 minutes on high pressure.
Lock pressure cooker lid in place and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. As soon as pot reaches high pressure, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 18 minutes, adjusting heat as needed to maintain high pressure. If using electric pressure cooker, cook on high pressure for 18 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. (Don't let electric pressure cooker switch to keep warm, turn cooker off for the natural release.)
Make sure your ribs are tender, they'll have shrunk from the bone, and may even be falling off the bone. If they're fork tender, you should be good to go, give them a taste, I won't tell. If you need to cook them longer you can either re-pressurize, or, simmer in the sauce a few minutes if they're close to being done.
Heat oil in pressure cooker pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in all but 1 cup of sauce. Arrange ribs upright in pot with meaty sides facing outward, then pour reserved sauce over ribs.
I consulted quite a few pressure cooked ribs recipes for their cooking times, and they all vary wildly. ATK recommends a 30-minute cook time, some call for as little as 10 minutes. We definitely like fall apart tender ribs, but I opted to cook for 18 minutes, leaving myself room before dinner to allow for extra cooking time if need be. You can always re-pressurize and cook longer, but you can't fix overcooked. This, of course, all depends on the amount and size of your ribs, had I been doing 2 meaty racks of ribs, I probably would cook them 22-25 minutes on high pressure.
Lock pressure cooker lid in place and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. As soon as pot reaches high pressure, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 18 minutes, adjusting heat as needed to maintain high pressure. If using electric pressure cooker, cook on high pressure for 18 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. (Don't let electric pressure cooker switch to keep warm, turn cooker off for the natural release.)
Make sure your ribs are tender, they'll have shrunk from the bone, and may even be falling off the bone. If they're fork tender, you should be good to go, give them a taste, I won't tell. If you need to cook them longer you can either re-pressurize, or, simmer in the sauce a few minutes if they're close to being done.
Step 4: Grill ribs and enjoy
You
have the option of broiling the ribs for the final step, but this is
barbecue season is it not? Even if we pressure cook the ribs, saving a
couple hours of grilling time, mind you, I still love the char of a
barbecued/grilled rib.
Transfer the ribs, meaty side up, to a foil-lined baking sheet (you can definitely cook them right on your grill, but using the baking sheet makes for very easy clean-up.) Preheat your grill on high heat for 15 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
Using large spoon, skim excess fat from surface of sauce. Bring sauce to simmer and cook until thickened and measures 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Brush ribs with some of sauce, place baking sheet on grill (or in broiler) and grill/broil until browned and sticky, about 10 minutes, flipping and brushing with additional sauce every couple minutes. Serve ribs with remaining sauce.
If you have your own favorite barbecue sauce you could use that for grilling and serving instead, I usually like having a few sauce options available for personal taste preferences.
Leftover ribs can be kept, in a covered container, in the refrigerator up to two days. I like to reheat them in my toaster oven.
Transfer the ribs, meaty side up, to a foil-lined baking sheet (you can definitely cook them right on your grill, but using the baking sheet makes for very easy clean-up.) Preheat your grill on high heat for 15 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
Using large spoon, skim excess fat from surface of sauce. Bring sauce to simmer and cook until thickened and measures 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Brush ribs with some of sauce, place baking sheet on grill (or in broiler) and grill/broil until browned and sticky, about 10 minutes, flipping and brushing with additional sauce every couple minutes. Serve ribs with remaining sauce.
If you have your own favorite barbecue sauce you could use that for grilling and serving instead, I usually like having a few sauce options available for personal taste preferences.
Leftover ribs can be kept, in a covered container, in the refrigerator up to two days. I like to reheat them in my toaster oven.
Make a Collapsible Hammock Stand
This
is an Instructable on how to create a very basic hammock stand that is
sturdy as well as collapsable. I built this to go with my Grass Hammock that I just finished building. This project didn't take very much time and was fairly easy to accomplish.
Time: Took me a few hours, mostly because I tried something new that didn't work but I will cover that at the end. I finished the project in 2 afternoons including the hammock.
Cost: Material dependent, I used more hardware than I probably needed which raised the cost by a bit.
Hardware:
8" Hinge X2: $15.18
10" Hinge: $11.49
5/16 X 2" Hex lag screw X8: $3.68
1/4 X 2" Hex lag screw X16: $5.76
Carrigae bolt 1/2 X 8" X4 : $21.32
Carriage bolt 1/2 X 7" X2 : $4.30
Washers 1/2" X6 : $1.56
Hex Nut 1/2" X4: $1.00
Hardware Total: $64.29
Wood:
2X4 8' :$4.64
2X4 12' : $4.95
4X4 7' : $8.99
4X4 8' : $10.98
cutting cost : $1.50
Wood Total: 31.06
Options:
Hasp Hinges X2 : 15.38
Wood screws: $4.50
Grand Total: $95.35
You could maybe get away with different hardware and do away with all of the hinges. Not sure why the carriage bolts were so much more for the 8" either but anyways. I had to buy some wood bits as well. I had the guys at RONA cut the pieces to length for me to make it fit in my car and save me some effort. The 4x4's were all cut in half along with the 2*4 8'. The 12' 2x4 was cut into 4 pieces.
Skills needed: Basic wood working
Tools:
Skil saw
Drill
Drill , Auger, and Spade bits
Hammer
Ratchet set
Clamps
Time: Took me a few hours, mostly because I tried something new that didn't work but I will cover that at the end. I finished the project in 2 afternoons including the hammock.
Cost: Material dependent, I used more hardware than I probably needed which raised the cost by a bit.
Hardware:
8" Hinge X2: $15.18
10" Hinge: $11.49
5/16 X 2" Hex lag screw X8: $3.68
1/4 X 2" Hex lag screw X16: $5.76
Carrigae bolt 1/2 X 8" X4 : $21.32
Carriage bolt 1/2 X 7" X2 : $4.30
Washers 1/2" X6 : $1.56
Hex Nut 1/2" X4: $1.00
Hardware Total: $64.29
Wood:
2X4 8' :$4.64
2X4 12' : $4.95
4X4 7' : $8.99
4X4 8' : $10.98
cutting cost : $1.50
Wood Total: 31.06
Options:
Hasp Hinges X2 : 15.38
Wood screws: $4.50
Grand Total: $95.35
You could maybe get away with different hardware and do away with all of the hinges. Not sure why the carriage bolts were so much more for the 8" either but anyways. I had to buy some wood bits as well. I had the guys at RONA cut the pieces to length for me to make it fit in my car and save me some effort. The 4x4's were all cut in half along with the 2*4 8'. The 12' 2x4 was cut into 4 pieces.
Skills needed: Basic wood working
Tools:
Skil saw
Drill
Drill , Auger, and Spade bits
Hammer
Ratchet set
Clamps
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Putting it all together
I started by attaching the 2 4 Ft. lengths together with the 10" Hinge and 5/16" lag bolts .
Then placed 2 of the 4 ft 2X4's next to the hinge and moved it away from the hinge to allow it to rotate later. I then drilled into the center of the 2X4 and then into the 4X4 and then attached them with carriage bolts, round side down. You might have to hammer the bolt in it's a tight fit.
I then flipped it over and then rotated the 2x4 to make a base.
I then attached the other 4x4's to the end of the base with the remaining 2 hinges and 1/4" lag bolts.
Once I had the 4X4's attached I used the Hasp hinges on the end to hold them in place. This step is optional but makes setup much easier in my opinion.
I then clamped the remaining 4 2X4's together and drilled through them with the 1/2' auger bit and then the 5/8 spade bit later. I made the hole bigger to make setup easier later. I put holes on each size of the board. I then attached the 2X4's to the upright and base 4X4's temporarily with clamps when they were in a position I thought was strong enough and also low enough to not hit the bottom of the hammock. I then drilled through the 4X4's with the auger and then the spade bit again. You should try to drill as straight as possible but there is lots of flexibility in the hinges and using the bigger holes.
Once you finished drilling all the holes in your 4X4's put the remaining carriage bolts through the holes. Then attach with the washer and nut. Finger tightness is good enough.
Then placed 2 of the 4 ft 2X4's next to the hinge and moved it away from the hinge to allow it to rotate later. I then drilled into the center of the 2X4 and then into the 4X4 and then attached them with carriage bolts, round side down. You might have to hammer the bolt in it's a tight fit.
I then flipped it over and then rotated the 2x4 to make a base.
I then attached the other 4x4's to the end of the base with the remaining 2 hinges and 1/4" lag bolts.
Once I had the 4X4's attached I used the Hasp hinges on the end to hold them in place. This step is optional but makes setup much easier in my opinion.
I then clamped the remaining 4 2X4's together and drilled through them with the 1/2' auger bit and then the 5/8 spade bit later. I made the hole bigger to make setup easier later. I put holes on each size of the board. I then attached the 2X4's to the upright and base 4X4's temporarily with clamps when they were in a position I thought was strong enough and also low enough to not hit the bottom of the hammock. I then drilled through the 4X4's with the auger and then the spade bit again. You should try to drill as straight as possible but there is lots of flexibility in the hinges and using the bigger holes.
Once you finished drilling all the holes in your 4X4's put the remaining carriage bolts through the holes. Then attach with the washer and nut. Finger tightness is good enough.
Step 2: Finishing up
I
cut some reliefs into the backs of the upright 4X4's. This gives the
hammock somewhere to put the straps from the hammock. I cut them with
the Skil saw with one straight cut and one at 45 degrees. I also cut a
relief into the poles so that when folded it fits tighter over the bolts
sticking out from the bottom base. I could have cut back the bolts but
this helps keep it folded nice and tight.
Step 3: Setting it up
Start by unfolding to the flat position.
Extend the stabilizing legs.
Extend poles and secure with hasp hinges(if installed).
Attach support braces with the carriage bolts and secure with nuts and washers.
Attach hammock and relax with a refreshing beverage!
Extend the stabilizing legs.
Extend poles and secure with hasp hinges(if installed).
Attach support braces with the carriage bolts and secure with nuts and washers.
Attach hammock and relax with a refreshing beverage!
Step 4: Bloopers
How do I use a custom domain name for your blog?
Blogger
offers two publishing options for your blog: hosting on Blogspot
(example.blogspot.com) and hosting on your own custom domain
(www.example.com or foo.example.com). You can change your publishing
option at anytime, and your content will always remain unaltered
regardless of which of these options you choose.
Before you move your blog to a custom domain, you need to have already purchased a custom domain (www.example.com) from another provider, as you can no longer purchase custom domains through Blogger. There are many companies from whom you can buy domain names, usually for very reasonable yearly prices. A Google search for "domain registrar" will turn up numerous options. Here's a quick list:
Before you move your blog to a custom domain, you need to have already purchased a custom domain (www.example.com) from another provider, as you can no longer purchase custom domains through Blogger. There are many companies from whom you can buy domain names, usually for very reasonable yearly prices. A Google search for "domain registrar" will turn up numerous options. Here's a quick list:
If your content is in a different language and you'd like
to purchase a country-specific domain, you can do a search for local
registrars. For example, if your blog is in French and you'd like a
www.example.fr domain, then you should look for "Domain registrar in
France."
Where would you like to host your blog?
Friday 4 July 2014
The truth about technology’s greatest myth
(Thinkstock)
Many optimists believe that technology can transform society, whether
it’s the internet or the latest phone. But as Tom Chatfield argues in
his final column for BBC Future, the truth about our relationship with
technology is far more interesting.
Lecturing in late 1968, the American sociologist Harvey Sacks addressed one of the central failures of technocratic dreams.
We have always hoped, Sacks argued, that “if only we introduced some
fantastic new communication machine the world will be transformed.”
Instead, though, even our best and brightest devices must be
accommodated within existing practices and assumptions in a “world that
has whatever organisation it already has.”As an example, Sacks considered the telephone. Introduced into American homes during the last quarter of the 19th Century, instantaneous conversation across hundreds or even thousands of miles seemed close to a miracle. For Scientific American, editorializing in 1880, this heralded “nothing less than a new organization of society – a state of things in which every individual, however secluded, will have at call every other individual in the community, to the saving of no end of social and business complications…”
Yet the story that unfolded was not so much “a new organization of society” as the pouring of existing human behaviour into fresh moulds: our goodness, hope and charity; our greed, pride and lust. New technology didn’t bring an overnight revolution. Instead, there was strenuous effort to fit novelty into existing norms.
The most ferocious early debates around the telephone, for example, concerned not social revolution, but decency and deception. What did access to unseen interlocutors imply for the sanctity of the home – or for gullible or corruptible members of the household, such as women or servants? Was it disgraceful to chat while improperly dressed? Such were the daily concerns of 19th-century telephonics, matched by phone companies’ attempts to assure subscribers of their propriety.
As Sacks also put it, each new object is above all “the occasion for seeing again what we can see anywhere” – and perhaps the best aim for any writing about technology is to treat novelty as not as an end, but as an opportunity to re-scrutinize ourselves.
I’ve been writing this fortnightly column since the start of 2012, and in the last two years have watched new devices and services become part of similar negotiations. By any measure, ours is an age preoccupied with novelty. Too often, though, it offers a road not to insight, but to a startling blindness about our own norms and assumptions.
Take the litany of numbers within which every commentary on modern tech is couched. Come the end of 2014, there will be more mobile phones in the world than people. We have moved from the launch of modern tablet computing in mid-2011 to tablets likely accounting for over half the global market in personal computers in 2014. Ninety per cent of the world’s data was created in the last two years. Today’s phones are more powerful than yesterday’s supercomputers. Today’s software is better than us at everything from chess to quiz shows. And so on.
Singularity myth
It’s a story in which both machines and their capabilities increase for ever, dragging us along for the exponential ride. Perhaps the defining geek myth of our age, The Singularity, anticipates a future in which machines cross an event horizon beyond which their intellects exceed our own. And while most people remain untouched by such faith, the apocalyptic eagerness it embodies is all too familiar. Surely it’s only a matter of time – the theory goes – before we finally escape, augment or otherwise overcome our natures and emerge into some new phase of the human story.
Or not. Because – while technological and scientific progress is indeed an astonishing thing – its relationship with human progress is more aspiration than established fact. Whether we like it or not, acceleration cannot continue indefinitely. We may long to escape flesh and history, but the selves we are busy reinventing come equipped with the same old gamut of beauties, perversities and all-too-human failings. In time, our dreams of technology departing mere actuality – and taking us along for the ride – will come to seem as quaint as Victorian gentlemen donning evening dress to make a phonecall.
This is one reason why, over the last two years, I’ve devoted a fair share of columns to the friction between the stories we tell about tech and its actual unfolding in our lives. From the surreptitious erosion of digital history to the dumbness of “smart” tech, via email’s dirty secrets and the importance of forgetfulness, I love exploring the tensions between digital tools and analogue selves – not because technology is to be dismissed or deplored, but because it remains as mired in history, politics and human frailty as everything else we touch.
This will be the last regular Life:Connected column I write for BBC Future. Instead, I’ll be writing a book about one of my obsessions: attention, and how its quantification and sale have become a battleground for 21st Century selves. I will, however, continue examining technology’s impact here and elsewhere – and asking what it means to watch ancient preoccupations poured into fresh, astounding moulds.
On which note: what do you think is most ripe for abandonment around technology today? Which habit will come to be seen by future generations as quaint – our equivalent of putting on bow ties for telephones? If you want to stay in touch, tweet me at @TomChatfield and let me know what you think.
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