Book Review: Blücher

 Posted on August 20, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

A bit of a change. On holiday I read the rule book for Blücher. It’s a scale agnostic Napoleonic big battle game. Some friends got into it and I must join them. It’s been a long time since I read a rule book from cover to cover. Blücher seems great. A real geometric puzzle to out manoeuvre your opponent. I’ve ordered the funky looking bases and some 6mm Austrians (Brits and French are already accounted for in the wargaming group). [Read More]

Book Review: Dead Silence

 Posted on August 10, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

This one was a recommendation from a colleague. I picked it up as an audio book. It’s a very fun sci fi horror. The twist sticks the landing well and the ending is satisfying. It’s got the right amount of joking about corporations being evil, more like Alien rather than The Outer Worlds. My one criticism is with the audiobook (from Audible, sorry). It’s read by one person who brings more performance to the reading than I’d like. [Read More]

State of the Podcasts August 2023

 Posted on August 1, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

Back in 2017 I wrote about the podcasts I was listening to. Five years later here’s an update. I’m embedded in the Apple ecosystem so now my podcatcher is Apple Podcasts. This year’s choice cuts are as follows. 2 Good Boys is a classic Friends Chatting podcast. AvTalk. I’ve been listening to this since just before the pandemic. It’s all about commercial aviation and is dead interesting. Doctor Who: Too Hot For TV is my top pick for DW podcasts. [Read More]

Book Review: The Premonitions Bureau

 Posted on July 29, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

To quote CMB “It’s so sad man” I am led to believe this is a book about real events. That makes it all the more sad. Having read The Demon Haunted World as a teen it’s obvious that that this would rile me up. I’d like to have had a premonition to not bother with it. Why didn’t The Bureau let me know, was I not in the (generous) 3% success rate? [Read More]

Book Review: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

 Posted on July 1, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

I finished book 3 of the George Smiley series a week or so ago. It’s not got a lot of George here and I missed him. The broad story was enjoyable but is felt like a drag. It takes a while establishing the key spy shit. Then there’s a large repetition in an interrogation then trial. I had a cheeky peek at the reviews of the next in the series. Might have a little break and have another go at The Culture series. [Read More]

Agile 2023

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

Nearly three years ago I wrote about my ideas on Agile. Those ideas have evolved a little since then. It’s honestly just getting closer to Extreme Programming (XP). I’m back to using Kanban at work and I can’t imagine going back to Scrum. At least for the ongoing maintenance combined with feature work I am doing currently. What do I think now? Just bin sprint reviews. Opt for just talking to people about what you’re working on. [Read More]

ASOS Tech Podcast

 Posted on June 15, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

I was on my first podcast in years! The ASOS Tech Podcast.

I was interviewed about Tech Develops which ASOS’ monthly professional development time. Give it a listen, it’s a breezy half an hour.

Warhammer 40k 10th Edition

 Posted on June 15, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

A new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is out. To continue the tradition (8th 9th) here’s a post about it. Since WarhammerFest my thoughts have solidified. I just don’t care for GW stuff at the moment[0] and that’s fine. The models in the Leviathan box look nice but I know I’d never paint them. In fact I’ve put all my Warhammer in the loft to make space for 15mm Second World War stuff. [Read More]

Book Review: A Murder of Quality

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

Another John le Carré (I’ve started the next one before posting this) and it’s another banger. The Yikes-O-Meter got going a few times but I expect this will be true for all of them. Man, I fucking hate Carne and everyone from the Gown. It’s not difficult for me to dislike such establishments but JlC renders an odious place. It’d be great to know if Smiley ever goes back to pick up the dog. [Read More]

Book Review: Call For The Dead

 Posted on June 7, 2023  |  Dave Megins-Nicholas

I had the urge to read some John le Carré so I picked up the first book featuring George Smiley. It’s actually great. A breezy 170 odd pages. A nice tight mystery that’s resolved very well. It’s definitely from a different age. At one point Smiley pops into a pub for a whisky and then goes off in his car. I really appreciate that era of technology for a mystery. There’s no need to remove mobile phones arbitrarily. [Read More]