kierenmccarthy.co.uk

You know what really pisses me off? Not so much when a commissioning editor says no to a pitch (even when you're certain it's ideal for their publication); no, it's when you write a piece, review it, sharpen it, send it, get comments back, rehash it, sharpen it, send it and *then* have to chase [...]

It's amazing the number of people who never quite know how they end up in the job and career they do. I'm no different. Journalism now looks like an obvious choice – although not at the time having just finished a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. But tech journalism?
It is a strange subset of [...]

Yes! After an entire seven days of endless toil (no, I'm serious), I have finally finally managed to get my entire CD collection on my new, monster, 60GB iPod. Just under 20GB of music – just over 3,200 songs.
Thank christ for that. Maybe I can get my life back now. Once I have [...]

I’ve been caught up in a few insane automated phone system circles in my life. This one, care of T-Mobile, is not the worst but it is the first one I have managed to get a recording of.
The initial explanation for adding automated phone systems (“press one for customer services…”) was to save both the [...]

Here is the fourth in a soon-to-be-discontinued line of ideas of tech-humour columns. Enjoy:
Column idea no.4: Phone fight-back
“Good afternoon, could I speak with the householder?” “Of course, you are talking to him, how can I help you?” “Well, sir, have you ever considered…” “Oh, sorry, hang on just a sec, there’s [...]

30 today. What does that mean? Who knows? Who cares?
What I do know is that a vast gathering of the great and the good are arriving tomorrow to celebrate and my family are coming down tonight for a big meal which I have to start cooking very soon.
I suspect this will be the [...]

Strange but lovely – the canal creating its own street.

Permanent residency on Oxford's canal. Most of the boats have numbers and postboxes, some even have mini gardens.

The Canal path behind Jericho in Oxford. Tranquility in the middle of a busy city.

Fisher Row, Oxford. You wouldn't think that this was virtually in the heart of town, would you?