Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry returns to Hogwarts for his second year, facing a hidden threat as a mysterious force petrifies students.
Books
Blog
What is lsd?
If you see lsd running on your Mac, here is what this Launch Services process does.
Mac
Homebrew - Difference between brew and brew cask
Homebrew has two main commands: brew for command-line tools and brew cask for graphical applications. Here is how they differ.
Mac
De Cock en de onsterfelijke dood by A.C. Baantjer
A man with a limp comes to De Cock. He had sought help for chronic leg pain from a faith healer, but she has suddenly disappeared.
Books
Privacy Roundup #0090 • January 2014
January 2014 was dominated by fresh Snowden documents on NSA and GCHQ surveillance, a wave of retail and corporate data breaches in the wake of Target, and the first official pushback on bulk telephone records.
Privacy
MKTileOverlay, MKMapSnapshotter & MKDirections
iOS 7 quietly brought three powerful new MapKit tools that fixed many old complaints about Apple Maps. Together these solved the biggest developer gripes: ugly base maps, no static map images, and no routing. Even today they remain some of the most generous (and under-used) mapping APIs on iOS.
Development
Monthly update #0285 • January 2014
Monthly update 285 • January 2014 • 2014-01-01 - 2014-01-31
Monthly Updates
Eurobloat #0044 • December 2013
The month Brussels built a bank-rescue machine no voter understands, signed off a 960 billion euro budget, and saw its own lawyer admit the data-hoarding regime was illegal all along.
Eurobloat
What is smbd?
If you see smbd running on your Mac, here is what this file sharing process does.
Mac
All Is Lost
All Is Lost (2013), directed by J.C. Chandor, is a stark, gripping survival drama. Robert Redford delivers a powerful, nearly wordless performance as a lone sailor battling the elements after his yacht is damaged at sea.
Movies
NSRange
NSRange is a Foundation struct for a contiguous interval of integers, with location (start) and length. It helps avoid off-by-one errors compared to start/end pairs.
Development
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone introduces Harry Potter, an orphaned boy who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he’s a wizard destined for greatness.
Books
De Cock en het lijk op drift by A.C. Baantjer
The body of a woman is found at the Westerdoksdijk. It would normally be a matter for the harbour police, but De Cock is drawn in once it becomes clear this is murder.
Books
Monthly update #0284 • December 2013
Monthly update 284 • December 2013 • 2013-12-01 - 2013-12-31
Monthly Updates
Privacy Roundup #0089 • December 2013
December 2013 was dominated by fresh Snowden disclosures on location tracking, cookies and hardware implants, a landmark court ruling against bulk metadata, a presidential review panel and the Target mega breach.
Privacy
Reflecting on the year 2013
Reflection on the year 2013, checking progress of the goals, and some numbers.
Journal
Eurobloat #0043 • November 2013
The month Brussels signed off a 960 billion euro cheque, told sovereign nations how many women their boards must hold, and explained that you cannot stop welfare tourism because it does not exist.
Eurobloat
Merry Christmas
Christmas continues to shape my adult life. The birth of Christ brings lasting peace and purpose.
Christianity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013), directed by Peter Jackson, continues the journey of Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves as they press towards the Lonely Mountain. Martin Freeman plays Bilbo, who must face the dragon Smaug alone.
Movies
Multipeer Connectivity
Multipeer Connectivity (introduced in iOS 7) lets nearby iPhones, iPads, and Macs talk directly to each other using Wi-Fi, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. No internet, no server, no central service required.
Development
De Cock en tranen aan de Leie by A.C. Baantjer
On a summer evening a young woman reports that her father is missing. The man is the president of the court.
Books
Privacy Roundup #0088 • November 2013
November 2013 saw the Snowden revelations widen from American programmes to the surveillance of allies, while a run of password breaches and a wave of corporate encryption pledges reshaped the privacy landscape.
Privacy
NSNotification & NSNotificationCenter
NSNotificationCenter acts as a central hub. Any part of an app can send notices or listen for changes from others. Observers sign up for certain events and get a callback when they happen.
Development
Useful macOS defaults: Mail
Handy defaults write commands for com.apple.mail, controlling how Apple Mail looks and behaves.
Mac
Monthly update #0283 • November 2013
Monthly update 283 • November 2013 • 2013-11-01 - 2013-11-30
Monthly Updates