Thomil's Random Ramblings

How things change – Just a year ago, I was decidedly dismissive of digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa. I’d had some experience with Siri, but she hadn’t exactly impressed me with her capabilities. At the same time, smart speakers as such just seemed too limiting in my eyes. I’m someone who prefers visual feedback, rather than just hearing a voice. It was only when Amazon came out with the first Echo Show speakers that my interest was piqued. Even then, it would take until the waning days of 2019 for me to finally make the jump. The decision to go for an Echo speaker was an impulse, that literally hit me in the last 3 hours of Black Friday. Yes, for once, I actually took part in that! Anyway, Amazon had a package deal on a Philips Hue multipack and an Amazon Echo Show 5 for less than the regular retail price of either of the 2 products, so I decided to take the plunge. Now what exactly is the Echo Show 5? In effect, it is an Echo smart speaker with a 5.5“ touch screen on the f...

I’ve been working in IT Sales or sales related roles here in Ireland for quite some time now, and one of the comments I’ve been getting quite a lot is just how backwards this country must seem to me given that I come from such a technologically advanced place as Germany. This is usually followed by stunned incredulity when I tell them about the facts on the ground, and how much of the perception of Germany is actually just a mirage. To put it bluntly, Germany’s image of a technologically advanced country is part accidental, and part carefully crafted illusion. Now that does not mean that Germany is some backward place populated with hordes of marauding brutes, no matter how plausible that seems given your last encounters with Germans on Majorca or the Canary Islands. Germany is a world leader in many sectors, it‘s aerospace industry is second to none, as is it‘s heavy industry sector, even though the latter has shrunk considerably over the last decades. And I doubt I have to write m...

This is the second instalment of a two-part series on my trip to both London and Swansea back in August and September. You can find Part 1 here . I wake up even before my alarm clock goes off. Breakfast at the hotel is quintessentially English, which suits me just fine, given the day ahead, so I have a generous helping. Once I’ve got my camera bag packed, it’s off to explore the city, which turns out to be underwhelming to say the least. I know you’re not supposed to speak ill about places you visit, but Swansea honestly looks like it’s had its heart ripped out. The amount of urban deprivation and outright poverty on display is eye-opening, I haven’t seen something this bad since my teenage days back in Eastern Europe in the mid-1990s. Okay, there’s a major street rebuilding program underway which certainly doesn’t help, but from a quick glance, I’d say that 50-60% of business premises in the city centre are empty, with many of the houses derelict. The businesses that remain ...