Ian Mackay
I'm a thirty-something technology consultant who lives in Edinburgh.
I'm known as maniacyak (an anagram of my name) on most web sites.
I ♥ technology, photography, coffee, food, design, electronic music, watches, gaming and making stuff better.
I blog about technology in a business context on my company website, Epitome Solutions, and about my coding side-projects at maniacyak.co.uk.
Answers
-
ohhh yesAsked by Formspring 4 months ago
-
When I was 12, I had an English teacher who'd had a fascinating life - he'd been a diamond miner in South Africa, for example - and who had a real passion for his subject. He was probably the first person to make me realise that there were more ways to live than to go through school and university and get a job and so forth. Once a week he would take a lesson where he would just read aloud to us - usually American authors: Hemingway, Steinbeck, Harper Lee. I can hear his voice as I write this, putting on an American accent as Atticus Finch talks to his children. An amazing, inspiring man.Asked by Formspring 14 months ago
-
Film soundtracks - Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Tron: Legacy, The Social Network. Maybe because the Oscars have just been and gone?Asked by Formspring 14 months ago
-
Reading dead-tree stuff. Maybe even outdoors!Asked by Formspring 14 months ago
-
I've got a bump on the back of my head from nearly cracking my skull open on a bit of tarmac whilst on holiday in Greece. Alcohol may have been a contributing factor…Asked by Formspring 14 months ago
-
Something like the ISO 216 & ISO 269 systems for paper sizes. Elegant but eminently practical. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
I don't think either of those are particularly sustainable options. I would prefer to have something I could use and maintain largely by myself.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
If I'm only allowed one: Sabon by Jan Tschichold.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
I'm OK for both just now, thanks.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
I was born with it, I suppose. Like most people, I experience humour in the unexpected or incongruous but how funny I personally find something depends on how the specific context of that thing relates to my own knowledge and experiences. I particularly enjoy absurdity, flippancy, black humour, contextual humour and verbal humour.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
Think of a better answer for this question in 10 years' time, because this one sucks.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
Trick question. I don't believe in bears.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
Yes, but I'm not sure it's mutual.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
Nattō. I _really_ don't recommend it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NattoAsked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
My local coffee shop does a lovely chicken, brie and cranberry number which I end up eating whenever I'm hungry and need lunch NOW. The bread is great, the salad is wonderfully fresh, it just _works_. The best sandwich I've had recently was at Peter's Yard: slow-roasted lamb, beetroot, gruyere and fennel on rye. Soooo gooood.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
-
No. I believe that human beings are inherently inclined to contrive some sort of internal existential purpose or significance, but God doesn't tick that box for me.Asked by Formspring 17 months ago
Ask a question
Updates
-
@moggy Awwwww. :)
-
Ooooh. “FTTC should be available in your area from 30/06/2012”
-
@zbeauvais Might be an idea to check here to see which ISPs have LLU capability at your exchange :http://t.co/khSNARP7
-
@raphbleakley and curry? @handlewithcare
-
@fillenumerique That sounds like you're not listening to your feelings about it. ;)
-
@nuttyxander (by which I actually mean Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi from the Carmina Burana, natch)
-
@nuttyxander Are they playing O Fortuna?
-
@ideaspotting …you're going somewhere?
-
@AlexDRobertson My prejudice does not require me to judge you.
-
@AlexDRobertson Eurgh. :(
-
@adurdin Wow, I thought Amazon's price-matching engine was better than that.
-
@adurdin + dirt cheap on 360 just now: http://t.co/5UrsCvRz
-
@HulaJuiceBar Can you please let the sunshine out of the cup today?
-
@craigmcgill Interesting, thanks. @MarcHindley could you perhaps DM me some pricing info on your hosted Exchange offering? Cheers.
-
I should be greatly obliged if any of you Twitter gentlefolk might provide me with a recommendation for a UK-based hosted email service.
-
@colinbm Like software patents, I think laws may be reduced to weapons/deterrents in the corporate field. Sucks to be the little guy.
-
@colinbm Legislation and technology are becoming fundamentally incompatible. The former can't keep up with the implications of the latter.
-
@colinbm Privacy laws are often drafted with people (e.g. EU citizens) in mind rather than IP addresses. Can't know who's behind the screen.
-
@colinbm What if they're (e.g.) tunnelling via non-EU location? Better safe than sorry?
Photos
Recent tracks
-
Hypercritical 68: Patent Hands by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin'}24 hours ago
-
1: What If the Dolphins Had Thumbs by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'Mule Radio Syndicate'}25 hours ago
-
The Talk Show 90: Phiwladelphia by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Gruber & Dan Benjamin'}26 hours ago
-
The Incomparable 89: Also Known as Endor by {u'mbid': u'4ff2db3d-7633-4f68-af8d-90ba9d5af9c1', u'#text': u'Jason Snell'}27 hours ago
-
The Incomparable 88: Skywalker's Eleven by {u'mbid': u'4ff2db3d-7633-4f68-af8d-90ba9d5af9c1', u'#text': u'Jason Snell'}2 days ago
-
Hypercritical 63: Talking to the Bear by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin'}3 weeks ago
-
Hypercritical 62: A Sack Containing Scum from a Pond by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin'}4 weeks ago
-
Hypercritical 61: I Ran Out of Bombs Long Ago by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin'}4 weeks ago
-
Hypercritical 60: Reversing the Polarity by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin'}4 weeks ago
-
Hypercritical 57: Computational Skeuomorphism by {u'mbid': u'', u'#text': u'John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin'}4 weeks ago
Top artists
Top tracks
-
34 plays
-
34 plays
-
32 plays
-
30 plays
-
29 plays
-
29 plays
-
29 plays
-
28 plays
-
28 plays
-
27 plays
-
27 plays
-
27 plays
-
27 plays
-
27 plays
-
27 plays
-
26 plays
-
26 plays
-
26 plays
-
25 plays
-
25 plays
-
25 plays
-
25 plays
-
24 plays
-
24 plays
-
24 plays
-
24 plays
-
24 plays
-
24 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
Grandfather by Lorn23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
23 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
22 plays
-
21 plays
Profile
Technology Consultant
Information Technology and Services | Edinburgh, United Kingdom, GB
Experience
- Dec 2011 - PresentDigital Director / JCI Edinburgh
- Jan 2010 - PresentTechnology Consultant / Epitome Solutions