Below is a long blog post about 2013, what’s coming up and my thoughts on the last year. Here we go! I started off writing this at the end of January but never finished it… so here I am again to finish it for realzies (and also just because I want you all to read something). But don’t worry – there won’t be too many pictures or videos in this one either :p So let us begin with: The Year That Was In Review (aka, A Lot Of Stuff) In December I was asked by some friends if they could ask me questions via email instead of doing an interview for their podcast/blog thingy.…

Below is a long blog post about 10th and 25th anniversaries of the U.S.-Russia relationship, written by James McBride, who was Assistant Secretary for Europe from January to July in President Clinton’s first term (and who I met when he came back into government as Director General of USAID). In the summer after leaving Foggy Bottom I had dinner with him at his house on Capitol Hill. He told me that one night shortly before he left office, Bill Gates called him up and asked whether it would be all right if Microsoft made a contribution to the Peace Corps.…

Below is a long blog post about 50 years of the Pill. I am posting it because the media is focusing on women’s reactions to Trump and his sexist remarks, while ignoring what has happened in our country since the Pill was first introduced into society: 1960 – The pill begins trials with human subjects (Women). During these experiments doctors will administer placebos or different doses of estrogen pills so they can observe their effects.…

Below is a long blog post about 10 things I would like to see in the next major version of GNOME. I have been using GNU/Linux since early 2005, and ever since then I’ve tried every desktop environment out there (KDE3, KDE4, Xfce4, LXQt, Enlightenment etc.). However, for some reason or another my heart has always belonged to GNOME. So with this article let me tell you why I think that the future belongs to GNOME.…

Below is a long blog post about 2019 Icelandic holiday traditions. You can read it here or listen to an audio version of the same content below: I was recently talking with my friend Adele in Germany and she asked me if we celebrate Christmas in Iceland, because her daughter had learned at school that Santa Claus does not exist there but still asks for presents from him every year… So this week on our travels around Europe I thought I’d share some information on how things work during Christmas time in Iceland!…

Below is a long blog post about 12 new releases in the last week, but before that I’m going to give you my opinion on each of these songs. I had never heard this song until just recently when it was mentioned by fellow music blogger Lizzy Goodman over at The Grammys Online and she said how much she loved it so now I am too! It has got an incredible catchy chorus with lyrics like “Love me love me if no one else does”, which makes us all want to be loved unconditionally without judgement or prejudice as well as wanting our partner/friend etc to be treated equally.…

Below is a long blog post about 3D printing, that was published on the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s website. The short version: The first steps are to design your object in SketchUp and export it as an STL file (you can also use Blender or Meshmixer), then convert this into gcode using slicing software like Cura. Finally you upload the resultant files to your printer which will interpret them according to the settings of your particular machine.…

Below is a long blog post about 2016’s top news stories from the New York Times. It’s time for another installment of our annual Year in Review series, this year looking back at all that was wrong with the world and right with it — as determined by The New York Times Opinion section writers and editors. You can find many more examples on Twitter using #NYTYearInReview. Below is a long blog post about 2013.…

Below is a long blog post about 10 of the best (and most unusual) things to do in New Zealand. New Zealand has many beautiful places, and it’s hard to know where to start when planning your trip there! So here are my top ten recommendations for what you should see while visiting this stunning country… In this article I will be talking about: The Lord Of The Rings Museum Hobbiton Movie Set Tour – Hobbit Holes And Meadow Tongariro National Park Hiking Trails South Island Glaciers Dunedin Otago Peninsula Wildlife Cruise Rock Climbing In Aotearoa New Zealand Whakarewarewa Hot Springs Rotorua Mauao Mount Maunganui Beach Walk Lord Of The Rings & Hobbits Tours Because of its unbelievable beauty, New Zealand attracts over four million visitors each year from all across the globe.…

Below is a long blog post about 68th Regiment of Foot, but there are also shorter ones that you can see here: The 42nd and the 1st Battalion of The Royal Scots. Below is a long blog post about 60 of the most important and/or interesting things I learned over my first year at university. You are not always right: Many people think they know everything, but as you get older, this changes.…