Aaron Heath's Blog

A part of the move back from Scotland to Australia was getting all my computer equipment back safely.

After performing some research I elected to go with pas international removals for this job.

PSS can help relocate all your personal belongings however all that was required for me was the transfer of 1 25kg box full of electronics.

I really couldn’t be happier with the service with the service offered by PSS. The box make it to Australia a few days ahead of schedule and was delivered to my mother at her work.

PSS subcontracted the actual international travel to DHL. They al supplied me with the tracking details do that I was able to inform my mother when she should be expecting the delivery to be made to her office.

Once again I couldn’t be happier with PSS. The price was right. The service was fantastic. I wouldn’t hesitate to go with them again.

Yesterday I heard that their is legislation is planned to be submitted to the Australian Federal Parliament this week to not only endorse the installation of Full Body Scanners at all Australian international airports but to force anyone selected to have to pass through the system. Unlike the USA and the EU, anybody traveling in Australia will not have an ‘opt out’ option.

I am absolutely against the installation of these devices on safety ground. I believe, after being prompted by the No Agenda Show to investigate these full body scanners, that they are hazardous to humans due to the amount of radiation that they expose a passenger (or staff that work with the devices all day) too.

As a result of my feelings I have written a letter to my Federal MP, Tony Zappia. It was sent yesterday.

Mr Zappia

I am writing to formally request that you not endorse nor allow the proposed legislature that would force ‘selected’ international passengers from being forced into Fully Body Scans with the new devices that are set to be installed at all main international airports throughout Australia.

Having researched these machines during the last few years their is no doubt that these devices are unsafe and could possibly cause serious health issues (like cancer).

Currently in the United States, travellers have the option to ‘opt out’ from a full body scan. I feel that it is dangerous that you and your government could potentially force my family and myself to be potentially harmful radiation just to secure a plane. How many ‘terrorists’ have these devices caught in America? The answer is ZERO. These devices are dangerous and will only lead to health issues for travellers and the staff that operators alike.

Speaking of travellers, I believe that as a result of this legislation that you would be required to be scanned (exposed) each and every time you travel to Canberra. I would love for you to place video online showing you going through the device, endorsing the device and carrying a radiation dosimeter to show how ‘safe’ it really it.

Furthermore, all staff that are to come in contact with these devices should have the anonymous option to carry a dosimeter in order to fully understand how much radiation they have been exposed too. My research indicates that not only do these devices smother the passenger with radiation but they ‘leak’ radiation to the surrounding areas (which are occupied by staff). Imagine being exposed all day every day at work. Cancer cluster everyone (See http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/30/did-airport-scanners-give-boston-tsa-agents-cancer/)?

A lot of talk in the media over the coming week regarding this topic will be about the ability of these devices to see through clothes and produce ‘naked’ pictures of the public. To be honest I do not care about this. I’d rather be stripped then exposed to a device like the Full Body Scanner. That’s how much I despise these devices.

So what is the solution:
1) Do not allow these devices to be installed at Australian airports.
2) Failing that, allow passengers to ‘opt out’ and receive a pat down.

Should you vote for this device or should I be presented with the device at an airport with an ‘opt out’ option please consider my vote lost for any future election that you are up for.

Sincerely

Aaron Heath
Resident of Makin

I will be keeping on top of this topic and will post the reply (should I receive one) from Mr Zappia.

I encourage every Australian citizen to contact their Federal MP and voice your opinion on this matter.

As I posted late last year I have decided to return to Australia in early 2012. Well it is now early 2012 and I have now returned to Australia.

The first thing that hit me when I got back is that the roads of Adelaide are full of ‘hoon’ drivers. They are nuts. As rough as some places in the UK can be, they don’t have ‘hoon’ drivers.

The second thing that hit me was how loud the birds are in the morning. I can deal with that. It’s just the sound of Australia.

It’s been fantastic to move back home. I loved Scotland and all that came with it but it was ultimately not somewhere that I could live for more than a year or so. It is a lovely place and I plan to go back in the future bit this is home and I am happy to be back.

Work wise, I have managed to find myself a job and am very happy with it. Lucky!

Fitness wise, I have continued working out however I am yet to join a gym. Hopefully that will get rectified. I don’t was to get the traditional IT worker belly. I’ve worked too hard on my fitness over the last 8 months to just throw it all away.

I love to travel and can’t wait for my next trip but their is no doubt in my mind that Australia is home. I might have duel citizenship between Britain and Australia but I am an Aussie at heart.

Version Reviewed: 1.7.5
Last Update: 13 December 2011
Developed by: Panic
Get It!
Cost: $109.99

My review:
Coda is my web development application of choice. It is the number one app on my Mac and is the first app (after Firefox or Chrome) that I install on any new installation.

I have used this app for the last twelve months and I completely rely on it for the management of my projects at aaronheath.com and my personal projects on my home server.

The app includes a visually appetising site manager, file manager (dev and production), FTP client, editor (supports all the web dev languages under the sun), a preview browser, SVN manager, CSS editor and even language documentation.

It is the ultimate web dev app on the Mac. No question about this at all. One of the best investments I have ever made in my web dev career.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Version Reviewed: 1.1.4
Last Update: 8 November 2011
Developed by: Reeder App
Get It!
Cost: $10.49

My review:
This app was also one of my top iOS picks and it is just that dam good that it is also one of my top Mac picks.

Exactly like it’s iOS counterpart this app is a customised, clean and fast RSS viewer that it integrated with Google Reader.

RSS is how I keep up with what is happening in the world and the best way of doing this on the iPad and the iPhone is with the Reeder app.

One of my favourite features of this app when you come across a summarised RSS feed it has the Readability option that expands the whole post and allows me to view the whole post without having to view the website and many annoying advertisements.

The app supports many of Google Reader’s features such as staring. The app also integrates with many social sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Should I come across an interesting story I can easily tweet about it from within the app.

Love it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Version Reviewed: 1.5.4
Last Update: 18 November 2011
Developed by: Cultured Code
Get It!
Cost: $51.99

My review:
I use things multiple times every day on my Mac, iPhone and iPad. It is my personal task management application and helps me keep on top of everything that life throws at me.

I use to to keep track of the smallest of life’s jobs and even to keep track of projects that I’m working on.

It’s not a cheap application however it is easily the best task manager that I have come across.

Once upon a time I used a text editor to keep track of all my jobs however at some point it just wasn’t working, hence for the last nine months I have trusted Things and it hasn’t let me down. If I was to put a number on it, I would have to say that my productivity has risen by at least 10% purely due to the fact that I don’t have to remember my jobs, all I have to do is to action it when it pops up on my daily or project todo list.

The only criticism of the app is that it doesn’t sync as well as it could with its iOS counterparts. Instead of wifi syncing that requires the app to be open on both Mac and iOS device, I would love to see Cultured Code use either iCloud or Dropbox for syncing via the cloud.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Yesterday I headed into town for the final stage of the SANTOS Tour Down Under. While I was there I took quite a few pics which have now been placed up on my pics site at pics.aaronheath.com.

It’s amazing how fit these guys are and the power that they can produce.

Here is a direct link to the picture set.

Version Reviewed: 4.0.2
Developed by: VMware
Get It!
Cost: $49.99 US

My review:
As a web developer I need to have a copy of windows and a distro of linux on hand at all times. Rather than triple boot my MacBook Pro I opt to use VMware Fusion.

VMware Fusion is a virtual machine software that allows the user to install operating systems that are designed for x86 and x86-64 systems. Currently I have Windows 7, Windows 8 dev preview and the latest version of Ubuntu installed. Each of these installation have a number of browsers that allow me to test my web dev code in each browser while installed on each operating system.

VMware also allows me to run the Windows version of software such as Microsoft Office which, in my opinion, is cleaner and easier to operate than the equivalent Mac versions.

VMware Fusion itself also closely integrates with OSX and allows the easy switching between a Mac app and a Windows app (and selected Linux distos) in the same (Command+Tab) way that is usual for a Mac to Mac app switch.

I use this app every day. An easy choice for VM’s on the Mac.

Rating: 4 out of 5