James' Corner
James' Corner
James Philbrick
I'm James. Welcome to my corner of the web! I'm a mechanical engineer based in the UK. I like tech, photography, art, and whatever I'm obsessing over in the moment.
Latest Posts
I should start by saying that Kagi is a paid product. For those who want to look at what other search engines are out there, Startpage and DuckDuckGo both offer great services free of charge. Why pay for search?As the oft-repeated adage...
Astrophotograph-ingLast night was the first clear night in about a week in Marlborough, New Zealand. So I hopped onto the lawn with my DSLR and my EF 75-300mm II lens (zoomed in to ~80mm from what I remember) and took a crack and...
Above photo by (David Fairchild, Marian Fairchild), 1914. 1 I'm currently on holiday in Blenheim, New Zealand, enjoying a hot still afternoon outside. As I was walking around earlier, I was lucky enough to spot a few jumping spiders! If...
Below are a list of sites that I think are worth both sharing with others, and archiving for my future enjoyment. If you're done looking around here and are looking to surf the web old-school by following links, then click away on...
How to propose in 8 easy steps: Step 1: Give no indication that you are ready to propose. Act a little blasé or disinterested whenever any related conversations come up. Say that you're definitely not going to do it while travelling New...
Below are some pictures I took at one of the Australasian gannet colonies at the Cape Kidnappers Gannet Reserve in New Zealand. Nearly all of the chicks have grown up and left by this time of year. I've got a large panorama of the whole...
I've noticed nearly all new cars these days incorporate safety features which seem to benefit only their own drivers in isolation. Are we not looking at the net safety of everyone on the road? HeadlightsWhy are headlights so bright these...
Nothing on the internet is private. We all know that. But to what extent is it not private? And are we powerless to do anything about it? I personally don't know. But I'm sure it's something we should all look into and inform ourselves...
We all know it's important to manage our money well, but holy mother of mackerel can it feel overwhelming to actually do so. At least on the surface. I think that personal finance1 can be complicated, but for most people, it's one of...
Below are some of the software and services I like and consistently use (as of Feb 2026): ✍️ Productivity Notes - Obsidian - I've experimented with Notion, but prefer the simplicity of Obsidian. I also use Google Keep for short notes and...
At the Design Museum in London. The Fantastic Mr Fox puppets/armatures were my second favourite part. ... Seeing this backdrop from The Grand Budapest Hotel in person was my favourite. An unrelated sidenote: afterwards we went to...