I started this website when I was 17 to practise coding and write about things that interest me. I have updated it every few years, although time consuming, I enjoy experimenting with different designs. Below is how it has evolved over the years to it’s present form which I think is the best, you may disagree, have a scroll…
If your making a blog, website or webshop and need any advice or assistance I would be happy to help.
I have been working as a freelance energy consultant, advising people and households on energy efficiency, renewables, and green investment opportunities. If any of this sounds of interest please get in contact.
I can also help to solve techy problems you may have and assist with E-life management. Furthermore, if your making a blog, website or webshop and need any advice or assistance I'm happy to help. I have made many websites, including this one, which has been coded by me line by line.
Finally, If you think I might be suitable for any other job or entrepreneurial venture then please get in contact with me!
Julia Hailes (Mum)
- Environmental Consultant, Campaigner and Writer.
- Juliahailes.com
- Follow @JuliaHailes
Connor Bryant (Brother)
- Product Designer for the Circular Economy
- Connor@loopinnovations.com
- LoopInnovations.com
Rollo Bryant (Brother)
- Student at Design Academy Eindhoven, Artist
- rollodcbryant@gmail.com
- rollodcbryant.tumblr.com
Adam Laurie
- Hacker, security researcher and consultant.
- adamlaurie.com
- Follow @rfidiot
Jeremy Rifkin’s Book -
The Vice Documentory -
The Third Industrial Revolution: A Radical New Sharing Economy
The Article -
Which Country is Leading the Circular Economy Shift?
The Book -
Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World
The Book -
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
The Book -
The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
When I was quite young I set up a blog to write about things that interested me. I started to write more and more about technology and it slowly developed into a website called All Things Tech where I would write about new innovative technologies and gadgets, hacking and other tech news.
As I started to write more the website started doing better and better and got over 40,000 views. I even started putting ads in some of my better preforming posts!
However, I also started a downloads page, where I linked free, cracked software available for download. This prompted a family friend who happend to be a computer lawyer, to be a little concerned.
Eventually I shut-down site, I thought this would be temporary but I moved on to bigger and better projects!
Brychat was a project I worked on to create an instant messaging webapp for everyone at my school. Although the website never went fully operational it was a useful project as it helped me learn some SQL to get the chat databases working. Below are some pictures of how I experimented with the design of the site.
Tech Your Home was another idea I had... Its aim was to make it easy to find the exact tech that you wanted for your home. First, you would select a product you want, for example, a TV. Then you could select exactly what features you wanted in that like HD or 3D.
My site would then search through a database and bring you back the product that best fit your requirements. The product could then be purchased on my website but through Amazon, meaning I got a commission on the sale.
The site was a huge project, and I got a fair way through as you can see from the photos below. But, I would have needed to start working full time and set up as a business, which I couldn't do at school. Dispite this, I learned a massive amount from the project. First and foremost I learned how to make a website from the bottom up, line for line, and massively improved my Javascript and SQL.
When I was 15 I did ICT GCSE. The course was not great and mainly involved changing the formatting on word documents, spreadsheets and powerpoint (Boring..) but there was also a small bit of HTML.
One day we were doing a class project to write a basic quiz using HTML, CSS, and javascript. This was really fun so I carried on the project in my free time and created other IT based quizzes. Not only this but I did all my assignemnts for the rest of that year written in HTML on the website.
Looking back on it now the code was not very well written and the files were terribly unorganized but still it worked...
If you want to check it out I have provided a demo below!
Click Below for a Demo:
Above is a render of the custom designed case that is being 3D printed as I write this... Full Post Coming Soon!
I have experimented with many programming languages. This website has been built from the ground up, line by line, by me.
I started learning html (HyperText Markup Language) at 13. Html code allows you to easily create
websites with texts, links and a little bit of styling. However the styling options for the page are very limited through html so CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) is needed to create a universal style sheet of which you can easily apply to any page
you make and subsequently add.
So html and css make a good pair and together can be used to create a well structured and stylish website but the website is still static in nature. To make the website work more dynamically javascript can be used. Javascript is more of
a fully fledged programming language that can be embedded right into html code. It is a high-level programming language, meaning it is closer to English than machine code. Just like html and css, javascript is one of the core technologies that
helps run the web. It helps to change the behaviour of the page and can allow the user to interact with the page. It is great for making a specific page, after it has loaded, look dynamic. For example, you could write some javascript that said,
when a user presses a button the font of the website could be charged etc…
However, sometimes you want to store information from a user, for example, their username and encrypted password to login to your site. To do this you can use PHP and SQL (Structured Query Language). SQL excels in accessing and manipulating
data from databases. PHP is a server-side web development language that complements SQL very well. It is used to get, manipulate and display specific information from a server as well as having the ability to issue SQL queries to a database stored
on the server.
Swift is a very new language that is used to make apps for Mac OS and IOS systems. Being new it is constantly changing and evolving as apple improves it. Not only this but its age means that there are very few experts in this langunage compared to the
old timer languages like C, C++ and Python. This creates a lot of room for innovation and new SWIFT resources, projects and scripts. This is part of the reason why this languange enticed me.
Not long after i started learning SWIFT, the oppertunity for me to go and work with an app development company popped up. The company is called Disciple Media and they create apps for celbrities and bands like the Rolling Stones, KSI and Rudimental.
I have experinmented with Python, mainly just created a text based game but no major projects yet.
I will put the python game that I have made in the downloads section if you want to check it out.
More to come in the future...
Previous industrial revolutions have brought about some of the most significant changes that humanity has ever seen, taking us from field dwelling apes at the mercy of nature, to masters of the natural world.
Yet, after 200 years of this activity, scientists report that climate change is ravaging the planet, taking us to the sixth mass extinction event on earth.
However, human development and innovation has never been as fast as it is today. Driverless cars, the energy internet and a circular economy are no longer dreams, they are only just starting to happen…
Exponential change is the new normal. Can we save ourselves in time?
Nahhh...
Stop Creeping
The New Enterprise Competition is the University of Bristol's flagship start-up competition, run by the Basecamp Enterprise team. I entered the ideas stage and won, securing start-up funding and access to a supportive network. I am not able to share the full details of the idea yet but the concept is for a new decentralised financing platform for renewable energy projects. I look forward to sharing more on this soon...
ENERGETIC - THOUGHTFUL - INQUISITIVE
A few years ago I was working in New Zealand and was inspired when I read The Third Industrial Revolution by Jeremy Rifkin. I discovered the emerging ‘energy internet’ - a transformation in not only how we capture and store energy, but also in how we finance it's construction, and ultimately, who owns the systems. At this moment I knew what I wanted to do.
I believe that clean technologies can save the world and create a sustainable future. Here are some of things I’ve been doing:
Energy Transformation: Green energy audits for homes, businesses and the wider community. Digitalisation. Smart meters. Innovative supply contracts. Solar optimisation. Thermostats and zoning. New finance models.
Community Energy Partnerships: Local energy groups face huge challenges as UK government support has been removed. Academic research suggests that community-private partnerships are the best way forward. However, I identified a gap in the understanding of different types of partnerships in the UK. This means we’re missing out on a really significant opportunity for spurring the development of renewable technologies. More to come…
New Enterprise Competition Winner: The New Enterprise Competition is the University of Bristol's flagship start-up competition, run by the Basecamp Enterprise Team. I entered the ideas stage and won, securing start-up funding and access to a supportive network. I am not able to share the full details of the idea yet but the concept is based on a decentralised financing platform for renewable energy. I look forward to sharing more soon...
Blockchain: As well as energy, blockchain is another area of major interest to me. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to work with Finserv Experts where I took a central role in designing a masterclass aiming to cut through the hype and big claims of the space with the support of a spreadsheet model quantifying the tangible business benefits of blockchain.
Technology: My interest in technology started with a blog, in my early teens, which evolved into a website - All Things Tech, covering innovative technologies, gadgets, hacking, as well as other techy news and advice. This and subsequent web projects developed my coding skills in multiple programming languages. I now offer advice on E-life management, tech problem solving and web development.
Impact investing: If new technologies are essential for a sustainable future, financing is the key to make it happen. There are so many amazing and innovative opportunities putting money to work and driving positive change. I’ve started a small and diverse portfolio, specialising in Cleantech investments and using my research to advise others. We need to move away from a destructive finance system that has no thought for consequences, towards one that is regenerative, circular and sustainable.
Further details of all these projects and more can be found on my Timeline
Most recently, after a period of Covid-19 disruption, I’m starting my third year at the University of Bristol, studying Management with Innovation (MSci). Ironically, one of the key projects I’ve been working on is looking into how to enhance the effectiveness of remote working, which is, of course, now more important than ever… This is just one of the six multi-disciplinary teams I have been lucky enough to be a part of since the start of my course, collaborating with students from the arts, science, engineering, humanities and enterprise to solve problems and develop novel ideas. Read more about these projects.
Furthermore, this website has been a long term project - coded, designed and written by me, with some input from others. I have rencently updated the design, click here to see how it has evolved over the years. I welcome feedback!
ENERGY - TECH - FINANCE - SUSTAINABILITY
Covid Energy, A Better New Normal?
#BuildBackBetter - How is Covid-19 affecting fossil fuels and what can you do about it? Read more »
A Year Of Innovation At Bristol University
I Have Just Completed A Year of Innovation at Bristol University. Was it a Waste of Time? Or Will It Help Me Change The World? Read more »
Why Tech Humanism Is My Religion
We increasingly have technologies available to us that affect our mental, physical and environmental health. How can we make sure its a force for good? Read more »
Can Technology Save The World?
Human development and innovation has never been as fast as it is today. Exponential change is the new normal. Can we save ourselves in time? Read more »
The Energy Internet – Are Fossil Fuels A Thing Of The Past?
Giant energy companies are amongst the most powerful corporations that have ever existed in history. But now, people are taking back control and producing power themselves - and sharing it on a decentralised network. Read more »
Will self-driving cars solve our transport problems, or make them worse?
Self-driving vehicles could completely change our transport system - as car ownership becomes a thing of the past. But the journey to autonomy will not be without its roadblocks. Read more »
The Circular Economy – Why We Shouldn’t Be Throwing Anything Away!
I believe we need to move away from an economy based on extraction and consumption to one of regeneration and restoration. Read more »
Bitcoin Is More Than Just Hype
You may have heard that Bitcoin is revolutionary, or that it is just a scam. I believe that crypto-currencies have many problems they need to get past, but ultimately they will change the world. Read more »