I spend quite a bit of time writing, and I’d like to briefly share a list of the main tools I use – not just for the writing itself, but to help myself focus, resolve issues, and overcome the occasional bout of block.

In my mother’s home, the house I grew up in, there’s a cupboard. It’s the same cupboard you have in your own family home, even though it’s a different shape and size. Perhaps yours is even an attic or basement, but fundamentally it’s still the same place.

The cupboard is surprisingly deep, and the small, bare bulb works only intermittently. I have a theory that when you flip the switch (just inside the door), the bulb stays off only if you’ve forgotten that deep cupboards are places to quite rightly be just a little bit afraid of. If you’ve forgotten that fact, perhaps because you’ve grown up and society has long since shamed you into dismissing your irrational childhood fears, then the cupboard reminds you.

I’m oh so dark without that little light on, it says; don’t you remember?

As of November 5th, I’ve been married to Lauren (@coffeemuffins) for a whole year. Handily, it’s easy to remember (remember) the 5th of November, since it’s Guy Fawkes Night here in the UK. We get free fireworks every year, and we assume they’re primarily for our benefit.

I’ve previously written at some length about making your iOS apps accessible to visually impaired users, and the topic continues to be very important to me.

I’ve been enjoying using the App.Net social network lately, and have thus been trying out various new iOS clients for that service – of which there are many. It’s an exciting time, and reminds me very much of my first few months on Twitter.

An exciting time, that is, if your eyes are fully functional, but a frustrating one for those who rely on VoiceOver to read their iPhone or iPad’s interface to them. I’ve found two App.Net clients which illustrate the two extremes of VoiceOver support, and I wanted to graphically (in both senses) show the difference that a little bit of extra development work can make to visually impaired users.

The new iPhone 5 is a quite ridiculously beautiful thing, with far and away the best build quality (high praise indeed) of any iOS device I’ve yet owned. We took delivery of a black one and a white one last Friday, and whilst the lightness and solidity are striking, the most arresting aspect of the phone is of course its screen.